PROPERTY  OF 

Z.  P.  METCALF 


LIBRARY     OF 


IQ85_IQ56 


INSERT  FOLDOUT  HERE 


KEPOET 


OF  THB 


COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT 


FOR  THB 


YE^H    1876 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1877. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Report  of  the  Commissioner,  Frederick  Watts ^ 

Report  of  the  Entomologist  and  Curator  of  the  Museum,  Townend  Glover 17 

Report  of  the  Chemist,  William  W.  McMurtrie 46 

Report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Gardens  and  Grounds,  WiUiam  Saunders 61 

Report  of  the  Botanist,  George  Vasey 73 

Microscopic  investi  gation ,  Thomas  Taylor,  Microscopist 74 

Report  of  the  Statistician,  J.  R.  Dodge 87 

Miscellaneous  Papers: 

Relations  with  South  America 271 

Agriculture  in  Italy 283 

Agriculture  in  Spain 287 

Jute-culture,  by  Professor  Waterhouse 289 

Salt  and  fresh  water  marsh  hay,  by  A.  B.  Allen "?96 

Cattle-feeding  in  New  York,  by  Prof.  E.  W.  Stewart 299 

Fresh  meat  shipment  to  Europe 312 

Rinderpest 321 

Recent  inventions  for  insect  destruction 323 

Progress  of  industrial  education 326 

Digest  of  State. reports 383 

3 


ERRATUM. 

On  page  155,  the  reported  consumption  of  sugar  on  the  Pacific  coast  is  stated  at  30 
tons  in  1873  and  1874,  and  27  tons  in  1875. '"  These  aggregates  should  be  30,000  tons  and 
27,000  tons,  respectively. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FCTLL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Plate  I.  Map  of  the  coUon-belt Frontispiece. 

II.  Pencilium  crusiaceum facing  page . .  74 

III.  Aspergillus  glaucuH facing  page..  74 

IV.  Lecythea  rosce facing  page..  76 

V.   Ustilago  segetum facing  page..  76 

VL  Tilletia  caries facing  page..  78 

VII.  Polt/thrincimn  trifolii facing  page .  -  78 

VIII.  Phylloxera,  four  Hgnres facing  page..  81 

IX.  Cotton  production  before  and  since  the  war facing  page..  116 

X.  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  Alabama facing  page..  326 

XI.  Agricultural  and    Mechanical  College  of  Alabama,  plan  of  second 

story facing  page..  327 

XII.  Missouri  State  University facing  page..  341 

XIII.  Missouri  State  University,  second  floor facing  page . .  342 

XIV.  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of  Texas facing  page . .  350 

XV.  West  Virginia  AgricCTltural  Cc/llege facing  page . .  354 


OUTLINE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

HOMOPTERA. 

Paga 

Fig.     1.  Cicada  pruinosa 24 

2.  C,  eqytendecini 25 

3.  Ortiocerus  coqueiertii 27 

^'4.  Fulgora 27 

5.  Phylloscelis  aira  „ 27 

6.  Delphax  carinata 27 

7.  OUarius 28 

8.  Amphisccjm  Mtnttata 28 

9.  Ormenis  septentrionalis 28 

10.  O.  pruinosa 28 

11.  Encheno2)a  hinotata 28 

12.  Telamona  ampelopsidis 29 

13.  Entilia  concava 29 

14.  E.  carinata 29 

15.  Ceresa  hibalus 29 

16.  C.  diceros 29 

17.  Thelia  Mmaciilata 30 

18.  Siinilia  iriornata 30 

19.  Stlctocephala  inermis 30 

20.  Smilia  vau 30 

21.  Archasia  galeata 30 

22.  Hoplophora  quadrivittata 30 

23.  Cercopia  Mcincta 30 

21.  Aphrophora  qtiadrangularis 31 

5 


6  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

Fig.  25.  Ravages  oi  Aphropliora 31 

26.  Larva  ai  A.  paraUda 31 

27.  Larva  of  A .  qmidrinotata -^1 

28.  Clastoptcra protens ^'■ 

29.  C.  obiusa ''^l 

30.  Proconia  unda  ta - 32 

31.  CaJideu  duh-bifasciaia 32 

32.  Aulacizus  itioUipi'8 32 

33.  Erythroni-ura  hasalis 33 

34.  JJivdrovcphala  quadriviitata 33 

35.  I'sylla  rhois 33 

3f).  r.pi/ri 34 

37.  Aphis  mali 35 

38.  A.  avencK • 36 

39.  A.  gosfiypil 36 

40.  Lachnus  caryw 37 

4 1.  Eriosoma  lanujera - -  -  —  38 

42.  E.  imbricuta 39 

43.  E.  tesselata 39 

44.  Rhozobius 39 

45.  Pemphigus  vitifoUcs 40 

46.  Phylloxera  vastatrix ■ 40 

47.  Aspidiotus  gloverii 41 

48.  A.  citricola ^ 43 

49.  A.  conchiformis 43 

50.  A.  Harrisii 43 

51.  4.  pinifoUce - 44 

52.  Lecanium  hesperidum 44 

53.  L.  acericortms •- 44 

54.  Coccus  piinicorticis 45 

55.  A  leurodes 45 

56.  Dorthesia  cataphracta 45 

57.  Pcdiculus  capitis 45 

58.  P.  vestamenti 45 

59.  P.  pubis 48 

iasect-destroyers,  (five  figures) 323  to  326 


REPORT 


OP  THE 


COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Department  of  Agriculture, 

Washington,  November  1, 1876. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States: 

Sm:  The  celebration  of  this  centennial  anniversary  of  the  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States  is  especially  marked  by  the  exhibition  of  the 
products  of  the  earth;  thus  recognizing  the  universally- accepted  im- 
pression that  to  agricultural  science  and  industry  belong  the  attri- 
bute of  characterizing  the  leading  feature  of  the  world's  improve- 
ment. A  review  of  the  exhibition  which  is  now  in  progress  brings 
prominently  to  view  the  interest  which  the  world  takes  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  earth's  products  and  the  improvement  of  their  character. 
All  around  and  everywhere  you  meet  with  a  sample  of  the  product 
itself,  or  the  improved  implement  by  which  it  is  cultivated  or  prepared 
for  consumption.  The  very  walls  of  the  building  are  decorated  with 
the  magnificent  products  of  the  farmer,  while  within  those  walls  the 
fruits  of  his  labor  are  beautifully  displayed  as  the  evidence  of  his  devo- 
tion to  the  Declaration  which  secured  to  him  freedom  and  happiness. 

This  Department  has  contributed  largely  to  that  exposition  in  the 
exhibits  which  it  has  made.  Statistics,  chemistry,  botany,  microscopy, 
entomology,  and  the  seed  division,  are  all  there  to  represent  the  pro- 
digious progress  which  has  been  made  in  this  country  m  the  last  one 
hundred  years;  and  I  am  extremely  gratified  to  be  enabled  to  say  that 
their  display  has  made  a  lasting  impression  of  the  wonderful  achieve- 
ments which  have  been  accompUshed  in  the  agriculture  of  the  United 

States. 

This  Department  has  availed  itself  of  the  opportunity  which  this  ex- 
hibition affords  to  make  exchanges  of  seeds,  plants,  and  publications 
with  several  foreign  nations,  whereby  large  additions  will  be  made  to  our 
museum  and  library.  This  will  involve  the  necessity  of  an  addition  to 
our  museum-hall  by  the  erection  of  a  gallery.  The  original  plan  of  this 
hall  contemplated  such  an  addition  when  it  should  be  necessary,  and 
the  contingency  has  now  arrived  when  such  an  improvement  is  rendered 
indispensable.  The  space  now  covered  by  the  hall  occupies  5,000  square 
feet;  the  addition  of  the  gallery  will  add  to  this  3,000  square  feet,  and 


8  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

will  cost  about  $2,500,  by  an  estimate  which  I  have  caused  to  be  made 
by  a  competent  architect. 

Japan,  Sweden,  Spain,  Portugal,  Venezuela,  the  Australian  colonies, 
and  others,  have  donated  a  great  part  of  their  native  products,  as  grain, 
roots,  fibers,  &c.,  to  out-  museum.  The  cases  for  these  productions  are 
already  provided  out  of  the  centennial  fund,  and  were  constructed  with 
a  view  of  their  being  placed  in  the  proposed  gallery.  The  constant 
work  of  the  entomologist  is  adding  daily  to  this  interesting  and  valu- 
able collection  in  our  museum  ;  and  when  it  shall  have  received  the  dona- 
tions of  which  1  have  spoken  from  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  it  will 
present  such  a  display  as  will  not  be  found  elsewhere. 

At  the  last  session  of  Congress,  out  of  the  sum  appropriated  for  the 
purchase  of  seeds  I  was  directed  "  to  expend  $2,000,  as  compensation 
to  some  man  of  approved  attainments,  who  is  practically  well  acquainted 
with  methods  of  statistical  inquiry,  and  who  has  evinced  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  questions  relating  to  the  national  wants  in  regard  to 
timber,  to  prosecute  investigations  and  inquiries  with  a  view  of  ascer- 
taining the  annual  amount  of  consumption,  importation,  and  exporta- 
tion of  timber  and  other  forest  products,  the  probable  supply  for  future 
wants,  the  means  best  adapted  to  their  preservation  and  renewal,  the 
influence  of  forests  upon  climate,  and  the  measures  that  have  been  suc- 
cessfully applied  in  foreign  countries,  or  that  may  be  deemed  applicable 
in  this  country,  for  the  preservation  and  restoration  or  planting  of  forests, 
and  to  report  upon  the  same  to  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  to  be 
by  him,  in  a  separate  report,  transmitted  to  Congress ;"  in  pursuance  of 
which  I  have  commissioned  Franklin  B.  Hough,  of  New  York,  to  per- 
form these  duties,  the  discharge  of  which,  as  seems  to  have  been  con- 
templated by  the  act  of  Congress,  will  involve  an  expense  for  the  print- 
ing of  circulars  and  their  distribution,  for  which  no  provision  has  been 
made.  The  sum  of  $2,000  is  certainly  quite  a  meager  compensation  for 
the  performance  of  the  duties  devolved  upon  the  gentleman  appointed, 
without  requiring  him  to  pay  the  expenses  which  he  must  necessarily 
incur  in  collecting  the  information,  which  he  will  naturally  seek  from 
the  knowledge  of  others.  There  is  not  such  an  appropriation  for  print- 
ing made  to  this  Department  as  would  justify  me  in  using  any  part  of 
it  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  inquiries  which  Mr.  Hough  may 
deem  it  necessary  for  him  to  make. 

The  Statistical  Division  of  the  Department,  charged  with  the  impor- 
tant duty  of  presenting  the  current  facts  of  agricultural  production  and 
distribution,  both  domestic  and  foreign,  has  borne  an  increased  burden 
of  labor  and  responsibility  during  the  present  year.  With  an  enlarged 
field  of  eflbrt,  and  increasing  efficiency,  the  demand  for  information  not 
elsewhere  attainable  is  greater  and  more  persistent,  and  beyond  the 
limited  facilities  for  adequate  supply.  The  saving  to  producers  and  con- 
sumers, and  the  protection  against  the  organized  misrepresentations  of 


REPORT   OP   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE.  9 

speculation,  through  the  information  furnished  by  this  division,  are  mat- 
ters of  constant  and  grateful  acknowledgment. 

The  preparation  of  the  statistical  exhibits  at  the  International  Exhi- 
bition at  Philadelphia  has  added  largely  to  the  work  of  this  division. 
They  are  intended  to  present,  in  compact  form  and  logical  arrangement, 
with  such  aids  to  interpretation  as  are  afforded  by  color  and  mathemat- 
ical delineation,  some  of  the  main  facts  which  illustrate  the  progress  of 
settlement,  production,  and  rural  improvement  of  the  United  States. 
These  exhibits  include,  first,  six  large  outline-maps  of  the  United  States, 
(17  feet  by  12,)  representing  by  tints  of  coloring  the  distribution  of 
forest-areas,  the  comparative  value  of  farm-lands,  the  rate  of  wages  of 
farm-labor,  and  the  distribution  of  cereal  and  textile  crops,  and  the 
area  in  fruit-culture;  second,  engraved  diagrams,  ingeniously  illustrat- 
ing the  comparative  yield  of  the  several  States,  the  effect  of  fluctuating 
production  upon  price  and  profit,  the  increase  of  cereal  exportation,  and 
questions  of  immigration  and  wages:  third,  statistics  of  industrial  edu- 
cation, with  engravings  of  college  buildings ;  and,  fourth,  statistics  of 
farm-animals,  with  type-specimens  in  lithographic  tint  of  the  principal 
breeds. 

I  regret  to  be  obliged  to  say  that  the  operations  of  this  Department 
for  the  coming  year,  upon  which  we  have  entered,  have  been  most 
severely  crippled  by  the  legislation  of  the  last  Congress.  Our  Statisti- 
cal Division,  which  I  look  upon  as  the  most  important  to  the  interests 
of  the  country,  has  been  almost  destroyed  for  want  of  an  appropriation 
to  supply  it.  The  whole  sum  appropriated  to  this  division  is  only 
$10,000,  which  is  not  quite  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  clerical  work,  leav- 
ing nothing  for  collecting  agricultural  statistics  and  compiling  and 
writing  matter  for  monthly,  annual,  and  special  reports.  In  conse- 
quence of  which,  and  the  want  of  a  sufficient  appropriation  for  printing, 
the  monthly  reports  cannot  be  published  longer  than  November,  and 
the  articles  which  make  up  the  annual  report  cannot  be  procured  at  all, 
unless  it  be  the^)leasure  of  Congress  to  make  a  further  appropriation. 

The  Department  grounds  are  yearly  becoming  more  and  more  a  source 
of  deep  interest  to  students  in  forestry,  a  subject  that  is  justly  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  practical  as  well  as  scientific  men.  Comparisons 
can  here,  be  made  in  regard  to  the  rapidity  of  growth  of  the  various 
species,  and  their  adaptability  to  various  purposes  and  uses.  The  col- 
lection of  ligneous  plants  is  constantly  receiving  additions,  and  is  rapidly 
approaching  completion,  so  far  as  known  i^lants  are  concerned. 

Efforts  toward  introducing  the  culture  of  the  Chinese  tea-plant  are 
still  in  force,  though  the  great  reduction  in  the  appropriation  for  the 
support  of  the  garden  during  the  year  prevents  any  further  effort  in  this 
line  at  present. 

Among  recent  introductions,  the  Japan  persimmon  may  be  noted  as 
a  fruit  of  much  merit.  By  a  long  and  patient  series  of  seminal  produc- 
tions and  careful  selections,  this  fruit  has  reached  great  perfection  in 


10  REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Japan,  where  it  is  prepared  and  largely  consumed,  and  exported  in  a 
preserved  condition  similar  to  that  of  the  ordinary  tigs  of  commerce. 

Numerous  experiments  are  yearly  made  in  the  gardens  with  seeds 
and  plants  received  from  foreign  sources,  mainly  through  the  system  of 
exchange.  Much  information  is  gained  from  these  tests  and  trials,  and 
suggestions  of  value  are  thus  obtained,  as  well  as  additions  of  more  or 
less  value  in  economic  plants  that  are  applicable  either  for  fibers,  barks, 

or  fruits. 

The  collection  of  economic  plants  is  now  considered  one  of  the  best  in 
the  world,  and  is  a  constant  source  of  interest  as  well  as  profit  to  visitors, 
as  well  as  supplying  material  for  the  increase  of  the  industrial  interests 
of  the  country. 

Of  the  work  prosecuted  by  the  Chemical  Division  during  the  past 
year,  it  may  be  said  that  the  analytical  portion,  relating  to  original  in- 
vestigation, has  been  very  much  interfered  with  by  the  preparation  and 
care  of  material  for  exhibition  at  the  International  Exposition  at  Phila- 
delphia. The  material  for  this  purpose,  collected  by  the  division,  con- 
sists of  soils  and  fertilizers  and  of  all  vegetable  substances  it  was  possi- 
ble to  secure,  the  value  of  which  depends  upon  their  chemical  composi- 
ion,  or  the  utilization  of  which  involves  chemical  processes. 

Following  this  idea,  the  entire  collection  was  divided  into— 

A.  Soils  and  fertilizers. 

B.  Vegetable  products. 

Under  these  general  heads  are  included  the  following : 
In  the  first  division— 

I.  Soils  taken  from  different  geological  formations. 

II.  Eocks  of  known  composition,  with  samples  of  the  soils  formed 
from  them  by  disintegration  and  decomposition. 

III.  Marls. 

1.  Calcareous  or  shell  marls, 

2.  Phosphatic  marls. 

3.  Greensand  marls. 

IV.  Natural  fertilizers. 

1.  Mineral. 

2.  Vegetable. 

3.  Animal. 

V.  Tbe  combination  of  natural  fertilizing  materials,  for  the  production 
of  so-called  commercial  or  artificial  fertilizers. 

The  second  division  contains — 

I.  Cereals  and  the  products  resulting  from  their  utilization. 

II.  Materials  illustrating  the  production  of  sugar. 

III.  Products  illustrating  the  process  of  fermentation  of  amylaceous 
and  saccharine  substances,  and  the  production  of  alcoholic  liquors  from 
the  fermented  materials  by  distillation. 

IV.  Products  illustrating  the  preparation  of  tobacco  for  consumption. 

V.  Tanning  and  dyeing  materials. 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE.     11 

VI   Materials  illustratinjr  tlie  utilization  of  wood  by  dry  distillation. 
VII.  Vegetable  products  prepared  and  preserved  for  food  by  special 

^  VIII.  Products  <7f  the  American  materia  medica,  and  the  active  prox- 
imate principles  separated  from  them. 

Besides  the  classes  thus  enumerated,  our  collection  contains  a  series 
of  products  illustrating  the  manufacture  of  butter  and  cheese. 

Tbe  fund  at  the  disposal  of  the  division  for  the  purpose  of  following 
out  this  plan  was  entirely  too  limited  to  make  the  collection  complete, 
but  the  materials  obtained  were  so  arranged  as  to  illustrate  as  clearly 
as  they  would  the  manner  of  their  utilization.    In  some  cases  samples 
were  analyzed,  and  the  results  attached  to  them  when  exhibited,  but 
this  could  not  be  made  universal.    The  analytical  work  done  in  this  con- 
nection constituted  the  bulk  of  the  work  done  in  the  laboratory  during 
the  past  year.     Among  the  materials  analyzed  was  a  series  of  samples 
of  excrements  of  bats  found  in  caves  distributed  through  the  Southern 
States.    These  samples  were  collected  and  forwarded  by  correspondents 
of  the  Department,  to  whom  circular-letters,  asking  for  them,  had  been 
addressed.    Of  the  number  furnished,  ten  were  found  to  be  worthy  of 
analysis,  and  of  value  ranging  from  $10  to  $55  per  ton,  calculated  upon 
the  basis  of  the  values  of  their  several  constituents  generally  adopted 
by  analysis  of  commercial  fertilizers. 

According  to  the  reports  received  from  our  correspondents,  the  de- 
posits represented  by  these  samples  are,  some  of  them,  of  very  great 
extent.  It  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  considerable  interest  to  southern 
cultivators,  especially  of  the  inland  States,  where  cost  of  fertilizing  ma- 
terials, depending  upon  transportation,  is  such  an  important  item. 

We  also  collected  a  series  of  specimens  of  materials  known  to  be,  and 
many  supposed  to  be,  of  value  for  tanning.  Of  these  materials  thirteen 
varieties  were  obtained,  and  in  all  of  them  the  percentage  of  tannin 
present  was  estimated.  The  work  shows  our  range  in  the  varieties  ot 
materials  of  value  in  this  particular  to  be  much  greater  than  is  general  y 
supposed,  and  also  that  our  national  resources  in  this  regard  are  prob- 
ably greater  than  those  of  any  other  government. 

Our  collection  contains,  further,  a  series  of  samples  of  native  wines, 
contributed  by  Bush,  Son  &  Meissner,  of  Bushberg,  Mo.,  which  series 
includes  wines  manufactured  from  several  new  varieties  of  grapes,  be- 
lieved to  have  special  merit  as  material  for  manufacture  of  wme.  The 
number  of  samples  (all  of  which  were  analyzed)  obtained  from  this 
source  amounts  to  22.  The  results  of  their  analyses  will  be  duly  pub- 
lished in  our  reports.  ^     ,  •,         i 

There  are  stiU  other  materials  of  value,  that  were  obtained  wnile  mak- 
ing our  collection,  well  worthy  of  analysis,  the  composition  of  which 
shall  be  determined  hereafter.  . 

The  MiGTOSCopical  Division  oi  this  Department  has  been  principally 
engaged  in  preparing  a  large  collection  of  Meiy-executed  water-color 


12  REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE 

drawings,  with  the  view  of  showing  the  character  of  cryptogamio  micro- 
scopic fungi,  edible  and  poisonous  mushrooms,  textile  libers,  &c.,  for  the 
Centennial  Exhibition,  amounting  in  all  to  about  sik  hundred  specimens, 
and  now  forming  part  of  the  Government  exhibit,  the  largest  proportion 
representing  the  leading  types  of  the  genera  of  microscopic  fungi ;  the 
results  of  original  investigations  upon  chemical  tests  for  flax,  cotton, 
ramie,  silk,  wool,  hair,  and  cellulose ;  and  still  another  series,  illustrating 
the  principal  vegetable  starches,  to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred 
varieties.  These  drawings  present  highly-magnified  views  of  all  these  mi- 
croscopic objects,  including  those  most  important  m  economic  mycology, 
especially  the  fungi  commonly  known  as  molds,  so  destructive  to  vege- 
tation. The  edible  and  poisonous  mushrooms  are  distinguished  in  one 
class  of  these  drawings.  The  molds  of  cheese,  bread,  and  jellies  are 
illustrated,  and  their  habits  of  growth  shown,  a  knowledge  of  which 
may  often  be  useful  for  practical  purposes. 

Another  series  of  drawings  illustrates  the  action  of  pear-tree  blight, 
showing  the  effects  of  the  chemical  changes  which  take  place  in  the  inte- 
rior structure  of  the  tree  under  the  attacks  of  the  fungus  to  which  this 
disease  is  due.  Black-knot  is  illustrated  in  a  similar  manner,  some  of 
the  drawings  exhibiting  it  as  it  appears  to  the  naked  eye,  while  others 
show  in  detail  its  distorted,  woody  structure.  The  fungus  which  pro- 
duces it  is  also  shown  at  various  stages  of  its  growth. 

The  fungus  Feronospora  infestans,  which  causes  potato-rot,  is  illus- 
trated in  the  various  stages  of  its  growth.  There  is  also  a  series  of 
drawings  of  its  resting  spores,  recently  discovered  by  Mr.  Worthington 
Smith,  of  London,  so  named  from  the  fact  that  they  remain  for  months 
in  a  stationary  condition,  or,  in  other  words,  rest  for  a  long  time  with- 
out germinating. 

The  importance  of  the  mushroom  as  an  article  of  diet  has  never  been 
properly  understood  in  the  United  States,  nor  is  it  generally  known  how 
abundant  our  supply  of  edible  mushrooms  is.  Many  of  those  popularly 
supposed  to  be  poisonous  are  not  merely  innocuous  but  highly  nutritious, 
containing  as  they  do  many  of  the  elements  of  animal  food.  In  France, 
Germany,  and  Italy,  the  mushroom  forms  so  important  a  part  of  the 
food  of  the  people,  that  one  distinguished  writer  has  spoken  of  it  as 
« the  manna  of  the  poor."  In  Transylvania,  the  oyster-mushroom  is  so 
abundant  and  is  so  largely  used,  that  tons  of  it  may  often  be  seen  in  the 
markets;  and  in  some  parts  of  Germany  the  Morel  mushroom  is  so 
popular,  that  the  people,  finding  it  to  grow  best  on  a  soil  treated  with 
wood-ashes,  were  accustomed  to  burn  down  portions  of  the  forest  in  or- 
der to  secure  favorable  spots  for  its  cultivation;  a  practice  which  the 
government  ultimately  found  it  necessary  to  interdict. 

Particular  pains  have  been  taken  to  represent  the  types  of  the  edible 
mushrooms  of  this  country  as  fully  as  possible,  a  number  of  collectors 
having  been  employed  for  the  purpose  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States.     Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Professor  Peck,  botanist  of 


REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF    A.GRiCULTURE.  13 

New  York  State,  who  in  that  State  alone  gathered  specimens  of  no  less 
than  eighty  species  of  mushrooms,  including  several  new  to  science. 
No  large  collection  of  well-executed  drawings  of  cryptogamic  fungi  has 
iieretofore  existed  in  this  country,  but  the  Microscopist  has  supplied  the 
defect  in  an  admirable  manner,  and  has  formed  a  collection  which  will 
be  of  permanent  value  to  mycological  science.  The  drawings,  nearly  all 
of  which  were  made  from  nature,  for  the  special  purpose  for  which 
they  are  now  used,  exhibit  a  high  degree  of  delicacy  and  finish. 

The  work  of  the  Botanical  Division  of  the  Department  has  been  stead- 
ily prosecuted.  Many  inquiries  have  been  received  from  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country  for  information  respecting  the  name,  properties,  and 
uses  of  plants  which  claimed  attention  either  as  weeds  and  pests  or  as 
deserving  cultivation  for  agricultural  or  economic  properties.  These 
inquiries  have  been  answered. 

Some  additions  to  the  herbarium  have  been  received  from  the  survey 
of  Lieut.  George  M.  Wheeler;  also  a  package,  through  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  from  Mr.  Karl  Keck,  of  Austria. 

Much  work  has  been  performed  in  completing  the  collection  of  woods 
of  the  United  States  for  the  Centennial  Exposition,  and  by  this  means 
large  quantities  of  duplicates  have  been  obtained  with  which  to  enrich 
the  herbarium  and  to  exchange  with  foreign  governments  and  scien- 
tific societies.  The  collections  from  which  the  greatest  material  has 
been  obtained  are  those  of  Mi',  L.  F.  Ward,  from  Utah;  Mr.  G.  E. 
Vasey,  from  California;  Dr.  Edwin  Palmer,  from  Arizona  and  Southern 
California  ;  Mr.  J.  G.  Lemmon,  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains ;  Mr. 
A.  H.  Curtiss,  from  the  Southern  Atlantic  States;  and  Mr.  John  Wolfe, 
from  the  Western  States.  Several  sets  of  duplicate  specimens  of  the 
woods  of  the  centennial  collection  have  been  prepared,  and  may  be  dis- 
I)Osed  of  to  institutions  where  they  may  be  of  benefit,  and  where  they 
may  bo  consulted  for  purposes  of  study  and  information,  and  for  foreign 
exchanges.  Among  the  collections  thus  obtained  are  many  specimens 
of  cones,  fruits,  and  seeds,  which  will  be  of  great  interest. 

The  accompanying  tabular  statement  exhibits  the  quantity  and  kind  of 
seed  issued  from  the  Seed  Division  of  the  Department.  A  mere  cursory 
examination  of  this  table  conveys  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  value  of  this 
division  of  the  Department.  But  when  we  consider  the  value  of  these 
seeds,  collected  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  selected  because  of  their 
peculiar  excellence,  and  put  into  the  hands  of  thousands  of  individuals, 
who  make  them  the  germs  from  which  is  to  grow  a  quantity  of  product 
that  is  to  characterize  the  future  operations  of  the  farmer  and  gardener ; 
when  we  consider  how  difficult  it  is  for  settlers  upon  the  wild  lands  of 
the  West,  who  have  expended  perhaps  their  last  dollar  in  reaching  the 
spot  from  whose  fertility  they  hope  to  live,  to  get  even  the  poorest  of 
seed,  (and  this  Department  will  put  into  their  hands  that  which  is  choice 
and  excellent,)  we  may  readily  imagine  that  thus  seed  is  "  sown  in  good 
ground,  and  will  bring  forth  an  hundred-fold." 


14 


EEPORT   OP   THE    C0MMIS8I0NEE   OP   AGRICULTURE. 


Tabular  ttatemeat  sliowing  the  quantity  and  kind  of  teed  issued  hy  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, under  the  general  appropriation,  from  July  1,  1875,  to  June  30,  1876,  inclusive. 


DoBoriptlon  of  seed. 


Vegetable p»p«rs. 

Flower do... 

H»rb do... 

Tre« do... 

mCUD-BXKSt. 

Wheat quarts. 

Oats do... 

Barley do... 


.do. 


Kj-e  

Buckwheat do. . . 

Corn ..do... 

Pease do... 

Clover do.!. 

Grass do... 

Sngar-beet do. . . 

Mangel-wurzel do. . . 

Rice do... 

SorKhmn do... 

Millet do... 

Broom-oorn d<5 

SpeUz do... 

Vetches do . . . 

Rape half-pints. 

Tobacco papers. 

Opium  i>oppy do... 

Chui'a do... 


Cotton quarts . 

Jute do... 

Hemp do... 

Flax do... 


Kamie.. papers.. 


Grand  total. 


328,  819 

20-2, 146 

10 

390 


14,  449 

8,862 

5,130 

280 

200 

3,478 

356 

2,689 

6,  542 

2,000 

1,862 

12 

222 

90 

188 

152 

22 

7 

58,  374 

25 

271 


395 

36 
14 


637, 180 


100,025 
170 


24,  056 

19,  964 

8,497 

V,  268 

3,364 

4,650 

1,080 

70 

4,023 

418 

416 


208 


174,  281 


151,  390 
585 


52 


18,506 

7,552 

4,833 

42 

6,906 

1,620 

1 

100 

200 

10 

4 

2 

2 

8 


172 

"is 


192,  055 


3 


313,  740 

169, 187 

223 

3,949 


8,816 

4,460 

762 

571 

442 

1,710 

61 

1,449 

4,  377 

271 

198 

56 

203 

158 

85 

4(j0 

11 

2 

5,511 

253 

193 


258 
90 
15 


180 


516,  691 


H 


893,  974 

372,  083 

233 

3,391 


65, 827 

40.' 838 

19, 277 

8.161 

10,  932 

11,  456 
1,498 
4,308 

15, 142 

2,  099 

2,480 

70 

427 

256 

273 

612 

35 

9 

64,107 

273 

477 


863 
146 
51 
103 
194 


1,  520,  207 


My  mind  has  always  been  impressed  with  the  idea  that  some  cheaper 
mode  might  be  devised  for  putting  up  the  seed  for  transmission  by  mail, 
and  the  exhibition  at  the  Centennial  has  presented  to  me  a  means  of 
solving  this  problem.  A  machine  for  the  construction  of  a  box  made  of 
strong  paper  is  there  exhibited,  which  I  am  quite  satisfied  will  cheapen 
the  putting  up  of  seed  one-half,  if  not  more ;  thus  saving  to  the  Govern- 
ment from  $5,000  to  $7,000  a  year,  whereby  that  much  of  seed  will  be 
added  to  the  quantity  now  distributed.  Quart-bags  in  which  the  seed 
is  now  put  up  cost  about  $24.70  a  thousand,  including  material  and  all 
labor  of  putting  up  the  seed ;  whereas  the  paper  box,  which  is  more 
convenient  and  equally  safe  for  transmission  by  the  mails,  would  cost 
but  about  $8.20  per  thousand ;  and  the  saving  on  smaller  boxes  is  pro- 
portionately great.  I  propose  to  purchase  this  machine  at  a  cost  of 
$5,000. 

The  Department  is  careful  in  its  arrangements  with  seed  growers  and 
dealers,  from  whom  it  obtains  its  customary  supplies,  to  secure  the  best 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICFLTURB. 


15 


selections  and  the  purest  seeds.  The  result  of  this  care  is  that,  with 
very  rare  exceptions,  we  are  enabled  to  disseminate  the  very  best  seeds. 
Of  this  we  are  assured  by  the  uniform  testimony  of  the  numerous 
parties  in  every  part  of  the  country  to  whom  seeds  are  sent.  This  testi- 
mony is  gratifying  to  the  Department,  not  only  as  evidence  of  its  faith- 
fulness, but  as  illustrative  of  the  value  of  its  operations  upon  the  country. 
The  following  table  exhibits,  in  a  condensed  form,  the  appropriations 
made  by  Congress  for  this  Department,  the  disbursements,  and  the 
balances  to  be  covered  into  the  United  States  Treasury,  for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1876: 


Titl*  oi  appropriation. 


Salaries 

Collecting  statistics 

Purchase  and  distribution  of  seeds 

Experimental  garden 

Museum  and  herbarium 

Furniture,  cases,  aud  repairs 

Library  

Laboratory 

Contingent  expenses 


Printing  and  binding 

Improvement  of  grounds . 


Total 264,120  OC 


Amonnt  ap- 
propriatod. 


$77, 180  00 

15,  000  00 

C5,  000  00 

8,  000  00 

2,  000  00 

3,  300  00 
1,250  00 
1,  300  00 

12, 100  00 
52,  000  00 
15,  000  00 
11,  990  00 


A.mount  dlB- 
bursed. 


$77, 115  71 

12,  843  68 

65,  000  00 

7,966  11 

1,993  55 

3, 124  23 

1,  046  84 

1,  300  OO 

11,  386  91 

3,  428  29 

14,  427  36 

11,990  00 


211,  622  68 


Amoaut  lui- 
expended. 


$64  29 
*2, 156  32 


33  89 

6  45 

175  77 

203  16 


713  09 

48,  571  71 
572  64 


52,  497  33 


•  The  TUiexpended  balance  for  collecting  statistics  will  be  nearly  or  quite  exhausted  in  the  payment 
of  naaettled  bills,  to  be  paid  from  that  appropriation. 

Since  I  have  had  charge  of  this  Department  it  has  been  my  special 
satisfaction  to  know  that  its  fiscal  accounts  have  been  kept  with  the 
utmost  accuracy  and  fidelity,  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
the  law.  The  ?ibsolute  pecuniary  necessities  of  the  Department  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  Statistical  Division  induced  me  to  claim  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  a  proportionate  part  of  the  appropriation  of 
$60,000  made  by  the  act  of  August  15,  1870,  to  meet  the  necessities  of 
the  several  Executive  Departments  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
public  service.  The  Secretary,  however,  being  of  opinion  that  Congress 
intended  to  limit  the  amount  to  be  expended  "for  collecting  agricultural 
statistics  and  writing  matter  for  monthly  and  special  reports"  to  the  sum 
appropriated  for  that  purpose,  did  not,  for  tliat  reason,  think  himself 
justified  in  complying  with  my  request. 

Kespectfully  submitted,  by  your  obedient  servant, 

FEEDK.  WATTS, 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


REPORT  OF  THE  ENTOMOLOGIST  AND  CURATOR 
OF  THE  MUSEUM. 


Sir:  As  the  Economic  Museum,  connected  with  this Depr4,rtment,  is 
a  branch  of  the  Entomological  Division,  it  has  been  principally  engaged 
Ibr  the  past  year — and  for  several  months  previous — in  the  collection, 
preparation,  and  arrangement  of  the  series  of  exhibits  illustrating  the 
workings  of  this  branch  of  the  Department  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition 
in  Philadelphia.  To  my  assistant,  Mr.  Charles  E.  Dodge,  was  given  the 
supervision  of  the  museum  work,  and  the  whole  labor  of  both  branches 
has  been  performed  without  the  aid  of  additional  force,  with  the  excep- 
tion that  Mr.  F.  G.  Sanborn  was  employed  six  months  to  assist  in  prepa- 
ration of  the  exhibit  of  entomology. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Dodge  on  that  portion  of  the  work  referring  to  the 
Centennial,  together  with  my  own  report  on  the  Homo^tcra,  is  respect- 
fully submitted. 

TOWITEI=[D  GLOYER. 

Hon.  Eeedk.  Watts, 

Commissioner. 


Department  of  Agricultuee, 

February  1, 1877. 

Sir  :  Upon  learning  your  wishes  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  museum  should  be  represented  at  the  International  Exhibition  in 
Philadelphia,  three  circulars  were  prepared,  and  were  early  sent  out  to 
a  carefully-selected  list  of  regular  correspondents  of  the  Department, 
in  from  three  to  six  localities  in  different  portions  of  the  various  grain, 
wool,  or  cotton  growing  States,  for  representative  specimens  of  these 
products.  Each  circular  so  sent  was  accompanied  with  bags,  labels,  and 
directions  for  the  shipment  of  specimens,  so  that  no  mistakes  could 
occur,  and  the  specimens  themselves  would  not  be  liable  to  injury  by 
car€iless  packing.  As  fast  as  the  samples  were  received  at  the  Depart- 
ment, they  were  catalogued  and  numbered,  the  accompanying  labels 
carefully  filed,  and  the  specimens  prepared  for  exhibition,  making, 
when  complete,  a  collection  of  over  800  samples  of  wheat,  barley,  rye, 
oats,  buckwheat,  maize,  &c. ;  500  specimens  of  wool,  many  of  the  ex- 
hibition-jars containing  series  from  different  animals  of  the  same  flock.; 
and  200  specimens  of  cotton,  both  seed  and  lint. 

From  the  regular  collection  of  the  museum  and  other  sources  a  full 
series  of  flax,  jute,  hemp,  ramie,  silk,  and  miscellaneous  fibers,  including 
paper-stock,  were  obtained,  to  complete  the  fiber  exhibit.  A  large  col- 
lection of  tobacco  was  also  made,  representing  a  score  of  States,  to  which 
were  added  about  a  dozen  specimens  from  the  museum,  and  these,  for 
the  sake  of  uniformity,  were  pressed  into  boxes  measuring  5  by  15  inches 
and  2 J  inches  deep;  in  all,  nearly  one  hundred. 

In  addition  to  the  above  direct  products  of  the  soil  and  in  connection 

with  them,  samples  of  their  various  manufactures  were  obtained  and 

exhibited  side  by  side,  showing,  in  the  case  of  the  grains,  the  flours, 

starches,  and  fancy  food  products ;  with  the  wools  and  other  fibers,  the 

2  a  17 


18  REPORT   OP   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

fabrics  manufactured  from  them,  that  any  one  at  a  glance  might  see  the 
particular  grade  of  wool  or  cotton  entering  into  the  composition  of  the 
fabric,  and  with  the  tobacco-samples  the  product  in  its  prepared  state. 

The  valuable  collection  of  fruit  and  vegetable  models,  to  which  large 
additions  were  made,  were  renamed  and  mounted  on  blocks  or  stands, 
that  they  could  be  better  seen  and  examined.  They  were  then  trans- 
ferred to  Philadelphia,  where  the  same  plan  of  arrangement  hitherto 
existing  in  the  museum  was  followed  out,  showing  the  fruit  as  grown  in 
various  States,  and  illustrating  their  adaptability  to  given  localities. 

The  large  and  valuable  series  of  etchings  on  copper,  comprising  up- 
wards of  three  hundred  plates,  prepared  by  yourself  in  leisure  hours 
during  the  last  twenty  years,  were  transferred  from  the  entomological 
rooms  of  the  Department  to  Philadelphia  as  a  portion  of  the  exhibit  in 
entomology,  having  been  renamed  up  to  the  latest  date  from  recent 
check-lists  or  works  of  specialists.  In  this  series  is  illustrated  not  only 
the  common  and  well-known  forms  of  our  noxious  and  beneficial  insects, 
but  many  of  the  rare  and  little-known  species  from  the  far  West,  in  pub- 
lic and  private  collections,  in  all  many  thousand  species.  Many  of  these 
are  figured  in  ail  stages,  from  the  egg  to  the  perfect  insect,  with  both 
sexes,  and,  in  the  Lejndoptera,  with  the  upper  and  lower  surfaces  of  the 
wings.  Manuscript  notes  on  the  species  were  placed  near  at  hand  for 
those  wishing  to  make  references  or  desiring  to  learn  more  than  the 
simple  name  of  a  given  insect. 

In  the  collection  of  economic  entomology  the  usual  plan  of  arrange- 
ment (according  to  classification)  was  dispensed  with,  and  a  plan  adopted 
that  was  thought  to  be  more  purely  agricultural  and  more  in  the  interest 
of  the  farmer  or  fruit-grower.  This  collection,  filling  twenty-four  cases  or 
drawers,  and  numbering  over  1,100  specimens,  comprises  the  most  com- 
mon forms  of  injurious  and  beneficial  insects  in  the  United  States.  The 
collection  is  by  no  means  complete,  but  serves  to  illustrate  the  plan  of 
arrangement,  which  is  especially  adapted  to  cabinets  of  agricultural 
colleges.  State  museums,  and  similar  institutions.  The  cases  measure 
IC  by  21  inches  and  2|  inches  deep,  outside  measurement.  They  are 
made  of  whitewood  or  poplar,  f  inch  thick,  dovetailed  at  the  corners, 
with  the  bottom  rabbeted  in.  The  sides  are  made  of  two  pieces,  forming 
the  box  proper,  about  1^  inches  high,  and  a  cover  1  inch,  which  is  grooved 
on  the  inner  surface  near  the  top  (about  ^  inch)  for  the  reception  of  a 
plate  of  glass  fastened  in,  when  the  box  is  made,  with  i)utty.  The  cover 
and  box,  where  they  fit  together,  are  tongued  and  grooved,  and  are  held 
together  by  brass  hooks  and  eyes  on  either  side. 

The  ])lan  of  arrangement  is  to  show  in  one  group  the  insect  foes  of  a 
particular  food -plant  in  the  four  stages  of  egg,  larva,  pupa,  and  insect, 
accompanied  by  specimens  exhibiting  the  mode  of  injury,  and  classi- 
fied according  to  the  portion  of  the  plant  injured,  as  root,  stalk,  foliage, 
or  fruit,  to  be  followed  by  the  beneficial  insects  known  to  destroy  a  par- 
ticular species ;  in  short,  the  idea  of  such  a  collection  is  to  be  able  to 
show  at  a  glance  the  entire  history  of  any  insect  or  group  of  insects 
affecting  any  of  our  food-crops. 

In  visiting  such  a  collection,  we  will  suppose  the  farmer,  or  fruit- 
grower, or  student  should  desire  to  see  the  Colorado  potato-beetle.  The 
case  devoted  to  the  potato  is  opened,  and  he  sees  a  dried  specimen  of 
potato-leaf,  fastened  upon  a  card-label,  covered  with  little  patches  of  the 
yellow,  golden  eggs  of  this  insect;  next  he  observes  the  larvae,  of  various 
sizes,  either  in  alcohol  or  prepared  by  "blowing;"  then  the  pupa  is 
shown  to  him ;  and,  to  complete  the  story,  the  male  and  female  of  the 
perfect  insect  are  displayed,  some  in  a  state  of  rest,  some  with  wings 
expanded,  and  others  in  various  positions,  to  show  marked  portions  of 


REPORT   OF   THE    ENTOMOLOGIST.  19 

the  body.  Then,  if  it  were  possible,  a  denuded  potato-stalk  should  be 
shown,  to  exhibit  the  method  in  which  they  carry  on  their  work  of  de- 
struction ;  and,  lastly,  the  army  of  parasites  that  help  to  check  their  rav- 
ages, with  samples  of  chemicals  and  artificial  contrivances  in  use  by 
man  to  accomplish  the  same  end,  would  close  the  short  but  instructive 
lesson.  Each  card  should  be  labeled  with  the  scientific  nnd  common 
names  of  the  specimen,  or  with  any  information  necessary  to  complete 
the  history  of  the  insects. 

Should  he  desire  to  know  what  other  species  are  destructive  to  the 
potato,  in  like  manner  he  will  learn  the  history  of  Lema  trilmiata,  Bari- 
dhis  trinotatiis,  and  other  species.  When  an  insect  is  a  general  feeder, 
it  may  be  shown  in  the  case  devoted  to  two  or  three  only  of  the  plants 
it  is  most  destructive  to,  though  on  the  card-label  the  other  plants  it 
feeds  upon  should  be  named,  or,  if  found  on  vegetation  generally,  the 
word  "omnivorous"  explains  the  fact. 

The  design  of  arrangement  has  not  been  as  fully  carried  out  as  could 
be  desired,  chiefly  for  want  of  specimens,  particularly  those  illustrating 
the  early  stages  of  the  insects.  The  present  collection,  though,  is  a  com- 
mencement, forming  the  nucleus  of  what  may  some  day  be  the  full 
realization  of  a  complete  cabinet  of  economic  entomology.  In  colleges 
and  other  institutions,  however— as  is  the  case  in  our  own  cabinet— such 
a  collection  should  be  accompanied  by  a  working  collection,  arranged 
according  to  families,  tribes,  genera,  and  species,  in  order  that  the  stu- 
dent may  familiarize  himself  with  classification  while  studying  the  habits 
of  insects  in  relation  to  our  farm -products. 

The  groups  exhibited  in  the  twenty-four  cases  exhibited  at  the  Cen- 
tennial are  as  follows: 

Case  A.— Thirty-nine  species  of  insects,  destroying,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  the  root,  stalk,  foliage,  or  fruit  (in  the  field  and  in  the  granary) 
of  Indian  corn  or  maize. 

Case  5.— Insects  destroying  (or  proving  injurious  to)  wheat,  rye,  oats, 
and  other  cereal  crops.    Twenty-two  species. 

Case  (7.— Insects  destroying  or  injuring  cotton.    Thirty-three  species. 

Case  i>.— Insects  destroying  or  injuring  the  potato,  {Solanum  tuhero- 
sum.)    Sixteen  species. 

Case  -E7.— Insects  proving  destructive  to  cucurbitaceous  plants,  as 
squashes,  melons,  &c.  Seven  species.  Insects  destroying  milkweed. 
Twenty-five  species. 

Case  J".— Insects  destroying  cabbage,  turnips,  &c.,  or  the  plants  of  the 
kitchen-garden.     Twenty-eight  species. 

Case  G'.— Insects  injuring  the  grape-vine  or  its  fruit.  Thirty-one  spe- 
cies. 

Case  if.- Insects  injurious  to  fruit,  fruit-trees,  &c.  Twenty-six  species. 

Case  J.— Insects  destroying  or  proving  injurious  to  the  apple.  Twenty- 
nine  species. 

Case  J.— Insects  that  annoy  the  housewife,  commonly  called  "  house- 
hold pests."    Forty-one  species. 

Case  iL.— Insects  aiding  in  the  destruction  of  forest-trees.  Thirty- 
seven  species. 

Case  jC.— Insects  destroying  the  pine.    Thirty-nine  species. 

Case  ili.— Insects  destroying  shade-trees.    Twenty  species. 

Case  iV^.— Insects  injurious  to  man,  by  injuring  or  destroying  the  wood 
of  various  plants.    Twenty-eight  species. 

Case  0.— Gall-insects  on  oak.    Twenty-seven  species. 

Case  P.— Gall-insects  of  other  plants.    Forty-four  species. 

Case  ^.—Insects  destroying  the  eggs  or  young  of  fishes.    Fourteen 


20  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRrCULTURE. 

Bpecics.    Insects  iujurious  or  annoying  to  bees,  to  cattle,  and  to  man- 
kind.   Thirty  species. 

GaseB. — Objects  of  insect  architecture,  with  the  species  employed  in 
producing  them.    Forty-eight  specimens. 

Cases  tS  and  T. — In  these  two  cases  are  shown  seventy  species  of  the  most 
common  forms  of  our  beneficial  insects.  (These  should  have  been  placed 
iu  the  general  collection,  after  the  insects  they  are  known  to  destroy, 
but  it  was  decided  to  group  them  together  for  the  present.) 

Case  TJ. — Thirty-one  species  of  insects  beneficial  as  scavengers  by  re- 
moving filth  and  carrion. 

Cases  V  and  ^Y. — These  two  cases  are  devoted  to  silk-producing  in^ 
sects,  and  contain  about  thirty  specimens  illustrating  this  industry. 

CaseX. — In  this  case  are  gathered  together  a  few  insecticides,  so  called, 
and  traps  or  devices- lor  destroying  insects. 

The  birds  beneficial  an,d  injurious  to  American  agriculture  were  shown 
in  a  case  by  themselves,  labeled,  as  in  the  museum,  with  scientific  and 
common  name,  and  brief  facts  regarding  benefit  or  injury,  as  well  as 
suitable  marks  of  distinction  on  the  end  of  each  perch,  black  to  show 
the  evil  habits  of  the  bird,  and  white  to  show  the  proportion  of  good, 
by  their  destruction  of  noxious  insects.  With  many  of  the  specimens 
the  contents  of  the  stomach  was  exhibited  to  verify  the  statements  upon 
the  label. 

The  collection  of  domestic  poultry  was  made  almost  complete  by  the 
purchase  of  80  specimens  of  fowls,  ducks,  and  pigeons,  which  were  pre- 
pared and  exhibited  with  a  careful  selection  irom  the  collection  already 
existing  in  the  museum  of  the  Department,  and  these,  labeled  with  the 
name  of  breeds,  formed  an  interesting  exhiljit  for  the  farmer  or  poultry- 
fancier. 

The  collections  were  arranged  in  sixteen  walnut  cases,  built  with  the 
special  object  of  transferment  to  the  gallery  of  the  museum  when  com- 
pleted, in  order  that  their  great  expense  should  not  bo  lost  to  the 
Department,  and  were  allotted  a  space  of  40  by  60  feet.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  grand  whole  is  in  an  ascending  series,  beginning  with  the 
products  of  the  earth,  as  grains,  fruits,  tobacco,  cotton,  wool,  and  other 
fibers ;  next,  the  insects  which  prey  upon  them  and  blast  the  hopes  of 
patient  labor;  and,  third,  the  birds  which  restore  the  balance,  and  render 
successful  production  possible  by  limittogthe  depredations  of  the  count- 
less hordes  of  insect  spoilers. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  state  that  the 
Department  is  under  obligations  to  many  individuals  and  firms  for  aid 
iu  making  collections  for  the  museum,  or  for  valuable  donations  of  sam- 
ples which  could  be  procured  in  no  other  way,  prominent  among  which 
may  be  mentioned : 

The  Lowell  Manufacturing  Company,  series  of  samples  illustrating 
manufacture  of  carpets ;  the  Washington  Mills,  Lawrence,  Massachu- 
setts, a  similar  series  illustrating  the  manufacture  of  woolen  piece- 
goods;  Chas.  A.  Stevens  &  Co.,  Ware,  opera  flannels,  wool,  and  manu- 
iacturo ;  Amoskeag  and  Stark  Mills,  Manchester,  N.  H.,  through  Mr. 
Eeuben  Dodge,  samples  illustrating  cotton  and  flax  manufacture. 
Various  samples  of  paper-making  materials  and  manufactured  paper,  to 
E.  Morrison  &  Co.,  Washington,  D.  C;  Holyoke  Paper  Company,  Had- 
ley  Falls,  Mass.;  Askell  &  Smiths,  Canajoharie,  N.  Y. ;  Dobler,'Mud'>-e 
&  Chapman,  and  John  A.  Dushane  &  Co.,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  llepubfic 
Mills,  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  others. 

The  thanks  of  the  Department  are  also  due  to  many  of  its  regular  cor- 
respondents, who  aided  materially  in  the  success  of  the  exhibition  bv 
their  prompt  response  to  the  call  for  samples  of  grains  and  fibers. 


REPORT    OF    THE    ENTOMOLOGIST.  21 

"While  the  Department  was  enabled  by  means  of  the  Centennial  Exhi- 
bition to  add  larg^ely  to  its  collections  of  native  products  of  agriculture, 
far  greater  benefit  was  derived  from  it  by  the  opportunity  it  presented 
for  the  acquisition  of  rare  and  not  easily-obtained  collections  of  the 
varied  products  of  the  agriculture  of  foreign  countries.  Through  the 
earnest  endeavors  of  Professor  Baird,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  by  cooperation  with  him,  the  Museum  Division  has  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity  presented,  which  has  resulted  in  the  securing  of 
full  collections  of  the' products  of  the  soil — direct  and  indirect — from 
various  portions  of  the  world ;  many  from  remote  countries,  curious  and 
interesting,  as  illustrating  the  habits  of  the  people,  while  exhibiting 
their  agriculture,  and  all  of  such  value  and  in  such  generous  quantities, 
with  few  exceptions,  that,  when  they  are  finally  classified  and  arranged 
in  the  museum-hall,  the  display  will  be  most  complete. 

For  the  most  part  the  material  is  given  as  a  donation  to  the  United 
States  for  exhibition  in  its  museums,  although  it  is  understood  that  the 
Department  shall  reciprocate  by  sending  collections  of  grains  and  fibers 
of  our  own  country,  if  sucli  collections  are  desired.  Some  of  the  ex- 
hibits were  presented  in  their  entirety,  without  condition ;  from  others 
the  Department  was  allowed  to  select  such  specimens  as  were  desirable 
in  quantities  sufiicient  for  museum  purposes,  while  with  a  few  the 
specimens  were  secured  by  promise  of  exchange  when  the  Department 
is  enabled  to  secure  the  American  collections  for  the  purpose. 

From  the  interesting  exhibits  of  the  Australian  colonies  a  full  series 
of  grains  and  fibers  were  obtained.  From  Victoria,  in  addition  to  grain 
and  wool  samples,  including  thirty-two  samples  of  the  fine-wool  collec- 
tion of  Hastings,  Cunningham  &  Co.,  the  Department  was  fortunate  in 
securing  a  collection  of  miscellaneous  fibers  from  over  forty  different 
species  of  fiber-producing  plants,  prepared  by  William  R.  Guilefoyle, 
director  of  the  botanic  gardens,  Melbourne.  This  collection  also  in- 
cludes fifty  specimens  of  paper  prepared  from  as  many  species  of  plants, 
nearly  all  of  which  are  represented  in  the  fiber-collection.  Among  the 
Victoria  wheats  secured,  one  variety  weighed  C8  pounds  to  the  bushel, 
and  not  a  few  were  up  to  04  and  G7  pounds.  In  all,  several  hundred 
specimens  were  obtained. 

Samples  of  the  remarkable  wool  exhibits  from  Queensland  were 
secured,  with  about  forty  specimens  of  miscellaneous  fibers,  all  of  differ- 
ent species,  with  the  exception  of  half  a  dozen  samples  of  cotton  and 
silk  in  the  raw  state.  A  fine  series  of  sugars  was  also  obtained,  with  a 
few  samples  of  grain  and  tobacco. 

The  New  South  Wales  donation  consisted  of  a  large  series  of  wools, 
and  some  few  miscellaneous  fibers,  including  silk-cocoons ;  about  twenty 
specimens  of  sugar,  fifty  specimens  of  grain,  arrowroot,  starch,  flour, 
&c.,  and  a  series  of  preserved  tropical  fruits ;  tobacco,  and  other  miscel- 
laneous products.  The  South  Australian  and  Tasmanian  collections 
were  very  similar,  numbering  about  one  hundred  specimens  each. 

From  New  Zealand,  the  valuable  collection  of  one  hundred  and  nine 
specimens  of  New  Zealand  flax,  Phormium  tenax,  was  received  complete. 
It  illustrates  the  textile  in  all  stages  of  manufacture — even  as  rudely 
IJiepared  by  the  natives,  who  strip  the  fiber  with  a  shell — and  includes 
articles  showing  the  various  uses  to  which  it  may  be  employed,  as  the 
manufacture  of  twine  for  making  nets,  coarse  twine,  small  and  large 
ropes,  cables,  halters,  mats,  matting,  and  even  a  fair  quality  of  coarse 
flax  cloth.  A  series  of  fine  grains  was  also  received,  with  about  a  dozen 
wool  samples,  native  gum,  starch,  and  miscellaneous  products. 

The  Japanese  donation  includes  one  hundred  and  fifteen  specimens  of 
tea  in  bottles  j  specimens  of  tobacco,  gums,  varnishes,  dye-stuffs,  flour, 


22     REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

starches,  and  farinaceous  products ;  and  a  valuable  series  of  preserved 
fruits  in  alcohol,  among  them  several  varieties  of  the  seedless  persim- 
mon, which  is  used  for  making  wine  and  for  preserving  as  a  delicacy. 
A  few  bottles  of  sauces  and  wines  were  also  presented.  The  most  val- 
uable acquisition,  however,  is  the  complete  exhibit  illustrating  the  silk 
industry  of  the  country,  as  carried  on  by  the  natives,  which  was  given 
without  condition,  and  includes  not  only  the  silk  of  Bombyx  mori,  but 
yama-mai  and  other  large  silk-producing  insects.  In  addition  to  about 
thirty  sam])les  of  raw  and  spun  silk,  cocoons,  &c.,  the  collection  is 
accompanied  by  all  the  implements,  baskets,  frames,  cases,  «&c.,  used  in 
feeding  and  caring  for  the  worms  and  in  preparing  the  silk ;  colored 
plates,  with  descriptions  of  each  process,  accompany  each  article,  which 
make  it  not  only  an  interesting  but  an  instructive  exhibit.  The 
remainder  of  the  iiber-collection  of  Japan  given  to  the  Department  is 
contained  in  half  a  dozen  large  cases,  and  consists  mainly  of  cotton  and 
ramie,  in  various  stages  of  preparation,  with  a  few  miscellaneous  fibers. 

The  donations  from  Egypt  include  about  two  hundred  varieties  of 
cereals,  seeds,  «&;c.,  and  a  full  series  of  Egyptian  cotton  samples.  The 
Orange  Free  State  also  presented  samples  of  its  grains,  as  wheat,  corn, 
millet,  &c. 

The  Eussian  collection  is  very  full  and  complete.  The  entire  grain- 
exhibit  was  turned  over  to  the  Department,  there  being  in  many  cases 
a  bushel  of  a  given  variety.  Wheat,  rye,  oats,  barley,  linseed,  cotton- 
seed, grass-seed,  beans,  pease,  &c.,  are  embraced  in  this  collection, 
besides  samples  of  nuts  and  other  seeds  not  enumerated.  In  the  dozen 
or  fifteen  varieties  of  vegetable  oils  presented  are  poppy,  sunflower,  and 
mustard  oil.  Twelve  samples  of  beet-root  sugar  were  secured  from  their 
fine  display,  and  a  few  preserved  fruits  and  liquors.  The  fiber-collec- 
tion consists  of  samples  of  flax,  raw  and  prepared,  cotton,  silk  cocoons 
and  spun  silk,  and  twenty  samples  of  wools  sent  in  the  fleece.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  specimens,  two  large  ornamental  cases  of  merino  wool, 
probably  two  hundred  samples,  were  given  entire. 

Norway  and  Sweden  presented  their  complete  exhibit  of  grains  and 
cereals,  the  latter  country  also  giving  about  sixty  samples  of  flour  and 
food  preparations,  including  the  bread  used  by  the  peasants.  This 
bread  is  made  once  a  year,  and  is  a  large,  round,  flat  cake  some  10  inches 
across,  made  of  rye  or  of  wheat  flour,  and  is  quite  palatable. 

The  Netherlands  presented,  without  condition,  the  entire  exhibit  of  the 
Zeeland  Agricultural  Society,  with  a  number  of  miscellaneous  exhibits 
of  individual  products,  as  chiccory,  liquors,  and  oils  from  maize  and 
other  grain,  medicinal  preparations,  &c.  In  addition  to  these  collec- 
tions, the  large  exhibit  of  the  Holland  Agricultural  Society  was  secured 
by  purchase,  the  Netherlands  Commission  oflering  to  become  respon- 
sible for  two- thirds  of  the  amount  asked  by  the  society  if  the  Depart- 
ment would  pay  in  cash  the  remainder,  or  $50.  The  collection  includes 
grains,  cereals,  seeds,  fibers,  and  other  products  of  the  soil,  and  a  series 
of  dairy  products,  and  the  implements  used  in  the  native  manufacture 
of  cheese. 

From  Great  Britain  the  Department  received  a  very  full  classified 
collection  of  over  three  hundred  varieties  of  wool  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  arranged  on  a  portable  stand  or  table,  in  eight  large  glass-cov- 
ered cases,  and  exhibited  by  J.  L.  Bowes  &  Brother,  Liverpool.  This 
collection  was  in  reality  presented  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and 
is  deposited  in  the  museum  of  the  Department  by  it.  Another  remark- 
ably fine  collection  of  wool  in  the  fleece  was  presented  by  Mr.  Odeys,  on 
condition  that  samples  be  preserved  under  glass. 

Spain  and  Portugal  each  presented  several  hundred  specimens  of 


REPOET   OF   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST.  23 

grains,  seeds,  nuts,  and  various  agricultural  products,  together  with  a 
small  series  of  fibers,  a  portion  of  them  from  Philippine  Isles. 

Many  of  the  South  American  exhibits  were  given  almost  uncondition- 
ally, and  in  two  or  three  instances  the  Department  was  fortunate  in 
securing  the  entire  exhibit  as  it  stood. 

Brazil  donated  samples  of  all  of  its  seeds  and  grains,  some  nuts,  &c., 
with  samples  of  flour,  starch,  mandioca,  tapioca^  and  other  native  food 
products ;  native  fibers,  many  of  them  curious  and  interesting,  flax, 
cotton,  silk  in  raw  state,  &c. ;  mate^  cocoa,  coffee,  sugar,  and  tobacco — 
mahy  kinds  peculiar  to  the  country — in  the  leaf  and  manufactured ; 
wax,  gums,  oils,  dyes,  and  a  large  collection  of  medicinal  oils  and  other 
preparations,  and  materia  medica,  principally  dried  roots,  leaves,  barks, 
&c.,  of  medicinal  plants. 

The  agricultural  display  of  Venezuela  included  thirty  varieties  of 
coffee,  half  as  many  of  cocoa,  specimens  of  grains,  seeds,  beans,  pease, 
&c. ;  samples  of  native  miscellaneous  fibers,  with  a  few  of  their  manu- 
factures; oils,  liquors,  and  materia  medica;  also  a  series  of  fruits  pre- 
served in  alcohol,  in  all,  several  hundred  specimens. 

A  similar  collection  was  also  received  from  the  Argentine  Eepublic, 
much  more  valuable,  however,  in  regard  to  its  fibers,  as  it  included  a 
full  exhibit  of  the  wools  of  the  country  in  the  fleece. 

The  Chilian  collection  embraced  a  representative  collection  of  the 
cereals  and  seeds  of  the  country,  with  some  minor  products  of  agricul- 
ture; and  a  like  collection  from  Peru  includes,  in  addition,  about  forty 
samples  of  native  wines  and  liquors. 

Coming  nearer  home,  Mexico  presents  samples  of  her  agricultural 
products,  and  these,  with  a  few  small  collections  obtained  from  exhibits 
from  our  own  country,  complete  the  list  of  donations  received  from  the 
exhibition,  at  its  close,  to  be  placed  in  our  own  museum. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  only  to  say  that  when  the  gallery  in  contempla- 
tion shall  have  been  erected  in  our  Museum  Hall,  giving  an  additional 
space  of  3,000  square  feet,  or  8,000  in  all,  and  when  appropriation  shall 
have  been  made  for  the  proper  preparation  and  display  of  this  valuable 
mass  of  material,  the  work  will  be  commenced  at  once  and  pushed  to 
completion. 

Much  time  and  labor,  however,  will  have  to  be  expended  on  the  col- 
lection in  classifying,  arranging,  and  labeling,  as  samples  in  duplicate 
must  be  prepared  from  many  of  the  countries  for  donations  to  other  in- 
stitutions; a  condition  required  of  the  Department  when  the  collections 
were  presented.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  also  desires  a  small  series 
from  each  country  represented,  for  exhibition  in  the  Ethnological  Hall 
of  its  Museum,  when  the  whole  shall  have  been  examined  and  our  own 
series  displayed. 

As  to  the  advantages  accruing  to  the  Department  in  the  possession 
of  the  material  it  has  been  so  fortunate  in  securing,  it  is  speaking  within 
bounds  to  say  that  in  fibers  alone,  in  the  number  of  specimens  and  value 
of  the  collection,  the  Museum  is  far  ahead  of  any  other  Museum  in  this 
country,  and  is  a  rival  of  the  Museums  of  the  Old  World,  and  that  an 
appropriation  of  $100,000  at  any  other  time  would  hardly  have  proved 
sufiicient  for  bringing  together  a  similar  general  collection  to  the  one 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  Department,  which  has  been  secured  by 
very  limited  exchange,  and  by  the  simple  cost  of  transportation  to 
Washington. 

I  am,  respectfully,  CHAS.  E.  DODGE, 

Assistant  Entomologist. 

TOAVNEND  GlOVEE, 

Entomologist. 


24 


REPORT    OF   THE   COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


HOMOPTEEA. 


The  suborder  Romojrlera  of  tho  order  Hemipiera  consists  of  insects 
having  four  membranous  dcllexed  wings,  usually  lying  over  the  back, 
like  the  roof  of  a  house,  when  the  insect  is  at  rest.  The  anterior  pair  of 
wings  are  usually  larger  than  the  posterior  pair,  generally  transparent, 
and  net- veined.  The  mouth  consists  of  a  beak  or  sucker,  which  is  used 
to  pierce  the  outer  cuticle  of  plants  they  frequent,  and  to  suck  out  the 
sap  in  three  of  the  stages  of  their  existence.  As  larvae,  pupse,  and  per- 
fect insect,  they  are  equally  active  and  do  much  damage,  feeding 
almost  entirely  upon  vegetable  substances,  and  when  very  numerous,  as 
in  tho  case  of  the  Aphides  or  plant-lice,  they  do  much  injury  to  vegeta- 
tion by  sucking  out  the  sap,  thereby  weakening  the  plants,  shrubs, 
or  trees  they  frequent.  As  no  recent  reliable  catalogue  of  tho  So- 
moptera  has  been  published  in  this  country,  and  only  such  old  works  as 
Amyot  and  Serville,  &c.,  can  be  referred  to,  it  has  been  thought  best 
not  to  arrange  these  insects  scientifically  in  this  paper,  but  merely  to 
allude  to  some  of  those  best  known  to  our  farmers,  or  to  such  as  are 
particularly  distinguished  by  their  destructive  habits  or  singularity  of 
form.  This  suborder  has  been  very  much  neglected  by  our  entomolo- 
gists, who  usually  take  more  interest  in  the  study  and  collection  of  the 
Goleoptera,  (or  beetles),  and  Lepidoptera,  (butterflies,  moths,  &c.,)  in 
preference  to  the  smaller  and  more  inconspicuous  insects,  although  the 
Eomoptera  contain  some  of  the  most  grotesque  and  singularly-formed 
insects  we  usually  meet  with,  such  as  Entilia,  Telamona,  Ceresa,  and 
many  others,  which  will  be  found  described  and  figured  in  a  later  part 
of  this  report.  Wo  will  therefore  commence  with  the  Cicadidce,  or  har- 
vest-flies, incorrectly  known  in  this  neighborhood  and  elsewhere  as 
locusts ;  the  real  locust  being  an  orthopterous  insect,  very  closely  allied 
to  our  common  grasshopper. 

The  harvest-flies  are  large  insects,  having  a  broad,  short,  transverse 
head,  with  large  prominent  eyes,  and  broad  thorax.  The  upper  wings  are 
rather  narrow,  membranous,  and  deflexed  over  the  sides  of  the  body, 
like  the  roof  of  a  house.  Our  most  common  snecies  in  this  neighbor- 
No.  1.  hood  is  ihQ^Cicada  pruinosa,  which 
may  be  heard  in  summer  and  autumn 
at  almost  any  time  making  its  peculiar 
trilling  noise  iu  the  shade  and  forest 
trees  in  the  grounds  of  the  Smithso- 
nian Institution.  These  insects  are 
quite  large  in  size,  some  of  them 
measuring  2  inches  or  more  from  the 
front  of  the  head  to  the  tip  of  the 
closed  wings.  The  males  alone  are 
musical,  hence  an  old  cynical  writer 
observes  :  "  Happy  the  cicadas' lives, 
since  they  all  have  voiceless  wives." 
The  musical  apparatus  producing  tho 
peculiar  prolonged  trilling  chirp  or  cry 
made  by  the  male  is  situated  on  the 
under  side  of  the  body,  on  the  basal 
ring  of  tho  abdomen,  and  consists  of  a  pair  of  large  plates,  largely 
covering  the  anterior  part  of  the  body,  which,  acting  like  a  drum,  at 
the  will  of  the  insect  produces  the  prolonged  tremulous  sound  we 
hear  so  often  iu  the  tops  of  the  trees  they  inhabit ;  if  the  tree  on  which 


REPORT   OF   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST, 


25 


the  insect  is  trilling  be  slightly  struck  by  the  hand,  it  will  stop  its 
musical  serenade  instantly  and  remain  mute  for  some  time.  The  per- 
fect insect  appears  in  May  and  June,  and  lasts  until  late  in  autumn; 
it  is  of  a  green  color,  shaded  with  brown.  The  outer  edge  of  the  wings 
is  also  green,  and  when  the  cicada  is  young  and  vigorous,  it  appears  to 
be  covered  with  a  whitish  dust  or  powder,  which  gradually  disappears 
as  the  insect  grows  older.  The  iemnle  deposits  her  eggs  in  slits  or 
incisions  made  in  trees  or  plants,  which  she  cuts  with  her  ovipositor. 
The  eggs  remain  in  these  longitudinal  incisions  for  some  time,  accord- 
ing to  the  warmth  of  the  season ;  when  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  the  young  larvce  drop  to  the  ground,  and  immediately  bury  theu- 
selves  in  the  soil,  feeding  upon  tender  subterranean  roots,  which  the.N' 
pierce  wnth  their  beak  and  then  suck  out  the  sap.  It  is  a  popular  but 
erroneous  idea  that  the  females  of  this  cicada  are  capable  of  piercing 
the  skin  of  mankind  and  then  ejecting  a  poisonous  fluid  into  the  wound, 
producing  violent  inflammation  and  pain.  The  insect  itself  is  frequent- 
ly carried  ofl;  by  a  large  burrowing  wasp  or  hornet,  {Stinis  speciosus,) 
which  forms  deep  holes  or  barrows  in  the  earth,  where  it  deposits  its 
egg  or  eggs  in  a  half-killed  cicada,  which  is  intended  to  form  a  supply 
of  fresh  food  for  the  larva  until  it  changes  into  the  pupa  state,  wheui't 
ceases  altogether  to  feed  until  it  emerges  as  a  perfect  wasp  or  horne^. 
Last  season  many  specimens  of  this  stirus  were  brought  to  the  Depar, 
ment,  having  been  caught  in  the  very  act  of  carrying  still  living  harvest 
flies  to  their  burrows.  The  manna  of  druggists  is  said  to  be  the  concret' 
juice  of  a  species  of  Fraxinus,  or  ash,  in  flakes,  which  is  produced  by  i- 
species  of  cicada,  or,  most  probably,  some  other  insect  of  the  suborder 
Eomopte^-a.  The  insects  themselves  are  destroyed  in  great  numbers  by 
hogs,  poultry,  and  various  small  animals ;  but  as  they  never  appear  in 
Buch  immense  numbers  as  their  relatives,  the  seventeen-year  locust,  they 
do  very  little,  if  any,  damage  to  the  farmer. 

O  Cicada  septendecim,  or  the  seventeen-year  locust,  derives  its  specific 
name  from  the  fact  that  it  makes  its  appearance  ,^)   No.  2. 

in  certain  districts  at  stated  intervals  of  seven- 
teen years  in  immense  numbers,  when  the  mil- 
lions of  them,  swarming  on  the  forest  and  fruit 
trees,  almost  deafen  the  observer  with  their 
trilling  calls  to  the  females,  and  form  an  abund- 
ant feast  to  the  swine,  fowls,  &;c.,  and  wild  ani- 
mals on  the  land,  and,  if  near  a  river  or  lake,  to 
the  fishes  in  the  water.  They  sometimes  injure 
fruit  and  forest  trees  by  making  their  longitudi- 
nal slits  or  incisions  in  the  young  branches  or 
terminal  twigs,  in  which  to  deposit  their  eggs, 
many  of  the  branches  thus  injured  dying  down 
as  far  as  the  injury,  and  afterward  being  broken 
off  by  high  winds  and  literally  almost  covering 
the  ground.  The  perfect  insects  make  their 
appearance  the  last  of  Mayor  beginning  of  June 
in  immense  swarms,  and  the  earth  in  certain 
localities  is  literally  honey-combed  with  the 
round  holes  which  are  made  by  the  insects  when 
issuing  from  the  earth,  these  holes  being  bored 
sometimes  through  the  hardest  ground,  and 
sometimes  even  through  well-traveled  country 
roads.  After  pairing,  the  females  deposit  their 
eggs,  from  ten  to  twenty  or  more,  in  longitudinal  slits,^  made,  in  pairs, 


itti 


I 


26  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

and  penetrating  to  the  pith  in  the  terminal  shoots  and  small  branches 
of  oak,  apple,  and  other  deciduous  trees.  These  slits  arc  made  by  the 
ovipositor  of  the  female.  The  young  larvte  hatch  out  in  about  six 
weeks,  fall  to  the  ground,  and  immediately  bury  themselves  under  the 
earth,  where  they  are  said  to  remain  nearly  seventeen  years  in  tbelarvcD 
state,  feeding  on  succulent  roots  of^  trees  and  shrubs.  When  about  to 
change  into  pupne,  the  larvse  work  their  way  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  shed  their  outer  skins,  and  assume  the  pupa  state,  somewhat 
resembling  the  perfect  insect,  but  having  thick  and  strong  fossorial  or 
digging  fore  legs,  with  only  wing-cases,  and  utterly  incapable  of  flight. 
This  pupa  state  is  said  to  last  only  a  few  days,  during  which  the  pupa 
remains  near  the  orifice  of  its  subterranean  tunnel.  Mr.  Eathvon,  how- 
ever, states  that  in  localities  which  are  low  and  flat,  and  the  drainage  is 
imperfect,  they  construct  galleries  of  earth,  4  to  6  inches  above  ground, 
leaving  an  oritico  for  egress  even  with  the  surface,  in  the  upper  end  of 
which  the  pupa  would  be  found  waiting  their  appointed  time  of  change. 
They  would  then  back  down  below  the  level  of  the  earth  and  under- 
go their  transformations  in  the  usual  manner.  But  in  all  the  cases 
cVserved  when  these  locusts  or  harvest-flies  abounded  near  the  agri- 
j  «nltural  college  in  Maryland,  the  pupae  were  found  in  somewhat  cyl- 
^idrical  holes  or  burrows,  some  of  them  having  even  burrowed  up- 
ward through  hard  gravel  roads,  as  before  stated.  When  ready  to 
/C;-hange  into  perfect  insects,  they  crawled  out  of  these  holes,  made  their 
.  '  i^way  as  best  they  could  up  the  neighboring  trees,  stone  fences,  and  rails, 
.  and  attached  themselves  by  the  strong  claws  of  their  feet  to  some 
^i.  /solid  rough  substance;  the  skins  of  the  pupaj,  hardened,  split  open 
^  **  down  the  back  and  thorax,  and  the  perfect  harvest-fly  emerged  into  the 
open  air  from  the  dry  old  skin,  after  waiting  some  time  to  dry  its  yet 
damp  wings,  it  eventually  flew  away  to  join  its  noisy  companions  on 
the  neighboring  trees.  In  these  cases,  however,  no  gallery  whatever 
was  made  by  any  of  the  larvae  observed,  but  the  insects  emerged  from 
simple  holes  in  tlie  ground.  The  situation  was  high,  the  soil  gravelly, 
with  no  swamps  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  For  weeks  afterward  the 
trees  and  fences  were  literally  covered  with  the  dried-up  and  split  skins 
of  the  pupae  still  clinging  to  them  by  means  of  their  strongly^hooked 
claws,  appearing  to  the  casual  observer  as  if  they  were  still  alive  and  in 
the  act  of  ascending  the  trees.  At  the  end  of  the  season  many  of  these 
insects  were  observed  flying  about  the  Maryland  woods  with  only  about 
two-thirds  of  the  abdomen  remaining,  and  that  portion  perfectly  dry  and 
hollow,  as  if  the  end  had  been  bitten  off  by  domestic  fowls  or  other  birds 
or  broken  off  by  accident;  sometimes,  however,  the  hollow  portion  was 
partially  filled  with  a  brownish  powder.  On  this  subject  Dr.  Leidy,  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  in  Philadelphia,  states 
that  the  cicada  is  liable  to  be  attacked  by  a  peculiar  fungus,  the  poste- 
rior portion  of  the  abdomen  of  the  male  insects  being  filled  with  a  green 
fungus.  The  abdomen  of  the  infected  males  was  usually  inflated,  brit- 
tle, and  totally  dead  while  the  insect  was  yet  flying  about ;  when,  upon 
breaking  off  the  hind  part  of  the  abdomen,  the  dust-like  spores  would 
fly  as  if  from  a  small  puff-ball.  Mr.  R.  W.  Ward,  of  Ohio,  in  the  Amer- 
ican Entomologist,  (vol.  1,  p.  117,)  states  that  this  mold  or  fungus  seems 
to  be  a  drying  up  of  the  membranes  of  the  abdomen,  and  it  is  generally 
of  a  brown  color,  dry  and  brittle.  He  thinks,  likewise,  that  these  male's 
in  copulation  break  off  one  or  more  of  the  posterior  joints  of  the  ab- 
domen, and  that  this  "dry-rot"  may  be  the  result  of  the  broken  mem- 
branes. He  adds,  also,  that  he  never  found  a  perfect  male  thus 
affected  in  the  early  part  of  the  season.  Some  naturalists  assert  that 
there  are  two,  if  not  more,  varieties  of  this  insect:    one  appearing 


REPORT   OF   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST.  27 

at  intervals  of  seventeen  years,  while  another  comes  every  thirteen 
years.  These  insects  are  frequently  carried  off  by  the  digger-wasps  as 
food  for  their  young,  in  tlie  same  manner  as  the  Cicada  pruinosa  before- 
mentioned.  Madam  Meriam  states  that  one  species  of  cicada  is  ver^^ 
destructive  to  the  coflee-plauts  in  Surinam,  but  our  species  do  not  appear 
to  do  much  permanent  iujury,  excepting  when  exceedingly  numerous, 
and  then  only  to  the  terminal  shoots  and  branches,  where  the  eggs  are 
deposited.  The  general  color  of  the  seventeen-year  cicada  is  of  a  rich 
yellow  or  orange-brown,  varied  with  a  darker  color;  the  outside  edges 
of  the  wings  are  of  a  light  rich  buff  or  orange  brown,  by  which  alone  it 
can  be  distinguished  from  its  relative  Cicada  pruinosa,  which  is  of  a 
green  color,  with  the  edges  of  its  wings  also  green.  It  is  also  much 
smaller,  the  figure  of  the  insect  No.  2  being  taken  from  an  extra  large 
specimen. 

c>  Otiocerus  coquehertii  is  a  ^mall  insect  of  a  somewhat  elongated  form 
and  having  a  small  projection  in  front,  resembling  the  lantern  No.  3.  '^-* 
of  the  true  fulgora  or  lantern  fly  of  Surinam,  but  on  a  very  (^^s^ 
diminutive  scale ;  it  feeds  on  the  wild  grape,  beech,  and  oak ;  it  ^^^^^^^'' 
is  0.35  to  0.42  in  length,  and  of  a  yellowish-white  color,  with  a  bright  car- 
mine red  stripe  running  longitudinally  along  each  side  of  its  wiug,  and 
which  stripe  is  usually  forked  at  its  hinder  end.  This  insect  is  0.42 
in  length ;  it  was  quite  rare  near  the  Maryland  college,  and  was  taken 
by  beating  among  the  bushes  with  a  common  insect-net.  The  genus 
o  Otiocerus  is  remarkable  for  possessing  %ng  slender  cylindrical  append- 
ages aj^tached  to  the  base  of  the  antennae.  Another  insect  of  the  same 
genus,' Otiocerus  aviyottii,  is  found  on  hickory  and  walnut.  As  these 
small  insects,  however,  do  very  little  injury  to  the  farmer,  we  will 
not  propose  remedies,  but  refer  to  the  remedies  for  Tettigonia,  Erythro- 
neura,  and  Apliis,  which  will  answer  equally  well  for  most  of  the  tree- 
hoppers  should  they  become  very  numerous  and  troublesome. 

A  small  FulgordP^Scolops'^ulgora  Say)  sulcipes — is  a  most 
singularly-formed  insect;  the  front  part  of  its  head  being 
much  prolonged,  and  projecting  upward  like  a  thin  curved 
horn;  When  dried  in  a  cabinet  it  is  of  a  lightdrab  color,  and 
is  found  among  brambles  and  weeds  in  meadows.  It  is  not  very  rare  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Maryland  Agricultural  College  in  July  and  Sep- 
tember, and  may  readily  be  taken  in  a  sweep-net ;  but  as  it  is  very 
active  and  leaps  well,  it  frequently  escapes  capture;  in  length,  to  the 
tip  of  its  horn-like  prolongation,  it  measures  0.40. 

A  small  horaopterous  insect^,  >^hyUoscelis  atra  (var.  pallescens)  is  No.  5. 
not  uncommon  amoug  the  brambles  and  weeds  in  meadows  in  Mary- 
land ;  it  is  of  a  singular  round  or  broad  oval  shape,  being  about 
0.20  in  length  by  0.13  in  breadth;  the  fore  thighs  are  much  thick-  p 
ened,  and  the  hind  tibite  or  shanks  are  quite  long  and  spiney  on  ) 
their  outer  edges,  and  are  fitted  for  leaping ;  it  is  very  active.  The  color 
of  this  insect  is  black,  having  two  orange-brown  stripes  on  the  thorax, 
two  longitudinal  stripes  of  the  same  color  on  the  outer  wings  and  on 
the  border  of  the  scutel.  There  is  another  variety,  entirely  black,  found 
in  the  same  situations,  and  the  two  varieties  are  frequently  taken  at  the 
same  time  wl^u  sweeping  for  other  insects. 

The  genus *5)e/^j/iaa;  is  here  represented  by  a  small  insect,  ^'  No.  G. 
OjDelphax  carinata,  in  form  somewhat  resembling  a  very  small 
cicada,  having  wings  sloping  like  a  roof,  almost  transparent, 
and  veined,  and  bearing  three  oblique  bars  of  a  brown 
color,  meeting  at  the  ridge.  It  was  taken  when  beating 
In  grass  and  meadows;  length,  0.20;  it  is  likewise  found 


28     REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

among  yom;;:  jMue  trees.  Dr.  Packard  states  tbat  another  insect  of 
this  genus, lDci2)hax  a7-rc7isis  of  Fitch,  is  an  insect  of  a  pale  yellow  color, 
with  eljtra  and  wings  nearly  pellucid,  and  that  it  is  common  in  wheat- 
fields  early  in  June,  but  he  does  not  state  what  it  feeds  upon,  or  whether 
it  injures  the  wheat. 

Oliarius,  n.  sp.,  is  a  small  insect  about  0.35  in  length,  Avith  transpa-' 
Ko.  7.  rent,  broad,  strongly-veined  wings,  having  a  dark  spot  about 
two-thirds  of  the  way  down  the  outer  margin.     The  body  is 
dark  green,  or  almost  black,  with  rings  of  abdomen  tinged  with 
reddish.    It  was  taken  among  high  weeds  and  brambles,  or 
blackberries,  in  a  meadow  near  the  Maryland  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, and  as  its  natural  history  and  food  are  not  known,  and  the 
insect  itself  is  somewhat  rare,  it  has  been  figured  here,  in  order  to  in- 
duce young  naturalists  to  observe  its  habits  and  make  them  known  to 
the  public.  » „. 

No.  8.'o  Amjphiscepa  {Flata)  hivittata  is  a  small  insect,  0.30  in  length, 
^.  having  its  upper  wings  somewhat  broad  and  rounded,  like  the  wing 
^0  of  the  common  -white  butterfly.  They  are  somewhat  veined,  and 
■^"^  rise  abruptly  from  its  sides  at  an  acute  angle  or  -wedge-form,  re- 
sembling a  very  steep  roof.  There  is  a  broad,  lateral,  dark-reddish  or 
brown  stripe  running  down  the  middle  of  its  back.  Its  general  color  is 
pale  green,  and,  -when  resting  on  a  blade  of  grass  or  green  leaf,  it  is 
scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  substance  on  -which  it  rests.  It  is 
not  uncommon  in  Maryland  in  grass-meadowa  and  -where  brambles  are 
abundant..  /• 

(^  Ormenis  {Poecilopfera)  seplentrionalis  resembles  AmpMscepa  hiuittata 
',  No.  9.    very  much  in  both  form  and  color,  but  is  much  larger,  being  " 
0.40  in  length  to  end  of  -wing-covers,  and  is  found  in  the  - 
same  situations,  being  frequently  taken  -with  it  in  the  same, 
sweep-net.    It  also  frequents  the  May-apple  {Podophyllum)  and 
grape.  V  ^ '^  ^-'-; 

No.  10.  Ormenis  {Pcedloptera  and  Flata)  pruinosa^  the  mealy  Jlata  or 
^—^  frosted  tree-hopper,  in  general  form  and  appearance,  resembles 
^^^  the  other  insects  of  the  genus  Jiata  before  mentioned,  being 
strongly  compressed  and  wedge-shaped.  It  is  about  0.35  in 
length  to  edge  of  wing-covers.  Its  height  is  pretty  near  double  its  -width. 
It  feeds  from  July  to  September  on  the  sap  of  leaves  and  succulent 
shoots  of  various  plants,  among  -which  may  be  enumerated  rhubarb, 
gooseberry,  plum,  privet,  grape,  &c.  The  color  of  the  insect  itself  is 
plumbeous  or  dusky  bluish,  and  -when  young  it  is  covered  with  white 
meal-like  powder,  giving  it  a  hoary  appearance.  It  is  very  common  in 
Maryland  among  grass  and  rank  herbage,  but  does  not  appear  to  do 
any  damage  to  the  plants  above  mentioned. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  insects  related  to  the  genus  Memhracis,  some 
of  which  present  most  extraordinary  and  grotesque  forms,  and  which, 
when  resting  on  small  branches  or  twigs,  resemble  thorns  or  excres- 
cences so  much  that  they  are  frequently  iDassed  by  unnoticed.  We  will 
therefore  give  some  figures  to.  exemplify  the  singularity  of  their  ap- 
pearance,     c 

6  Enchenopa  {Memhracis)  hinotata,  or  the  two-spotted  leaf-hopper,  is  a 

No..  11^  most  singularly-formed  insect,  its  thorax  having  a  compressed 

horn  in  front  extending  above  the  head ;  when  perched  upon  a 

dry  stalk  it  has  somewhat  th«  appearance  of  a  miniature  bird 

with  a  long  arched  neck.    It  is  0.45  in  length  to  the  tip  of  horn ; 

of  a  brown  or  blackish  color,  and  has  two  pale  yellow  spots  on  the  edge 


REPORT   OF   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST.  2\) 

of  its  back.  This  iusect  punctures  the  leaves  and  extracts  the  sap  from 
the  butternut,  hop-tree,  and  locust ;  it  also  is  found  on  -sveeds.  In  Mary- 
laud  it  is  commou  on  locust,  and  may  sometimes  be  seen  in  great  num- 
bers arranged  in  a  line  on  a  twig  or  branch  near  the  body  of  the  tree 
busily  employed  in  sucking  out  the  sap,  which  attracts  myriads  of  ants, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  so-called  honey-dew  produced  from  the  anal 
tubercles  of  plant-lice. 

■^  OTelamona  ampclojmd is  is  a  curious  tree-hopper,  about  0.50  in  length 
to  the  tips  of  its  wings,  of  a  brownish-gray  color  when  dead  No.  12.  ^ 
and  dried,  and  a  largo  and  somewhat  square  hump  projecting 
from  its  back,  which  slopes  or  leans  slightly  toward  the  hinder 
part  of  its  body.  As  its  specific  name  implies,  it  is  found  on 
the  Ampelopsis^  or  Virginia  creeper,  but  also  frequents  grape- 
vines, and  is  rare  in  Maryland. 

■^^  Entilia  {Mer.ihracis)  concava  is  a  very  small  tree-hopper,  0.15  to  0.18 
in  length,  with  the  ridge  of  the  back  somewhat  elevated  No.  13.   0 

in  front  so  as  to  form  a  slight  concavity  in  the  middle, 
or  rather  before  the  middle  part  of  the  back  ;  the  body 
is  marked  with  dilated  punctures.  It  is  of  a  dark  color, 
and  quite  inconspicuous  in  t^pearance,*  it  is  taken  on  weeds. 

Another  species, ^ntiZia  [Memhracis)  carinata,  has  the  ridge  of  its 
back  or  keel  deeply  scooped  out  in  a  compete  semi-circle,  so  as  No.  14. 
to  make  a  kind  of  protuberance  in  front,  separated  from  a    ^^ 
square  leaning  hump  on  the  ridge  of  its  back  by  the  aforesaid   ^nP- 

,  scooped  out  semi-circle;  it  is  0.20  in  length,  and  of  a  brown  color,  and 
has  jjeeu  taken  on  potato-plants,  but  is  quite  rare  in  Maryland. 

:  -CCeresa  hubalus,  Or  the  buffalo  tree-hopper,  is  a  very  singularly-shaped 
insec^  being  broadest  in  front  and  shaped  something  like  a   No.  15.  C' 

^•beech-nut  anteriorly,  with  a  short  sharp  x>oint  at  each  side 

'  jutting  out  horizontally  like  the  short  horns  of  a  bull,  and  end- 
ing also  in  a  sharp  point ;  it  forms  a  kind  of  triangle  on  the 
front  part  of  the  insect,  and  presents  a  very  singular  appearance,  espe- 
cially as  when  viewed  from  the  back ;  it  grows  narrower  until  it  ends 
in  a  sharp  angle  at  the  ends  of  the  wings.  The  insect  is  about  0.30  to 
0.40  in  length,  of  a  green  color,  and  has  transparent  wings  sloping  like 
the  roof  of  a  Jiouse.  This  insect  is  commou  on  a  variety  of  trees  in  Mary- 
land, apple,  peach,  grape,  and  willow,  and,  when  on  the  locust,  gener- 
ally stations  itself  in  an  angle  where  the  leaf-stalk  arises  from  a  branch, 
and  where  it  is  almost  hidden  away.  The  eggs  are  deposited  in  a  short 
curved  row,  in  a  series  of  punctures  made  by  the  ovipositor  of  the 
female  in  the  bark  and  sapwood.  The  larvae  are  shaped  something  like 
the  perfect  insects,  but  are  somewhat  spiney ;  as  perfect  tree-hoppers 
they  are  very  active,  and  leap  with  great  agility  on  being  disturbed, 
and  feed  on  sap  of  apple  and  peach  trees,  willow  and  grape-vines,  and 
have  been  accused  of  injuring  the  stems  of  grape-vines  by  the  x^unc- 
tures  they  make  in  which  to  deposit  their  eggs.  The  color  of  the  iusect 
being  green,  it  is  not  very  readily  distinguished  from  the  leaf  itself 

y  when  iu  a  state  of  rest,    cr 

l^-OCcresa  diceros  resembles  C.  hiibalus  very  much  in  outward  appearance, 
but  appears  to  be  somewhat  smaller,  and  differs  also  in  being  No.  16.  O 
marked  with  three  or  more  dark  brown  spots  on  its  upper  v.r 
wings ;  it  is  frequently  swept  up  in  the  same  net  when  beat-  ^^ 
ing  for  other  insects  on  low  bushes  and  in  tall  herbage  or 
grass.    In  Maryland  it  is  tolerably  common. 

0   Tliclia  bimaciilata,  or  two-spotted  tree-hopper,  is  0.45 to  0.50  in  length ; 


REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

it  is  a  brownish  triangular  insect,  shaped  like  a 
beech -nut,  with  a  long  horn  running  obliquely  for- 
ward and  upward  overhanging  the  head,  compressed 
9  and  rounded  at  the  end;  it  has  a  large,  bright 
yellow  or  dull  gray  colored  spot  on  each  side.  The 
m:ilc  differs  from  the  female  in  the  shape  and  size  of  its  dorsal  horn  as 
in^lio  lig.  18,  and  has  been  known  as  another  species  under  the  name 
of  I.  acuminata  it  has  been  taken  on  locust. 

c^.  tSmilia  (Memhracis)  inornata,  or  the  unadorned  tree-hopper,  resem- 
d   No.  18.    hlQs^Ceresa  buhahis  in  size  and  color,  but  has  no  horn-like  pro- 
jections on  each  side  and  is  uniformly  rounded  in  front  and  on 
the  back,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  being  hump-backed ;  it  is 
shaped  somewhat  like  a  beech-nut,  and  of  a  light  green  color, 
fading  to  a  light  yellow  in  some  specimens;  the  wings  are  hyaline  or 
glassy,  and  deflexed  at  the  sides  like  a  roof;  it  is  0.35  in  length,  and 
found  on  oak  nnd  chesnut  in  late  summer  and  autumn. 
<y   8tictoeei)licd(P[Smilia)  inermis,  or  the  unarmed  tree-hopper,  resembles 
O  No.  19.  Smilia  inomata  in  general  form,  but  is  more  rounded  on  the  back. 
—       These  insects  in  late  summer  and  autumn  make  short  straight 
incisions  in  the  bark  of  small  limbs  and  twigs  of  pear  andchest- 
nut ;  the  eggs  are  then  deposited  in  these  incisions  and  hatch  out 
in  spring,  when  the  larvae,  pupae,  and  perfect  insects  suck  out  the  sap 
and  thus  weaken  the  trees.    The  insect  is  about  0.28  in  length,  of  a 
uniform  pale  green  color,  fading  to  dirty  yellow ;  when  dried  the  wings 
are  hyaline,  and  when  disturbed  it  leaps  with  great  agility ;  it  is  not 
uncommon  in  Maryland,  and  is  frequently  taken  when  sweeping  with  a 
net  for  other  insects  among  grass  and  weeds  and  brambles ;  it  has  been 
taken  likewise  on  chinquapin  bushes. 

o  Smilia  [Menihracis)  vau,  or  the  V-marked  tree-hopper,  is  found  on 
d  No.  20.  walnut,  hickory,  audoak,whereit  punctures  the  young  branch- 
es with  its  beak,  or  sucks  and  drains  them'  of  their  sap. 
These  insects  are  about  0.25  in  length,  with  thorax  not 
greatly  elevated,  but  rounded  in  front,  and  acutely  carinate 
from  before  the  middle  to  the  posterior  tip.  These  insects  are  very 
variable  in  color,  but  in  dried  specimens  they  are  of  a  dirty  yellow,  with 
V-like  marks  on  the  back.  The  thorax  forms  a  high  arched  crest  over 
the  body.    The  hgure  is  magnified  somewhat. 

^  Archasia  galeata  (Fab.)  {iSmilia  auriculata  of  Fitch)  is  a  very  singu- 

^  No.  21.    larly-shaped  tree-hopper,  about  0.35  in  length,  having  a  very 

^       high  rounded  back  ending  posteriorly  in  a  sharp  point ;  its  color 

when  dried  was  of  a  brownish-yellow  and  evidently  very  much 

faded ;  it  has  been  taken  on  prairie  Uupatorium  and  Verbena 

hastata. 

O  Hoploplwra  quadrivittata  is  a  short,  thick-set  tree-hopper,  about  0.35  in 
<5     No.  22.     length ;  dried  specimens  of  this  insect  arc  of  a  grayish  color, 
having  two  short  and  two  longer  longitudinal  lines  of  a  pink- 
ish color  on  its  back  anteriorly;  it  was  taken  with  a  sweep- 
net  among  weeds  and  bushes,  and  is  rare,  but  frequents 
oak. 
0  Cercopls  bicincta  is  a  very  pretty  insect,  with  body  sanguineous,  (Say,) 
No.  23.    thorax  blackish,  a  rufous  band  on  the  middle  wings,  or  hem- 
-     '      elytra  blackish,  with  two  yellow  or  orange  bands  running 
across  them ;  it  was  taken  very  sparingly  when  beating  with  a 
sweep-net  among  weeds,  grass,  and  brambles ;  the  insect  is 
about  0.45  in  length.     Some  of  the  Cercoxndce  are  said  to  secrete  a 
saccharine  substance  which  is  devQured  by  ants. 


REPOET    OF    THE   ENTOMOLOGIST.  31 

^  ^Aphrophora  {Cercopis)  quadrangnlaris  is  a  small,  broad,  quadrangular 
insect  of  a  liglitbrownisb-drab  color  dried,  having  a  square  or  ratber  ]^o_24. 
diamond  brown  linear  mark  on  its  back,  and  is  about  0.35  in 
length.  This  insect  is  also  known  as  the  frog  or  cuckoo  spittle- 
insect,  as  its  larva  lives  in  a  kind  of  foam  or  froth  formed  on  va- 
rious plants,  shrubs,  and  trees  by  the  larva  sucking  iho  sap  from 
the  plant  by  means  of  its  piercer  or  sucker,  and  then  ejecting  the  said 
sap  and  discharging  it  through  its  body,  forming  small  bubbles  like 
froth  or  foam,  and  effectually  concealing  the  larva  from  its  enemies; 
it  lives  in  security  until  ready  to  change  into  the  perfect  insect.  In 
Maryland  the  negroes  believe  that  the  small  forest  horse-flies,  so 
numerous  in  the  woods,  are  produced  from  these  spots  of  foam,  and  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  convince  them  to  the  con-  No.  25. 

,  trary.  In  Vermont  these  insects  are  accused 
of  injuring  the  crops  of  hay ;  it  is  als found  on 
brambles.  The  larva  of  a  species  of  Aphropli- 
ora  and  the  frothy  substance  produced  by  it  on 
rag- weed  is  fissured  here  to  show  the  appearance 
of  the  foam  as  it  is  formed  on  the  plants. 

{  '    The  larva  of^Aphrophora  {Memhracis)  parallela  in  June  and  July  forms 

<»/a  spot  of  white  froth  upon  the  bark  near  the  end  of  the  branches  -^^  oq 
oIl  white  pine ;  the  perfect  insect  is  0.50  in  length,  of  a  flattened 
*and  somewhat  oval  form,  and  has  its  wing-covers  deflexed  like 
the  roof  of  a  house ;  it  is  of  a  brown  color,  with  blackish  punc- 

'  tures  on  a  pale  ground,  with  a  smooth  whitish  line  along  the 
back,  and  a  small,  smooth  whitish  spot  in  the  center  of  each  wing- 

',  cover ;  it  frequents  pine  woods,  and  is  very  plentiful  in  Maryland. 

The  hxrva,  ofAp]irophora\Memhracis)  quadrinotata,  or  the  four-spotted 
spittle-insect,  is  frequently  to  be  found  enveloped  in  a  spot  of  foam  -^^  g? 
on  the  branches  of  the  grape-vine ;  this  insect  is  0.33  to  0.35  in 
length,  of  a  flattened  form  and  brownish  color ;  it  has  a  blackish 
spotor  marknear  thetipof  its  wing,  another  on  the  outer  margin, 
and  a  third  at  the  base  of  the  upper  wing-covers ;  as  it  is  found  so 
plentifully  sometimes  on  grape-vines,  in  all  probability  it  deposits  its 
eggs  on  or  in  the  branches,  which,  when  hatched  out  into  young  larvas, 
suck  the  sap  and  weaken  the  growth  of  the  vine.  Insects  of  the  genus 
■  Aphroplwra  arc  carried  off  by  a  hymenopterous  insect,  Gorytis,  to  pro- 
vision its  nest  and  serve  as  food  for  its  young. 

-     OClastoptera{Cercopis)  proteus  is  a  small  insect,  very  prettily  marked  with 
yellow  and  black,  but  is  somewhat  variable  in  its  ornamen-    No.  as. 
tations;  it  is  only  0.15  in  length,  and  is  found  in  cranberry 
and  blueberry  fields ;  no  special  complaints  of  its  noxious  hab- 
its have  been  received  by  the  Agricultural  Department,  al- 
though various  agricultural  papers  say  it  is  a  great  pest  to 
Eastern  cranberry-growers,  injurious  to  the  cranberry  culture, 
i^'looding  the  fields  for  a  couple  of  days  would  effectually  remove  them. 
The  figure  is  considerably  magnified. 

^<Jlastoptera\Gercopis)  obtusa,  the  obtuse  or  blunt  Clastoptera  is  a  small, 
short,  broad,  and  blunt  insect,  nearly  circular  in  form ;  it       j^^,  29 
is  0.25  in  length,  and  of  a  grayish-brown  color  in  dried 
specimens,  which,  when  strongly  marked,  are  described  as 
having  three  brown  bands  anteriorly  and  a  dark  spot  near 
the  tip ;  in  the  large  specimen  figured  these  spots  are  not 
shown ;  it  is  found  on  the  black  alder. 
QFroconia  undata  is  a  tree-hopper,  of  a  brown  or  blackish  color,  hav- 


32  REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

ONo.30.  ing  the  liead,  thorax,  and  posterior  extremity  of  a  lighter  and 
brighter  brown  color ;  the  head  is  broad,  and  blunted  in  front,  and 
the.  insect  itself  is  of  an  elongated  form,  0.50  to  0.55  in  length, 
and  when  young  is  covered  with  a  bluish  powder,  which,  however, 
in  old  insects  appears  to  have  been  rubbed  oft.  These  insects  are 
injurious  to  the  grape-vine,  as  they  are  said  to  puncture  the  stems 
of  the  bunches  of  grapes,  thus  causing  them  to  wither  and  drop  off.  It 
also  sucks  the  sap  from  the  branches  and  deposits  its  eggs  in  slits  made 
in  the  stems  in  single  rows.  In  certain  localities  this  insect  is  quite  com- 
mon, and  may  bo  taken  by  sweeping  with  insect-nets  the  weeds  and 
bushes  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  grape-vines  or  among  weeds 
and  bushes.  In  the  woods  they  probably  frequent  the  wild  grape-vines, 
and  are  very  common  in  Maryland  on  blackberry-bushes. 
^  Ccelidea  (Jassus)  stch-hifasciata  is  a  tree  or  leaf  hopper,  about  0.35  in 
No.  31.  length,  having  brownish  transparent  wings,  with  two  (or 
more?)  broad  brown  stripes  across  the  wing-covers.  It  is 
very  active  and  difficult  to  capture,  except  in  long  sweep- 
nets  brushed  through  grass  and  weeds  in  meadows,  but  is 
found  on  black  alder  and  brambles. 
^  Aulacizu^Tettigonia)  mollipes  is  a  long  and  somewhat  narrow  leaf- 
No.  32.hopper,  with  a  very  long  triangular  head.  It  is  of  a  green  color, 
\,^  and  is  about  0.35  in  length.  It  is  very  active,  and  leaps,  like  the 
rest  of  the  genus  Tettigonia,,  with  great  agility,  it  was  taken 
among  weeds  and  brambles,  in  meadows,  grass,  and  cypress. 
The  leaf-hoppers  TeUigonia,  Urythroneura,  &c.,  are  small  leaping 
insects,  very  destructive  to  plants,  and  especially  to  the  grape-vine, 
whence  they  are  commonly  but  erroneously  called  thrips,  which  is  quite  a 
dififerent  insect,  and  will  be  found  figured  under  the  Orthopiera.  These 
insects  swarm  upon  certain  plants,  and  in  all  their  states,  as  larva,  pupa, 
and  imago  or  perfect  insect,  are  very  active  and  destructive,  as  they 
pierce  the  outer  skin  of  the  leaf  or  bark.  They  suck  the  sap  until  the 
foliage  turns  yellow  or  brown,  gradually  withering  away  and  dying, 
leaving  the  cast-off  coats  of  both  larva  and  pupa  adhering  to  the  sur- 
face of  leaf,  (generally  on  the  under  side,)  resembling  small  white  specks 
of  semi-transparent  skin. 
<^  Mrythroneura  (Tettigonia)  vitis,  or  the  vine-hopper,  is  a  pretty  fair 
specimen  of  all  the  leaf-hoppers ;  wo  will,  therefore,  give  a  condensed 
history  of  their  habits  and  natural  history.  These  insects  are  supposed 
to  pass  the  winter  in  the  perfect  state,  hibernating  among  fallen  leaves 
and  other  rubbish.  Some  naturalists,  however,  deny  this,  and  say  that 
the  eggs  for  the  spring  brood  are  laid  during  the  preceding  autumn. 
However  this  may  be,  the  young  larvae  appear  in  June,  from  eggs  laid  by 
the  females  which  have  survived  the  winter.  The  larv£B  differ  from  the 
parent  insects  chiefly  in  not  possessing  wings,  but  they  are  able  to  leap 
with  great  agility  when  disturbed,  and  are  equally  as  destructive  as  the 
perfect  insect,  as  from  the  time  they  are  hatched  they  suck  the  sap  from 
the  leaf  and  injure  the  vitality  of  the  plant.  In  general,  they  frequent 
the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  and  sometimes  appear  in  such  numbers  as 
to  be  a  great  annoyance  to  casual  passers  by,  and  so  injure  the  vines  as 
to  cause  the  foliage  to  turn  yellow  or  brown,  and  finally  to  become  dry, 
stiff,  and  brittle,  and  fall  off.  These  insects,  as  before  stated,  are  gen- 
erally, but  erroneously,  known  to  our  farmers  as  thrips.  They  cast 
their  skins  at  least  three  times,  leaving  their  old  cast  skins  like  white 
specks  on  the  leaf,  and  are  very  lively,  hopping  away  like  fleas  when 
disturbed.  They  attain  maturity  in  June  and  July,  fresh  broods  ap- 
pearing throughout  summer  and  autumn  until  the  end  of  the  season. 


REPORT   OF  THE  ENT0M0L0<3IST.  33 

When  fully  grown,  the  larv£B  acquire  perfect  wings,  and  are  able  to  fly 
from  vine  to  vine,  where  they  lay  fresh  eggs  for  future  generations. 
The  real  Erythroneura  vitis,  or  grape-leaf  hopper,  is  described  as  of  a 
pale  yellow  color,  with  two  blood-red  bands  and  a  third  dusky  band  at 
the  apex.  The  anterior  band  occupies  the  base  of  the  thorax,  wing- 
covers,  and  scutel ;  the  middle  band  ends  in  a  much  narrower,  nearly 
square,  spot  on  the  middle  of  the  outer  side  of  the  wing-covers;  it  is  0.13  in 
length.  Por  the  destruction  of  this  insect  syringing  with  strong  tobacco- 
water  has  been  recommended,  also  dusting  with  lime,  sulphur,  helle- 
bore and  red  pepper,  and  fumigation  with  tobacco.  Syringing  with  very 
dilute  carbolic  acid  and  water  have  also  been  recommended,  but  are  said 
not  to  be  of  much  utility  unless  applied  almost  every  day.  Carrying  a 
lighted  torch  through  the  vineyard  at  night  is  said  to  destroy  multi- 
tudes, as,  attracted  by  the  fire,  they  fly  into  the  flame  and  are  burnt. 
This  should  be  repeated  at  short  intervals.  Spading  up  the  ground 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  vines  fate  in  the  autumn  and  early 
in  the  spring  would  probably  expose  the  perfect  insects  to  the  frost 
and  cold,  if  it  hibernates  as  before  stated.  In  a  green-house  or  grapery, 
ai  large,  somewhat  shallow  vessel,  similar  to  a  washing-tub,  partially 
filled  with  water,  might  be  placed,  and  a  small  quantity  of  oil  poured 
over  it  so  as  to  form  a  slight  film  upon  the  surface,  and  a  brick  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  tub  with  one  end  above  the  level  of  the  water  and 
oil,  on  which  to  place  a  candlestick  or  lantern,  so  that  at  night  the 
candle  or  lantern  might  be  lighted,  and  the  vines  disturbed,  when  many 
of  the  insects,  naturally  flying  around  the  light,  would  fall  into  the  tub, 
and  the  oil  clogging  their  wings,  they  could  not  escape. 
^Erythroneura  (Tettigonia)  basalts  is  the  most  numerous  species  in  this 
vicinity,  and  differs  very  much  in  ornamentation,  some  of  c^o  -^-^ 
them  being  very  much  spotted  with  red,  while  others  have 
almost  spotless  wings  and  a  mere  reddish  tinge  here  and 
there.  It  is  very  small,  and  about  0.05  in  length. 
^ DiedrocepJiaJa  (Tettigonia)  quadrivittata  is  a  very  pretty  in- 
No.34.  ®^^*'  ^'^^  ^^  length,  and  is  of  a  light-green  color,  with 
'  four  distinct  longitudinal  stripes,  meeting  on  apex  or 
edge  of  the  wings.  We  have  taken  these  insects  near 
grape-vines,  but  they  appear  to  be  more  numerous  in 
meadows  and  amid  rank  herbage  and  blackberry- 
bushes.  These  figures  are  magnified. 
The  PsylMoi  are  small  insects,  very  much  like  the  Cicada,  or  harvest-fly 
in  miniature,  having  the  wings  of  both  sexes  deflexed  at  the  sides  t^ 
of  the  body.  As  larvae,  pupse,  and  perfect  insects,  they  subsist  on 
the  juices  of  plants;  the  larvse  are  flat.  A  very  pretty  species, 
Fsylla  rliois,  having  deflexed  black  wings  and  an  orange-yellow 
thorax,  is  very  common  near  the  Maryland  Agricultural  College 
in  July  and  August  on  the  common  sumach ;  it  is  very  small, 
being  only  about  0.10  in  length.    The  figure  is  magnified. 

Fsylla  pyri,  or  the  pear-tree  flea-louse,  is  very  injurious  to  the  pear- 
trees.  It  is  also  found  on  apple-trees,  and  we  have  taken  them  in  New 
York  as  late  as  the  middle  of  December  sucking  out  the  sap.  The  pupje 
of  Fsylla  pyri  are  very  small,  of  a  flat  form  ;  thewing-cases  are  black;  the 
abdomen  and  body  are  yellow,  barred  with  black,  and  the  thorax  is  also 
yellow,  or  brownish,  spotted  or  ornamented  with  black.  The  perfect 
insect  is  about  0.20  to  0.25  in  length,  and  has  four  transparent  win^rs, 
which,  when  the  insect  is  at  rest,  form  an  angle  over  the  body  like  the 
roof  of  a  house.  These  wings  are  hyaline,  veined  with  black  veins,  and 
3a 


34  REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

having  ablackish  spot  or  mark  on  the  lower  side  of  the  upper  pair.  The 
larvae,  pupae,  and  perfect  insects  appear  to  prefer  the  side  of  a  branch 
„  „^  just  above  a  bud  or  in  the  axils  ofthe  leaf-stalk,  and  the  head  is 
■  generally  hidden  under  the  bud.  These  insects  appear  to  be 
gregarious,  and  fond  of  herding  together  in  groups  of  twelve 
or  more.  They  elaborate  and  void  a  sweet  clammy  substance 
like  honey-dew,  derived  from  the  sap  of  the  tree,  which,  fall- 
ing on  the  leaves  and  limbs  below,  gather  all  the  dust  and  dirt, 
causing  the  tree  to  have  a  very  filthy  appearance.  This  so- 
called  honey-dew  is  generally  found  on  the  upper  surface  of 
the  leaves  and  branches,  and  evidently  comes  from  insects 
feeding  directly  over  or  above  the  clammy  places.  As  it  is 
voided  it  falls  on  the  leaves  below,  and  is  eagerly  sought  after 
by  ants,  which,  when  a  tree  is  much  infested  by  Psylla  pyri, 
may  be  seen  in  swarms  running  up  and  down  the  trunk. 
The  same  remedies  may  be  recommended  for  these  insects  as  are  men- 
tioned for  plant-lice  and  leaf- hoppers.  They  are  also  probably  destroyed 
by  chickadees  and  golden-crested  wrens,  as  wo  have  seen  these  little 
birds  hanging  head  downward  on  a  particularly-infested  tree  in  Novem- 
ber and  even  in  dead  of  winter,  busily  employed  in  searching  every  hole 
and  corner  for  hidden  insects.    The  figure  is  magnified. 

The  AphideSy  or  plant-lice,  are  exceedingly  injurious  to  horticulture, 
inserting  their  long  beaks  into  the  tender  shoots  and  leaves  of  plants 
and  then  sucking  out  their  sap.  These  insects  are  generally  of  very 
small  size,  having  antennae  of  5  to  7  joints  and  a  long  three-jointed 
beak,  or  proboscis,  for  puncturing  plants,  and  then  sucking  out  the  sap. 
Their  bodies  are  soft,  rounded  or  flask-shaped,  and  apparently  only  con- 
sist of  a  skin  filled  with  a  liquid ;  their  legs  are  long  and  very  slender, 
and  many  of  them  have  two  upright  processes  or  tubercles  on  the  hinder 
part  of  the  abdomen,  from  which  a  sweet  gummy  substance  is  occa- 
sionally ejected,  which  is  eagerly  sought  for  by  ants  and  other  small 
insects.  The  wings  are  generally  transparent,  and  the  upper  pair  are 
much  larger  than  the  lower,  and  are  furnished  with  strong  nerves  or 
veins,  which  pass  outward  from  the  costal  or  outer  marginal  vein ;  these 
wings  are  very  much  deflexed  at  the  side  of  the  body  when  the  insect  is 
at  rest.  Dr.  Burnet  states  that  in  early  autumn  the  colonies  of  plant- 
lice  are  composed  of  both  males  and  females ;  the  female  after  pair- 
ing deposits  her  eggs  and  dies.  Early  in  the  spring  the  eggs  are 
hatched,  and  the  young  plant-lice  puncture  the  plant,  suck  the  sap,  and 
increase  in  size,  the  whole  brood  consisting  of  individuals  capable  of 
reproducing  their  species  without  any  connection  with  a  male  by  a 
species  of  gemmation  or  budding  forth.  These  summer  broods  are 
wingless.  The  second  generation  and  several  others  pursue  the  same 
course,  being  sexless,  or  at  least  without  the  trace  of  a  male  among 
them,  and  so  on  indefinitely  until  the  autumn,  when  winged  individuals 
are  produced,  which  lay  eggs  for  the  spring  brood  of  sexual  individuals. 
Bonnet  obtained  nine  generations  and  Duval  seven  by  this  process  of 
gemmation  in  one  season,  and  Packard  states  that  Aphis  dianthi,  the 
plant-louse  of  the  pink,  continued  to  propagate  by  gemmation  without 
any  males  for  four  years,  in  a  constantly-heated  room.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  the  final  autumnal  set  of  plant-lice  were  males  and 
females  alone,  but  Dr.  Burnet  states  that  on  examining  the  internal 
organs  of  the  winged  individuals  many  of  them  were  not  females 
proper,  but  simply  the  ordinary  gemmiferous  or  summer  form.  As 
there  are  peculiar  plant-lice  infesting  different  plants,  the  number  of 
species  must  necessarily  be  very  great. 


REPORT   OP   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST.  35 

As  before  stated,  ants  are  very  fond  of  the  sweet  gummy  substance 
miscalled  houey-dew,  wliicli  is  ejected  from  the  anal  tabes  of  plant-lice, 
and  it  has  been  repeatedly  stated  on  good  authority  that  the  ants  cap- 
ture the  plant-lice,  carry  them  to  their  nests,  and  keep  them  there,  like 
milch-cows,  for  the  sake  of  having  a  good  supply  of  their  favorite  food 
near  at  hand.  Dr.  Walsh  states  that  Aphides  feeding  on  annual  plants 
hibernate  in  the  imago  or  perfect-insect  state.  To  show  the  injury 
done  in  England  by  these  minute  insects,  Kirby  and  Spence  long  ago 
stated  that  their  damage  to  hops  alone  made  the  difference  of  the  duty 
often  as  much  as  £200,000  (or  in  the  neighborhood  of  81,000,000)  per 
annum,  more  or  less,  in  proportion  as  the  fly  prevailed  or  otherwise. 
Happily,  however,  plant-lice  are  subject  to  a  great  many  enemies  which 
materially  diminish  their  numbers.  Almost  all  the  lady-birds  {Coc- 
cinelUdw)  feed  upon  them  in  both  larva  and  perfect  state.  Minute  hy- 
menopterous  insects,  such  as  ApMdius,  &c.,  lay  their  eggs  in  the  body  of 
the  plant-louse,  which,  hatching  into  little  grubs,  eat  out  their  interior 
and  thus  destroy  them.  (See  Eymenoptera.)  Several  plant-bugs,  Nabis 
feruSj  Fhymata  erosa,  Eeduvius  raptorms  and  midtispinosns,  pierce  them 
with  their  beak,  and  suck  out  their  juices.  (See  Heteroptera.)  Syrplms 
and  LeucopiSj  two- winged  flies,  also  destroy  them,  (see  Diptera ;) 
Chrysopa,  or  the  lace- wing  fly,  andAgrion,  a  dragon-fly,  {see  Neiiroptera,) 
feed  upon  them,  and  many  others,  too  numerous  to  mention  here,  all 
join  in  this  indiscriminate  war  upon  the  helpless  but  noxious  plant- 
lice.  If  any  person  interested  in  grape-culture  will  take  a  single  leaf  of 
a  grape-vine  infested  with  plant-lice  and  observe  it  closely,  he  will  see 
several  individuals  differing  from  the  rest,  being  much  swollen  and  of 
a  grayish-brown  color,  instead  of  the  usual  green,  and  each  having  a 
round  hole  in  the  abdomen.  This  is  done  by  a  small  hymenopterous  or 
four-winged  fly,  which  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  body  of  the  doomed 
plant-louse,  which,  hatching  into  a  minute  grub,  devours  the  inside  of 
its  victim,  and  after  changing  into  a  pupa  inside  the  body  of  the  aphis 
and  finally  into  the  perfect  fly,  cuts  its  way  out  into  the  open  air,  and 
emerges  through  this  circular  hole  in  the  skin  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
new  broods  of  aphis-destroying  flies,  leaving  the  empty  hard  gray  skin 
of  its  victim  still  clinging  convulsively  to  the  leaf.  The  number  of  these 
empty  skins  with  holes  in  them  on  some  of  the  vine  leaves  will  tes- 
tify how  much  good  this  little  insect  does  to  the  grape-culturist  by  de- 
stroying his  enemies.  Aphides  are  likewivse  destroyed  by  other  hymen- 
optera,  Fassalcecus  mandibidaris,  which  stores  them  up  in  its  cell  or  nest 
as  food  for  its  young.  Trypoxylon,  Allotria,  and  many  of  the  Chalcididce 
and  other  Hymenoptera  are  also  benefactors  by  destroying  multitudes  of 
these  troublesome  plant-lice. 

Aphis  mali,  apple  plant-louse.  The  females  deposit  their  eggs,  which 
are  small,  oval,  and  black,  on  twigs  and  bark  in  the  No.  37. 

autumn;  the  insect  is  hatched  out  the  next  spring,  [Magnified.] 
and  feeds  upon  the  sap  of  the  tree.  The  first  broods 
are  all  females,  which  in  a  short  time,  without  any 
intercourse  with  the  males,  give  birth  to  living  young 
by  the  procees  of  gemmation,  as  before  described. 
These  also  produce  other  young  ones,  which  are  all 
females  as  long  as  the  summer  lasts,  and  it  is  only 
in  the  autumn  that  males  are  produced,  which, 
uniting  with  the  females,  become  the  parents  of  the  eggs  for  the  follow- 
ing spring  brood,  thus  bearing  living  young  all  the  summer,  and  laying 
eggs  which  can  withstand,  the  frosts  of  the.  winter,  in  autumn  for  the 
(oJlowing  spring  seas^Qiij  whiM  the  parent  insects  in  winter  are  de-. 


36 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 


stroyed  by  the  wet  and  cold  weather  and  alternate  freezing  and  thaw- 
ing. These  insects,  as  larva,  pupa,  and  perfect  insect,  are  found  gener- 
ally on  terminal  shoots  and  on  the  under  side  of  leaves,  which  become 
distorted  and  unhealthy  from  their  repeated  attacks.  The  male  is 
winged,  and  has  a  blackish,  thorax,  and  is  0.05  to  0.08  in  length  to  the 
end  of  abdomen.  The  female  is  green,  with  a  row  of  black  marks  down 
each  side,  and  has  no  wings,  and  is  rather  larger  than  the  male.  These 
insects  eject  a  species  of  honey-dew,  or  sweet,  sticky  substance,  from 
two  projecting  horns  or  tubercles  on  each  side  of  the  hinder  part  of  the 
abdomen,  which  is  greedily  eaten  by  ants  and  other  small  insects. 
Aphis  avencc,  grain  or  oat-plant  louse,  does  much  injury  to  grain,  and 


No.  38. 
[Magnified.] 


especially  to  oats,  but  is  also  found  on 
wheat,  rye,  and  other  cereals.  Their  hab- 
its are  much  the  same  as  the  before-men- 
tioned plant-lice,  excepting  that  it  is  said 
that  although  their  honey-tubes  are  well 
developed,  these  insects  emit  no  honey,  and, 
in  consequence,  are  not  followed  by  ants. 
It  is  also  stated  that  they  freeze  on  the 
stalks  in  winter  and  revive  in  the  spring. 
The  colors  of  some  specimens  sent  for  ex- 
amination to  the  Department  varied  con- 
siderably, some  of  them  being  of  a  lively 
or  dull  green,  while  others  were  of  a  de- 
cidedly brown  color.  The  feet  and  knees 
are  generally"  of  a  darker  or  nearly  black 
color ;  length,  0.05. 

Apliis  gossypii,  or  the  cotton-plant  louse, 
is  a  great  nuisance  to  the  planters,  espe- 
cially when  the  i^lants  are  very  small,  as 
then  they  are  more  liable  to  succumb  to  the  attacks  of  these  insects, 


No.  39. 
[MagBtified.] 


as  by  sucking  out  the  sap  they  distort 
the  stems,  and  in  fact  frequently  kill  the 
plants  before  they  have  attained  suifi- 
cient  maturity  and  strength  to  withstand 
their  repeated  attacks.  Their  habits  are 
much  the  same  as  the  rest  of  the  Aphides, 
and  their  colors  vary  from  green  to  a  de- 
cided yellow,  striped  with  black  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  thorax.  A  more  full 
description  of  them  may  be  found  in  the 
Patent-Of&ce  Agricultural  Eeport  for 
1855. 

A2'>his  persicce  is  destructive  to  the 
peach-tree.  Harris  says  that  larvaj,  pu- 
l)se,  and  perfect  insects  live  together  in 
crowds  under  the  leaves,  causing  them 
by  their  punctures  to  become  thickened  and  curled,  forming  hollows, 
with  corresponding  crispy  and  reddish  swellings  above,  and  finally 
to  fall  to  the  ground.  But  may  not  this  so-called  curl  be  caused 
by  a  fungoid  growth  or  by  a  sudden  change  of  temperature,  as  some- 
times the  Aphides  are  not  seen  until  long  after  the  curl  has  been  observed, 
and  frequently  not  a  single  plant-louse  is  to  be  found  in  or  on  the  badly- 
curled  and  deformed  leaves  I  We  have,  moreover,  often  observed  that 
this  so-called  curl  appeared  almost  immediately  after  very  cold  nights 
and  warm  days  in  the  spring,  and  the  leaves  were  yet  very  young  and 
tender.    These  deformed  leaves  frequently  fall  off  and  are  replaced  by 


REPORT   OF   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST.  37 

others  before  the  end  of  the  season,  but  it  must  necessarily  very  much 
injure  and  weaken  the  tree  to  lose  its  leaves  before  its  natural  season 
for  shedding  them.  Winged  individuals  of  the  Harris  peach-tree  plant- 
louse  are  described  as  black,  with  the  under  sides  of  abdomen  dull  green ; 
shanks  and  bases  of  thighs  dull  brownish,  and  the  horns  or  honey-tubes 
as  long  as  the  abdomen.  Dr.  Fitch  considers  it  different  from  the 
peach  aphis  of  England.  Colonel  Wilkins,  of  Eiverside,  near  Chester- 
town,  Md.,  a  very  extensive  peach-grower,  last  spring  wrote  to  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  that  an  aphis  or  plant-louse  similar  to  those 
infesting  his  peach-tree  leaves  was  at  work  on  the  roots  also,  and  was 
killing  them  by  hundreds.  Prof.  P.  E.  Uhler,  of  the  Peabody  Library 
in  Baltimore,  to  whom  Colonel  Wilkins  applied,  visited  the  infested 
peach-orchards,  and  found  the  statement  to  be  perfectly  correct,  and 
that  an  underground  aphis  or  plant-louse,  not  differing  from  those  on 
the  leaves,  was  doing  immense  injury  to  the  young  trees  by  sucking 
out  the  sap.  Professor  Uhler  also  stated  that  both  insects  are  different 
from  the  ApJiis  persicce  above  mentioned,  and  probably  is  a  new  species, 
closely  allied  to,  if  not  identical  with,  the  Aphis  clirysanthemi  of  Europe. 
The  insects  on  both  roots  and  leaves  were  about  0.08  in  length,  with  the 
contour  of  a  broad  Florence  flask,  of  a  blackish-brown  color,  and  the 
two  varieties  could  not  be  distinguished  from  each  other  when  placed 
Bide  by  side.  If  these  peach  plant-lice  work  under  ground  on  the  roots, 
would  it  not  be  advisable  to  saturate  the  earth  around  the  trees  with 
hot  whale-oil,  or  soft-soap  suds,  or  dilute  carbolic  acid  ?  Tobacco  or  lime 
water  poured  around  the  roots  in  spring  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the 
ground  might  destroy  the  first  broods  and  thus  diminish  their  numbers. 
Quassia  chips,  soaked  in  boiling  water,  have  also  been  recommended,  and 
perhaps  boiling  water  poured  over  the  roots  in  the  spring  might  destroy 
them,  but  might  also  injure  the  tree,  although  many  farmers  who  have 
tried  the  boiling- water  process,  as  recommended  for  the  peach-tree  borer, 
{JEgeria  exitiosa,)  a  lepedopterous  insect,  have  reported  that  the  insects 
were  destroyed,while  the  trees  remained  uninjured.  These  experiments, 
however,  were  tried  in  winter,  when  the  trees  were  torpid.  When  in 
greenhouses,  plant-lice  may  be  destroyed  by  tobacco  smoke.  Syringing 
the  plants  with  whale-oil,  or  soft-soap  suds  strong  enough  to  kill  the  lice, 
but  not  strong  enough  to  injure  the  plants,  is  also  recommended.  Lime- 
dust  sprinkled  over  the  plants  in  gardens  is  said  to  be  beneficial ;  a  solu- 
tion of  sal  soda  is  also  said  to  have  been  used  with  good  effect,  and  Dr. 
Packard  recommends  30  parts  of  unrectified  cheap  petroleum  mixed 
with  100  parts  of  water  to  be  sprinkled  over  the  plants.  As  almost 
every  kind  of  plant  has  its  own  peculiar  plant-louse — ^indeed,  many 
species  of  plant-lice  are  said  to  inhabit  the  same  tree,  and  it  is  likewise 
said  that  if  these  lice  are  transplanted  to  other  kinds  of  plants  they  will 
refuse  to  take  nourishment  and  will  die — it  will  be  useless  to  enumerate 
more  than  we  have  already  mentioned,  excepting  to  observe  that  almost 
all  plant-lice  have  very  much  the  same  habits,  sucking  the  sap  from 
plants,  shrubs,  and  trees,  and  living  either  above  or  under  ground,  and 
the  number  of  species  cannot  be  known  until  a  catalogue  is  made  of 
this  genus  alone. 

Laclmus  caryw,  or  hickory  aphis,  is  a  large  aphis  found  in  clusters  on 
the  under  side  of  limbs  of  hickory,  oak,  and  basswood  and  Ho.  40. 
walnut,  July  and  August,  puncturing  the  bark  and  sucking 
the  sap.  The  insect  is  0.25  in  length ;  to  tips  of  the  wing, 
0.40 ;  and  across  the  wings,  0.72.  It  is  of  a  black  color, 
coated  with  a  bluish- white  powder.  The  thighs  are  of  a 
clear  tawny  red,  and  the  wings  are  transparent.  Dr.  Walsh 
observed  on  the  same  tree  numerous  aoterous  females,  which- 


38 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


No.  41. 


lived  maDy  days,  and  laid  their  eggs  in  confinement,  but  died  with- 
out assuming  wings. 

Another  species,  Lachmis  stroM,  or  the  white-pine  aphis,  is  found  on 
white  pine,  and  sometimes  gives  the  bark  of  the  trees  a  peculiar  black 
appearance.  The  eggs  are  oval-elongate,  shining  black  in  color,  and 
are  attached  in  regular  rows  of  from  five  to  twenty,  but  usually  in  regu- 
lar rows  of  eight,  to  the  thread-like  leaves  of  the  white  pine  in  Septem- 
ber. The  females  are  wingless. 
Eriosoma  lanigera,  or  the  woolly  apple-tree  blight.  These  insects  ap- 
propriate for  their  generic  nametwo  Greek  words, 
signifying  wool  and  body,  the  insect  being  par- 
tially enveloped  in  a  cottony  or  wool-like  secre- 
tion, furnished  from  its  own  body.  The  eggs  are 
deposited  in  crotches  or  cracks  of  the  branches 
or  bark,  often  at  or  near  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  or  on  new  shoots  springing  from  the 
parent  tree.  They  are  mostly  enveloped  in  a 
cotton-like- substance,  the  young  insects  in  a  fine 
down,  and  are  hatched  oat  in  the  spring.  As 
larva,  pupa,  or  perfect  insect  they  are  equally 
injurious,  sucking  the  sap,  and,  when  numerous, 
do  much  injury  to  the  trees.  These  insects  are 
0.10.  to  0.12  in  length,  and  are  gregarious,  feed- 
ing in  societies,  which,  when  seen  from  a  short  distance,  resemble  small 
bunches  of  cotton  adhering  to  the  trunk  or  branches  of  the  tree.  The 
insect,  when  denuded  of  its  cottony  covering,  is  egg-shaped,  and  of  a 
dull  reddish-brown  color,  with  blackish  head  and  feet  j  when  undisturbed 
and  feeding  on  the  tree,  it  has  a  tuft  of  white  down  on  the  hind  part  of 
the  body,  which  is  very  easily  detached  when  roughly  handled.  These 
woolly  plant-lice  also  produce  warts  or  excresences  with  their  powerful 
beaks,  and,  when  in  great  numbers  on  a  young  tree,  cause  the  leaves  to 
turn  yellow,  wither,  and  fall.  The  young  ones  are  produced  alive  all 
summer,  but  in  the  fall  the  females  lay  eggs  which  are  able  to  withstand 
the  cold  of  winter  and  hatch  out  into  young  lice  the  following  spring. 
Dr.  Yerrill  states  that,  in  Connecticut,  in  the  middle  of  October,  among 
the  wingless  neuters,  a  large  number  of  males  and  females  appear,  hav- 
ing well-formed  and  rather  large  wings,  in  other  respects  closely  resem- 
bling the  rest,  and  having  but  little  down  on  their  bodies,  very  plump, 
and  of  a  black  color,  the  winged  females  of  which  are  able  to  fly  from 
tree  to  tree  to  deposit  the  eggs  to  be  hatched  out  next  spring.  When 
the  downy  covering  of  these  insects  is  removed  by  wind  or  rain,  another 
supply  is  readily  produced,  and  they  are  said  to  be  able  to  withstand  a 
very  considerable  degree  of  cold  without  perishing.  These  insects  have 
no  honey-tubes,  but  frequently  eject  drops  of  a  sticky  substance  from 
the  extremity  of  their  bodies.  In  order  to  destroy  these  pests,  it  has  been 
recommended  to  have  the  insects  well  scrubbed  off  with  a  stiff  brush, 
and  the  infested  parts  of  the  tree  immediately  afterward  well  covered 
with  a  varnish  of  shellac.  Painting  the  injured  places  with  a  thick 
coating  of  whitewash,  well  mixed  withsoft  soap  or  weak  glue  water, 
will  also  destroy  the  insects,  and  has  been  highly  recommended.  Erio- 
soma imli  of  Europe  is  said  by  C.  H.  Sorsby,  F.  E.  S.,  in  the  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Microscopical  Science,  in  an  article  on  the  coloring-matter  of 
some  of  the  Aphides,  to  produce  a  red  coloring-matter  between  cochineal 
and  the  haemoglobin  of  vertebrate  animals. 

Eriosoma  {Pemphigiis)  pyri,  or  the  apple-tree  root-louse,  sometimes 
does  much  injury  to  apple- trees,  &c.,  by  forming  galls  on  the  roots,  like 


REPORT    OF    THE    ENTOMOLOGIST. 


39 


small  potatoes,  2  or  3  iuclies  iu  diameter,  just  beneath  the  ground. 
Walsh  does  not  think  this  insect  identical  with  that  which  is  doiaj?  so 
much  damage  in  Europe,  either  from  description  or  habits.  Pouring 
boiling  water  over  the  rootshas  been  recommended  as  a  remedy,  but  some 
of  our  correspondents  have  complained  of  their  trees  being  injured  by  its 
application.  However,  it  is  said  that  water  heated  from  120°  to  150°  will 
kill  the  lice  without  injuring  the  tree.  This  remedy  may  serve  among 
young  trees,  but  large  old  apple-trees  would  probably  not  be  benefited 
by  this  application.  These  root-lice  are  destroyed  by  several  parasites, 
among  which  are  reported  EreopliUus  mali,  a  ChaJcis,  (see  JBymenoptera;) 
Flinria  radicimi,  a  two-winged  fly,  (see  Diptera,)  &c. 

An  insect  closely  allied  to  JEriosoma  imhricata  is  found  very  abun- 
dantly on  birch  in  Maryland  in  October.  No.  42. 
These  insects  cluster  together  on  the  twigs, 
and  have  the  appearance  of  down  or  masses 
of  cotton ;  when  disturbed,  they  present  the 
very  singular  appearance  of  many  small  spots 
of  snow-like  wool  or  down  moving  up  and 
down  by  jerks,  the  hinder  iDarts  of  the  insects 
being  covered  with  this  downy  secretion.  They 
are  gregarious,  and  cluster  together  as  close 
as  they  can  crowd  on  the  ends  of  the  twigs. 
In  the  autumn  the  winged  insects  appear;  the 
wingless  individuals  are  of  a  pale  or  yellow- 
green  color,  veined  with  brown,  and  are  0.05 
to  0.06  in  length.  This  insect,  as  before 
stated,  resembles  the  Eriosoma  imhricata,  or 
beech-tree  blight,  which  is  described  as 
"woolly  lice  infesting  the  teinninal  twigs  of 
the  beech,  and  which  in  the  wingless  state  have  the  habit  of  continually 
wagging  their  tails  up  and  down."    The  figures  are  magnified. 

Eriosoma  tesselata  was  found  on  birch  iu  Maryland,  in  clusters  near 
the  ends  of  twigs,  in  the  autumn.    It  is  of  a  black  color,  No.  43. 

with  white  spots  on  the  fore  part  of  its  body,  and  is 
covered  with  a  snow  white  down  or  wool  on  its  hinder 
part,  like  those  before  described.  With  its  woolly  cov- 
ering, the  wingless  females  measure  about  0.15  to  0.20 
in  length. 

A  species  of  Ehozohius,  or  underground  plant-louse, 
was  one  season  very  destructive  to  the  cultivated  ver- 
No.  44.     benas  in  the  gardens  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C,  clustering 
in  masses  on  the  roots  underground,  and  suck- 
ing the  sap  from  the  plants,  and  thereby  so 
weakening  them  that  many  died.    Most  prob- 
ably, however,  had  a  strong  mixture  of  tobacco  and  water, 
or  soap-suds,  been  applied  in  time  to  the  roots,  many  of  the 
plants  might  have  been  saved ;  but  the  cause  of  the  injury 
being  hidden  underground,  nothing  could  be  seen  to  indi- 
cate that  the  plant  was  not  in  perfect  health,  until  suddenly  the 
leaves  turned  yellow  and  the  plant  died.    These  insects  were 
about  0,10  to  0.13  in  length,  of  a  swollen  round  form,  and  ap- 
parently bloated  almost  to  bursting.    They  were  of  a  brown 
color,  and  covered  with  a  whitish  powder  or  bloom ;  no  winged  indi- 
viduals were  observed  among  them  at  any  time. 
Femphigus  viti/oUce  of  Fitch,  1856,  {Bactylospharaj  Sohimer,  1867J 


40  REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

No.  45.  grape-vine-leaf  gall-louse.  The  insect  forms  galls  on  the  un- 
der side  of  the  grape-vine  leaves,  and  although  they  appear 
to  do  comparatively  little  injury  to  the  vine,  they  are  ex- 
tremely interesting  to  vine-growers,  as  having  been  said  by 
Professor  Eiley  and  other  entomologists  to  be  another  form 
of  the  Phylloxera  vastatrix  or  the  grape-vine-root  gall-louse, 
so  destructive  to  the  vineyards  in  France  and  elsewhere. 
The  female  of  the  grape-vine-leaf  gall-louse,,  after  fixing  her- 
self on  the  upper  side  of  a  leaf,  by  constant  suction  and  the  irrita- 
tion produced  by  continued  puncture,  causes  a  gall  to  swell  irreg- 
ularly on  the  under  side,  while  the  upper  side  gradually  becomes  downy 
or  hairy  and  partially  closes,  forming  a  little  bag  on  the  under  side, 
with  a  small  opening  on  the  upper  surface,  surrounded  with  hair-like 
filaments.  In  this  bag  or  gall  the  female  lives,  and  deposits  from  fifty  to 
some  hundreds  of  small  yellow  eggs.  Dr.  Shimer  states  that  there  are 
600  eggs  in  one  gall,  which  is  doubted  by  Walsh,  who  estimates  that 
probably  two  hundred  eggs  will  be  the  average  number  laid  by  one 
female.  The  figure  is  magnified. 
Phylloxera  vastatrix,  or  the  grape-vine-root  gall-louse,  is  by  many  ento- 
No.  4G.  mologists  supposed  to  be  another  form  of  the  Pemphigus  viti- 
/bZicB  above  mentioned,  but  that,  instead  of  living  above  ground 
and  forming  hollow  bag-like  galls  on  the  leaves,  it  lives  under- 
ground on  the  roots,  upon  which  it  forms  knotty  swellings  or 
galls.  Mr.  Eiley,  who  has  paid  more  attention  to  the  natural 
history  and  habits  of  this  insect  than  any  other  entomologist 
in  this  country,  is  of  the  above  opinion.  The  young  of  the 
root-inhabiting  typo  {Phylloxera  vastatrix)  are  absolutely  undistin- 
guishable  from  those  hatched  in  the  leaf-galls,  {Pemphigus  mtifoliw 
of  Fitch,)  and  the  gravid  apterous  female  drfters  in  no  respect 
from  the  mother  gall-louse.  There  is,  however,  a  different  egg-pro- 
ducing form,  which,  as  it  molts,  becomes  tubercled  and  more  elon- 
gate or  pear-shaped.  Some  of  these  tubercled  individuals  remain 
without  wings,  while  others  acquire  wings.  The  insect  is  found  on  the 
roots  in  all  stages  during  the  summer  months,  and  in  spring,  when  the 
sap  begins  to  circulate,  eggs  are  deposited,  and  the  young  lice  by  sucking 
produce  the  swellings  produced  on  the  roots.  The  winged  lice  begin  to 
emerge  from  the  earth  as  early  as  July,  and  the  female  has  only  two  or 
three  large  eggs  in  her  body ;  and  Professor  Eiley  says  that  her  whole 
duty  in  life  is  to  fly  off  and  consign  her  two  or  three  eggs  to  some  grape- 
vine or  bud,  and  that  the  lice  hatching  from  these  eggs  constitute  the 
first  gall-producing  mothers  that  form  the  excrescences  on  the  leaves  and 
have  a  great  number  of  eggs.  These  insects  attack  both  leaves  and 
roots  in  the  summer  at  the  same  time,  but  the  roots  appear  to  be  less 
infested  when  the  leaf-galls  are  abundant,  and  may  be  extremely 
abundant  on  the  roots  when  no  galls  whatever  are  seen  on  the  leaf.  In 
order  to  prove  the  identity  of  the  leaf-gall  louse  with  the  root-gall  louse 
of  the  grape-vine,  it  is  stated  that  very  young  gall-lice  hatched  from  the 
leaf-galls  have  been  transferred  to  the  roots,  and  by  successfully  feeding 
them  on  roots  the  smooth-skinned  gall-inhabiting  typ6  gave  birth  to  the 
tubercled  root-inhabiting  type.  In  our  own  experience,  however,  as  an 
experiment,  several  small  vines  were  placed  in  a  kind  of  Wardian  case, 
having  the  roots  covered  with  the  swellings  and  the  root-inhabiting 
tjiDe,  {Phylloxera  vastatrix.)  Other  healthy  vines  were  also  potted  and 
placed  in  juxtaposition  to  the  infested  specimens,  in  order  to  see  if  the 
gall-inhabiting  type  would  make  their  appearance  in  the  spring  on  the 
leaves.  The  vines  wintered  safely,  and  in  the  spring  and  summer  pro- 
duced large  healthy  leaves  on  which  no  galls  whatever  made  their  ap- 


REPORT   OF   THE    ENTOMOLOGIST. 


41 


pearance.  In  tbe  Departmental  greenhouse  a  few  of  the  grape-vines 
were  so  much  infested  with  the  leaf-gall  lice  that  they  had  to  be  cut 
down ;  still  the  other  vines  in  the  same  house  were  never  troubled  with 
the  root-inhabiting  insect;  and  when  many  dozens  of  vines,  both  under 
glass  and  under  common  cultivation  in  the  open  air,  were  closely 
searched  by  M.  Planchon  to  prove  the  existence  of  the  root-louse  among 
the  vines,  only  half  a  dozen  specimens  could  be  procured.  We  ourselves 
will  not  express  an  opinion  on  the  subject  of  the  identity  of  the  two 
insects,  as  we  have  no  opportunity  to  watch  the  root-lice  in  our  neigh- 
borhood, but  will  merely  state  that,  although  the  leaf-gall  louse  was 
very  plentiful  in  our  gardens  one  year,  not  a  single  root-louse  could  be 
found  either  the  same  season  or  the  next,  and,  although  much  wanted 
for  experiment,  not  one  could  be  procured  excepting  by  sending  to  the 
other  States  where  they  were  said  to  abound.  The  remedies  for  this 
root-louse  of  the  grape,  recommended  by  various  authorities,  are  too 
numerous  for  a  short  report  like  this;  but  watering  the  roots  with 
hot  soap-suds  or  tobacco-water  has  been  highly  spoken  of.  Carbolic 
acid  added  to  the  water  at  the  rate  of  one-half  of  1  per  cent.,  poured 
into  holes  made  with  a  crow-bar,  will  permeate  the  ground  and  destroy 
the  lice.  Sulphuret  of  calcium  dug  in  around  the  roots  of  the  vine  has 
also  been  recommended.  M.  Gachez,  in  a  recent  number  of  Comptes 
Eendus,  states  that  by  planting  rows  of  red  maize  between  the  rows  of 
grape-vines  the  vines  are  shielded  from  the  ravages  of  the  Phylloxera, 
the  insects  abandoning  the  vine-roots  for  the  roots  of  the  maize. 
Another  experimenter  reports  that  he  found  an  effectual  remedy  in 
digging  a  trench  four  inches  deep  around  his  infested  vines  and  throw- 
ing in  500  grammes  (a  little  over  a  pound)  of  slaked  lime,  and  then 
whitewashing  the  vine  after  having  removed  the  bark ;  the  remedies 
proposed  in  the  European  journals  to  destroy  this  insect,  however,  are 
too  numerous  to  quote  in  this  report,  and  as  every  writer  thinks  his  own 
remedy  the  best,  and  reports  it  as  infallible,  nothing  can  be  relied  upon 
until  it  has  been  tested  by  competent  persons  in  this  country.  Soot, 
salt,  sulpho-cyanide  of  potassium,  lime,  and  wood-ashes  are  said  to  be 
useful,  if  applied  in  proper  quantities  either  above  or  under  ground 
around  the  roots  of  the  vines. 

Aspidiotiis  (Coccus)  gloverii,  or  the  mussel-shell  orange-scale  insect, 
is  found  on  the  orange  in  Florida, 
where  it  does  much  injury  to  the 
orange-trees,  sometimes  killing  whole 
orange-groves ;  it  is  found  also  on 
citron  and  lemon  trees,  and  was 
found  sparingly  on  a  camelia  grown 
under  an  orange-tree.  The  female 
scale  (c)  is  from  0.06  to  0.08  in  length 
by  0.02  in  breadth,  and  resembles 
the  upper  half  of  a  miniature  brown 
mussel-shell  with  its  flat  side  down- 
ward on  the  leaf.  These  scales, 
when  placed  singly  and  not  crowded 
together,  are  generally  straight  in 
form,  but  when  in  clusters,  they  are 
curved  to  suit  the  inequality  of  the 
surface  or  contiguity  of  the  neigh- 
boring scales,  (e.)  The  insect  itself 
is  sheltered  under  the  scale,  and  is  of 
a  soft  consistence,  resembling  a  grub, 
having  the  body  gradually  tapering  from  near  the  tail  to  the  anteriorpart, 


42  EEPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

which  ends  somewhat  obtusely.  The  insect,  before  it  has  laid  its  eggs, 
is  of  a  rosy  ])inkish  color,  and  often  of  a  creamy  yellowish.  From  the 
under  side  of  its  breast  proceeds  a  sucker,  or  trunk,  by  means  of  which 
it  extracts  the  sap  which  constitutes  its  food.  The  female  deposits  her 
eggs,  which  are  of  a  pinkish  color,  to  the  number  of  20  to  30,  in  parallel 
rows,  under  the  scale  or  outer  shell,  and  decreasing  in  size  gradually  as 
the  eggs  are  deposited,  she  finally  dies  and  dries  up  at  the  small  end 
of  the  scale.  The  eggs  hatch  out  in  a  few  days  in  the  same  order  in 
which  they  have  been  laid,  those  near  the  obtuse  end  of  the  scale  hatch- 
ing first,  when  the  young  escape  from  under  the  scale  at  the  posterior 
rounded  end,  which  at  that  part  is  slightly  elevated  from  the  leaf  in 
order  to  afford  a  means  of  escape  from  the  parent  scale  of  the  young 
coccus.  When  very  young  these  insects  resemble  small  mites,  for 
which  they  frequently  have  been  mistaken.  They  have  six  legs,  two 
antennje,  and  are  devoid  of  any  shield-like  covering ;  they  run  about 
for  a  day  or  two  with  rapidity  in  search  of  some  unoccupied  or  favor- 
able spot  on  the  leaf  or  branch  in  which  to  insert  their  suckers  to 
extract  the  sap  from  the  tree,  and  it  is  at  this  time  that  they  can  most 
readily  be  destroyed,  as,  being  without  any  scale  or  shield-like  covering, 
their  tender  bodies  can  readily  be  reached  by  any  liquid  solution, 
which,  when  the  insect  is  older  and  protected  by  its  waxy  scale,  would 
otherwise  run  off  without  afliecting  the  grub  beneath  it.  After  the 
place  is  selected  the  beak  is  inserted  and  the  insect  settled  for  life,  a 
slight  film  is  formed  over  its  back,  (&,)  and  the  soft-bodied  insect  is 
hidden  from  view,  when  it  gradually  increases  in  size,  assumes  a  brown 
color,  and  grows  until  it  reaches  maturity,  when,  after  impregnation  by 
the  small  midge-like  two- winged  male,  the  eggs  are  fertilized  and  hatch 
out  into  the  small  mite-like  insects  before  described.  The  scale  cover- 
ing the  male  coccus  is  much  smaller  than  that  of  the  female,  and  the 
perfect  insect,  instead  of  remaining  like  the  female  a  soft-bodied  grub 
all  its  life,  finally  appears  as  a  very  minute  fly,  having  two  perfect  wings, 
which  it  uses  to  fly  abroad  and  visit  the  females  on  neighboring  trees. 
These  males  are  only  0.01  in  length  and  of  a  pinkish  color,  have 
black  eyes,  and  their  anal  extremity  is  furnished  with  a  long  curved 
bristle-like  appendage.  A  more  full  account  of  this  insect  may  be  found 
in  the  Patent-Office  Agricultural  lleport  for  1850,  p.  256.  They  are  de- 
stroyed by  minute  parasitic  insects,  CJiaJcididcv,  (see  Mymenoptera,)  lady- 
birds, Goccinellidw,  {Coleoptera,)  and  several  heteropterous  insects  or 
plant-bugs,  &c.  The  best  method  of  destroying  these  insects  was  found 
to  be  by  syringing  the  trees  both  from  above  and  below  with  whale-oil 
or  soft-soap  suds  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  Peruvian  guano,  every 
three  or  four  days,  as  soon  as  the  young  insects  had  hatched  and  were 
running  about  on  the  leaves  unprotected  by  the  waxj^  scale  or  covering, 
which  they  acquire  as  soon  as  they  fix  their  beaks  in  the  leaf  to  settle 
down  for  life,  and  which  protects  the  older  ones  from  the  liquid.  The 
guano  also,  dropping  from  the  leaves  on  to  the  ground  beneath,  fertilizes 
it,  and  causes  a  healthy  growth,  which  is  favorable  to  throwing  off  the 
old  or  dead  scales.  Many  planters  who  have  complained  of  the  inefficacy 
of  this  remedy,  upon  questioning,  have  acknowledged  that  they  syringed 
their  trees  only  occasionally,  and  not  at  regular  intervals  of  two  or  three 
days,  thus  giving  the  young  naked  insects  time  to  form  the  protecting 
scale  or  shield  between  the  syringings  and  lay  the  eggs  for  fresh  colo- 
nies. Others  state  that  they  have  carefully  followed  the  directions,  and 
yet  see  no  diminution  of  the  number  of  scales  on  the  tree.  This,  however, 
is  because  the  old  dead  female  scales  remain,  adhering  to  the  bark  and 
leaves  until  thrown  off  by  a  new  and  vigoroua  growth.    K  such  scales 


REPORT    OF    THE    ENTOMOLOGIST. 


43 


be  esamiued  tliey  will  mostly  be  found  empty.  If,  however,  new  small 
scales  sliould  appear,  it  is  because  some  of  the  first  brood  have  escaped 
between  the  days  of  applying  the  remedy,  and  the  syringing  should  be 
continued  until  no  young  scales  appear  on  the  tree. 

Another  scale-insect,  Aspidiotus  ciiricola,  (aflfinis,)  was  found  on  im- 
ported lemons  in  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  1857.  This  No.  48. 
insect  is  said  to  be  allied  to  Aspidiotus  {Coccus) 
citricola  of  Boisduval,  which  has  been  very  injur- 
ious to  the  orange  in  the  maritime  Alps  in  North- 
ern Italy.  It  is  much  broader  than  A.  gloverii, 
and  more  of  the  shape  and  color  of  an  oyster-shell 
than  of  a  mussel.  It  is  mentioned  merely  to  ap- 
prise orange-growers  of  its  existence,  and  to  warn 
them  to  examine  all  imported  fruit  well  before  in- 
troducing it  on  their  plantations.  It  is  said  to  be 
destroyed  by  a  hymenopterous  insect,  Coccophagus. 
The  figure  is  magnified. 

Aspidiotus  co7icJtiforniis,  or  the  oyster-scale  insect  of  the  apple,  is  ex- 
ceedingly injurious  to  the  apple  and  many  other  No.  49. 
fruit-trees — apricot,  cherry,  crab,  currant,  pear, 
plum  5  it  occurs  also  on  lilac.  The  female  lays 
from  12  to  100  white  eggs  under  the  scale.  The 
young,  which  appear  in  June,  are  at  first  reddish 
and  resemble  mites ;  they  run  over  the  twigs  and 
leaves,  and,  like  the  orange  mussel-shell  coccus,  in  two  or  three  days 
they  fix  themselves  to  one  spot  and  settle  for  life,  and  suck  the  sap  of 
the  tree.  Harris  supposes  the  shell-like  covering  is  secreted  from  the 
surface  of  the  body,  and  is  identical  with  the  flocculent  matter  which 
exudes  from  certain  Aphides.  Dr.  Shimer,  however,  considers  the  scale 
to  consist  of  cast  skins  of  larvse  cemented  together.  The  insect  under 
this  scale  is  of  a  soft  consistence,  and  injures  the  tree  by  sucking  the 
sap.  The  scale  itself  is  oblong,  about  0.10  to  0.15  in  length,  of  a  brown 
color,  and  irregularly  ovoid-shaped,  like  an  oyster.  These  scales  are 
sometimes  so  much  crowded  together  as  to  cover  the  whole  surface  and 
cause  the  bark  to  appear  rough;  they  are  frequently  bent  in  the  middle 
and  curved  at  the  smaller  end,  which  is  pointed.  Mr.  Riley,  in  his  re- 
port of  1873,  has  renamed  this  iusect  3Iytilaspis  pinicorticis,  and  given 
his  reasons  for  so  doing.  This  insect  is  destroyed  by  many  parasites, 
among  which  is  a  mite,  Acarus7nalus  oi  Shimer,  (a  hymenopterous  insect,) 
Aphelinus  mytelaspides  of  Riley,  several  lady-birds,  Coccinellidce,  &c.  It 
is  found  on  many  fruit-trees,  such  as  the  apple,  crab,  pear,  plum,  cherry, 
apricot,  &c.  The  remedy  recommended  is  to  scrub  the  bark  with  a  stiff 
brush  and  soap-suds  a  few  days  after  the  trees  blossom,  as  the  young 
are  then  hatched.  Several  other  remedies  have  been  recommended, 
such  as  carbolic  acid  and  water,  &c.,  but  none  appear  to  be  as  effectual 
as  the  soap.    The  figure  is  magnified. 

Aspidiotus  Earrisii,  or  the  American  bark-louse,  is  indigenous,  and 
does  not  injure  the  trees  as  badly  as  the  A.  conchi-  No.  50. 

formis,  or  the  imported    scale-louse.     The  scale  is 
about  0.06  to  0.08  in  length,  of  a  broad   oval  form, 
and  pure  white  in  color;  the  eggs,  which  are  laid  /^^£\<^ 
under  it,  are   of  a  red  color;  it  is  found  on  apple,  V^^p^  ^) 
mountain-ash,  and  pear.    The  figure  is  magnified. 

Aspidiotus  pinifolicc,  or  the  pine-leaf  scale-insect,  fixes  itself  upon  the 
leaves  or  needles  of  the  white  pine,  and  is  abundant  on  the  pine  leaves 
in  some   parts  of  Maryland,  in  the  form  of   minute  white  elongate 


44 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


scales  adhering  to  the  dark-green  needle -like  leaves;  these  scales  are 
sometimes  crowded  together,  but  usually  they  are  disposed  in  a  row. 
No.  51.  The  scale  appears  externally  to  be  composed  of  three 

different  oval  scales,  with  their  rounded  ends  over- 
lapping each  other.  The  first  scale  is  very  small,  and 
brown  in  color ;  the  second  is  about  three  times  the 
size  of  the  first,  and  of  a  lighter  color,  while  the  third 
and  last  scale  is  quite  large  and  white.  It  is  0.10  in 
length,  and  the  female  lays  from  28  to  32  oval  eggs 
with  rounded  ends  in  the  case.  These  eggs  are  pink- 
ish in  color  and  crowded  together  under  the  scale. 
When  the  female  has  laid  all  her  eggs,  she  dies  and 
dries  up  at  the  smaller  end  of  the  case.  We  have  seen 
the  lady-birds  ( Coccinella,  in  Coleoptera)  in  March  and 
April  busily  employed  in  making  holes  in  the  cases  in  order  to  get  at  the 
eggs,  which  they  eagerly  devour,  besides  which,  when  the  trees  are  agi- 
tated by  the  wind,  almost  all  the  unhatched  eggs  are  shaken  out  of  the 
opening  made  by  the  lady-bird  and  fall  on  the  ground,  where  they  perish. 
Some  persons  have  supposed  this  insect  to  be  the  adult  state  of  the  Coccus 
pinicortis,  another  insect  which  appears  as  a  downy  patch  on  the  bark  of 
the  same  tree.  The  figure  is  magnified. 
Lecanium  Jiesperidum  is  another  scale-insect,  found  npon  the  orange 
No.  52.  and  lemon  trees  in  Florida,  but  not  in  as  great  numbers 
as  the  mussel-shell  scale-insect  first  mentioned.  It  is  also 
not  crowded  so  closely  together,  but  is  scattered  more 
sparsely  over  the  leaves.  It  is  shaped  like  an  oval  oys- 
ter-shell, with  a  broad  flat  margin  all  around"  the  convex 
part.  Anteriorly,  it  has  an  indentation  on  each  side,  two 
similar  indentations  marking  the  thorax,  and  one  deep 
notch  the  posterior  portion  of  the  scale.  These  indenta- 
tions cross  the  flattened  margin  of  the  scale,  and  reach 
the  convex  and  darker  part.  The  very  young  insects  are 
soft-bodied  and  yellowish,  with  six  legs  and  two  antennse. 
The  posterior  part  is  notched,  and  terminates  with  two 
hairs  or  bristles,  which  soon  disappear.  Should  this  insect  increase  so 
as  to  be  injurious,  the  same  remedies  can  be  used  as  for  the  other  spe- 
cies. The  adult  scale  is  about  0.06  to  0.08  in  length ;  color  brownish. 
The  figures  are  magnified. 
Lecanium  acericorticis,  (Fitch,  1859,  p.  776.)  Maple-bark  scale-insect. 
This  insect  was  found  on  a  silver-maple  in  the  Smith- 
sonian grounds  in  Washington,  and  is  also  found  on 
other  maples  in  the  neighborhood.  It  is  very  conspic- 
uous from  its  great  size  and  the  snow-white  cottony 
appearance  on  the  twigs  and  branches.  The  scale, 
when  mature,  is  of  a  brown  color  and  partially  covers  a  mass  of  snow- 
white  cottony  down,  which  protects  the  eggs  and  young  bark-lice  which 
are  under  it.  The  young  insects  wander  away  from  the  parent  scale, 
and  afterward  fix  themselves  to  the  bark.  The  males  are  probably  two- 
winged,  somewhat  lesemhling  the  Lecanium  juglandif ex,  as  described  by 
Dr.  Fitch.  Lecanium  acericola,  on  maple,  and  Lecanium  maclurce,  on 
the  osage-orange,  are  probably  only  varieties  of  the  same  insect.  These 
insects,  however,  do  very  little  injury,  as  they  are  not  very  abundant. 

Coccus  pinicorticis,  or  the  pine-blight,  is  sometimes  very  abundant  in 
the  pine  woods  of  Maryland.  They  frequent  the  smooth  bark  around  and 
especially  below  the  axils  where  the  limbs  are  given  out  from  the  main 
trunk..  The  injury  appears  like  patches  of  white  flocculent  down,  which 
covers  minute  bark-lice,  of  a  broad,  oval,  nearly  hemispherical,  form,  about 


REPORT   OF   THE   ENTOMOLOGIST. 


45 


0.01  in  length,  soft-bodied,  blackish  in  color,  and  coated  over  with  a  mealy 
powder.    This  insect  was  once  erroneously  sup-  No.  54. 

posed  to  be  the  preparatory  state  of  the  Aspi- 
diotus  pinifoUw  before  mentioned. 
Akurodes  (1)  is  a  minute  tour-winged  insect, 
No.  55.  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch 

inlength,ofadullwhite 
color,  and  is  sometimes 
found  on  the  apple  and 
crab.  Aleurodes  vapo- 
o-ariumj  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Packard  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts agricultural  report  for  1870,  is  0.04=  in 
length,  yellowish- white  in  color,  with  snow-white  wings.  It  infests  green- 
houses, and  was  found  also  out  of  doors  on  tomato-leaves,  and  is  not 
uncommon  at  the  Agricultural  College  of  Massachusetts  on  strawberry- 
plants.  The  figure  is  taken  from  Westwood.  A  species  of  Aleurodes 
has  been  taken  on  Cornus. 

J)ort]iesia{f)  cataphracta,  a  European  species  figured  in  Westwood. 
The  males  only  are  provided  with  wings.  The  antennae  are  No-  56. 
long,  and  nine-jointed,  and  the  abdomen  is  ovoid,  ending  in 
a  bushy  mass  of  threads.  The  female  is  covered  with  elon- 
gated flakes  of  a  waxy  secretion,  which,  in  some  species  are 
nearly  an  inch  long.  The  male  insect  is  terminated  by  a 
thick  pencil  of  delicate  white  setse.  Dr.  Fitch  mentions  a 
species,  Borthesia  celastri,  which  is  found  on  the  celastrus. 
The  Fediculidw,  or  lice,  are  said  by  Professor  Verrillto  be  low,  degraded 
Scmiptera,  destitute  of  wings,  &c.  Dr.  Packard  places  them  likewise 
in  the  Eemiptera.  Leunis  places  them  after  Cocctism  the Eomoptera,  and 
therefore  we  have  placed  them  provisionally  at  the  end  of  the  Homoptera 
until  a  better  place  is  found  for  them.  They  are  blood-  suckers,  and  live 
on  mankind  and  animals,  and  on  mankind  certain  species  attack  only 
certain  parts  of  the  body.    The  figure  is  magnified. 

Fediculus  {humanus)  capitis,  or  the  human  head-louse,  is  always  found 
on  the  head  among  the  hair.    The  males  are  smaller  than     No.  57. 
the  females ;  the  latter  lay  about  50  eggs,  which  adhere  to 
the  hair.    These  insects,  after  14  days,  are  said  to  be  able  to 
propagate  their  species.    They  do  not  attack  the  smooth  and 
hairless  parts  of  the  body,  but  generally  confine  themselves 
to  the  human  head.    Another  species,  Fediciihis  vestametiti, 
the  clothes  or  body  louse,  confines  itself  to  the  smoother, 
hairless  parts  of  the  body,  and  hide  themselves  in  dirty  gar- 
ments. They  deposit  their  eggs  near  the  body,  in  the  clothes 
and  in  the  creases  of  the  linen.    There  is  a  third  species  of 
louse,  Fediculus  pubis,  the  crab-louse,  or  gray-back,  which 
broader  square  form  than  the  other  two  species,  that  has 
been  a  great  scourge  to  soldiers  in  time  of  war.    This  in- 
sect has  been  named  the  crab-louse  from  its  broad  crab- 
like  appearance.  It  is  of  a  grayish  color ;  the  head  is  small, 
and  appears  to  be  united  with  the  broad  body  without  any 
thorax ;  it  inhabits  the  hairy  part  of  the  body,  under  the 
arms  or  shoulders,  in  the  beard,  &c.,  but  appears  to  avoid 
the  head.    These  insects  pierce  deeply  into  the  skin  of 
mankind,  and  produce  an  intolerable  itching.    Mercurial 
ointment  was  formerly  used  to  eradicate  these  pests,  but 
if  not  rubbed  off,  or  even  washed  off,  as  soon  as  it  has 
effected  its  iDurpose,  or,  if  the  patient  is  exposed  to  the  cold  and  wet,  or 


is  a  much 

No.  58. 


46  REPORT   OP  THE   COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

the  ointment  remains  on  the  skin  too  long,  the  mercury  is  apt  to  be  ab- 
sorbed into  the  system,  and  will,  in  many  cases,  produce  salivation. 
No.  59.  The  essential  oil  of  bergamot,  or  any  other  essential 

oil,  rubbed  into  the  skin,  is  said  to  be  an  effectual 
remedy,  and  not  to  have  any  injurious  effect  what- 
ever, excepting  a  little  smarting  when  first  applied. 
The  seeds  of  a  larkspur,  Delphinium^  sometimes  called 
"  slave's-acre,''  are  said  to  be  an  effectual  remedy  for 
head-lice ;  but  cleanliness  is  the  most  effectual  pre- 
ventive, and  all  the  clothes  should  be  scalded  before 
putting  on  again,  as  most  of  these  lice  frequently 
hide  themselves  in  the  folds  of  the  linen,  and  are 
thus  carried  from  one  i^erson  to  another.    These  figures  are  magnified. 


REPORT  OF  THE  CHEMIST. 

Sir  :  The  unfinished  investigations  mentioned  in  my  last  report  have 
been  completed,  and  have  afforded  results  of  great  value,  but  the  ana- 
lytical work  relating  to  new  investigations  has  been  materially  inter- 
fered with  by  the  preparation  and  care  of  the  collection  in  the  late 
International  Exhibition  in  .Philadelphia,  and  I  have,  therefore,  but 
little  to  report. 

The  investigations  that  have  been  completed  are  as  follows: 

1.  On  the  extent,  composition,  and  value  of  certain  deposits  of  bat 
guano  in  the  Southern  States. 

2.  On  the  proportion  of  tannic  acid  in  American  tanning  materials. 

3.  On  the  composition  of  wines  from  some  new  varieties  of  American 
grapes. 

4.  On  the  presence  and  amount  of  oxalic  acid  in  Mesembryantlienmm 
crystallinuon,  and  composition  of  the  ash  of  the  same. 

5.  On  the  composition  of  the  ash  of  Siieda  californica. 

6.  Analysis  of  a  green  sand  marl  from  Maryland. 

The  collection  prepared  for  the  International  Exhibition  by  the  divis- 
ion under  my  charge  consisted  of  specimens  of  soils,  marls,  and  fertil- 
izers, and  of  those  agricultural  and  horticultural  products  the  value  of 
which  depends  upon  their  chemical  composition,  and  the  utilization  of 
which  involves  chemical  i^rocesses.  It  contained  not  only  raw  mate- 
rials, but  also  specimens  from  the  different  stages  of  the  processes  of  man- 
ufacture involved  in  their  utilization,  and  were  so  arranged  as  to  illus- 
trate as  far  as  they  would  the  processes  in  question.  The  classification 
of  the  collection  was  mentioned  in  my  general  report  to  you,  and  it  is 
therefore  unnecessary  to  detail  it  here.  The  list  of  the  materials  will 
be  published  in  a  special  catalogue,  but  I  deem  it  of  considerable  inter- 
est and  value  to  incorporate  here  a  sketch  of  the  American  methods  of 
manufacture  of  cheese,  with  analyses  of  the  materials  and  products  ex- 
hibited, prepared  by  Prof.  G.  C.  Caldwell,  of  Cornell  University,  Ithaca, 
New  York. 

The  collectiou  for  the  illustration  of  tbo  manufacture  of  the  products  of  the  dairy 
prepared  and  analyzed  at  the  laboratory  of  agricultural  chemistry  iu  Cornell  University 
at  the  request  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  placed  in  its  exhibit  at  the  Cen 
tennial,  consists  of  samples  obtained  directly  from  dealers  in  dairy  supplies,  or  from 
factories  or  private  manufacturers  of  butter  or  cheese. 

It  begins  naturally  with  salt,  rennet,  and  aunotto— the  first  being  universally  used 
i»  the  manufacture  of  both  butter  and  cheese,  the  second  always  in  the  manufacture, 


REPORT    OF   THE   CHEMIST 


47 


of  cheese,  and  the  last-mentioned  substance  being  very  commonly  used  in  coloring 
both  butter  and  cheese. 

In  regard  to  the  samples  of  salt,  four  of  which  are  of  English  manufacture  and  one 
of  American,  the  chemical  analysis  serves  the  useful  purpose  of  showing  that  the  dif- 
ference between  them  is  very  slight,  and  in  practice  would  appear  to  amount  to  noth- 
ing at  all ;  and  it  also  shows  that  the  best  American  is  fully  equal  to  the  best  English 
product. 


Pure   salt 
calc.  from 
the  chlor- 
ine. 


Lime. 


Sulphuric 
acid. 


Syraouae  salt 

C  Ashtou's 

Liverpool  salt. .  ■,  Marslialfs 

I  Dean  Brothers. 


97.74 
97.71 
97.65 
97.99 
97.77 


0.4 

0.59 

0.5o 

0.47 

0.52 


0.62 

0.9 

0.74 

0.72 

0.91 


Of  the  annotto,  the  seed  itself,  from  which  the  coloring  matter  is  obtained,  is  shown; 
this  is  used  by  some  dairymen  directly  for  the  preparation  of  their  coloring  matter ; 
then  comes  the  so-called  basinet  annotto,  the  usual  form  in  which  the  coloring  matter, 
extracted  from  the  seeds  by  water,  comes  to  market ;  there  are  exhibited  also  two 
preparations  of  annotto  made  in  this  country,  the  annottoine  and  the  golden  extract 
of  annotto,  both  of  which  are  quite  free  from  any  injurious  ingredient;  their  use  is 
preferred  by  many  to  that  of  the  crude  article.  As  there  is  no  satisfactory  method  of 
determining  the  proportion  of  coloring  matter  in  this  substance,  the  results  of  the 
chemical  analysis  of  its  various  forms  in  use  among  dairymen  have  little  practical 
value;  they  do  show,  however,  a  very  great  difference  between  the  three  grades  of 
basket-annotto,  for  that  which  is  richest  in  organic  matter  is  probably  richest  in 
coloring  matter. 


Water. 

Ash. 

Organic 
matter. 

/No  1                             

32.64 

22.  96 

44.18 

9.13 

10.78 

28.83 

8.34 

4.  66 

56.58 

Jno.2 

48.21 

1^0.3 

47.48 

86.21 

Of  rennet,  two  samples  are  shown,  the  domestic  and  the  foreign.  There  being  no 
known  means  of  estimating  with  any  accuracy  the  proportion  of  the  coagulating 
principle  of  the  rennet,  no  analysis  was  made  of  these  samples. 

While  in  Europe  there  is  a  great  number  of  methods  of  making  cheese,  with  as  great 
variety  in  the  character  of  the  products,  our  American  dairymen  confine  themselves  to 
a  few  methods ;  in  ftict,  three  different  types  will  represent  the  main  bulk  of  the  man- 
ufacture at  the  cheese-factories  of  this  country. 

Concerning  the  most  common  mode  of  manufacture,  that  which  yields  the  so-called 
whole-milk  cheese,  made  from  the  whole  of  the  milk,  without  any  skimming,  the  main 
details  of  the  process  are  familiar  to  all  who  are  interested  in  the  subject.  Therefore 
we  simply  give  below  the  results  of  the  chemical  analysis  of  several  samples  obtained 
from  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  represented  in  the  collection  : 


Water. 

Ash. 

Fat. 

Caseino, 

sugar, 

&c. 

iSo.l    

31.41 
35.08 
35. 24 
33.73 

34.18 
38.5 

28.11 
35.  49 

3.53 
3.60 
3.23 
4.05 
3.  02 
3.73 
2.71 
3.34 

37,88 
3.1. 15 
3.5.  63 
35.57 
33.92 
31.19 
41.03 
34.05 

27.18 

,     .     ,          ,                        Uo  2       

25.  57 

Kew  York  factory-cheese )  No  3" 

25.85 

[  IS  0.  4     

20.65 

28.88 

Massachusetts  factory-cbeese . .  J  j^o'^"" 

26.58 

28.15 

26. 12 

Of  the  second  method  of  manufacture,  that  by  which  the  ordinary  skim-cheese  is 
produced,  the  usual  proportion  of  cream  being  taken  from  the  milk  for  the  manufact- 
ure of  butter,  two  varieties  are  presented.  By  the  one  method,  and  that  which  is  in 
most  common  practice,  the  skimmed  milk  alone  is  used  for  manufacture  into  cheese  j 


48 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 


by  the  other  method,  which  has  been  but  recently  introduced,  the  buttermilk  is  added 
to  the  ekim-miik ;  the  fresh  milk  is  heated  to  130°  Fahr.,  cooled  to  65°,  allowed  to 
Btand  from  tvrenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours  for  the  cream  to  rise,  and  the  cream  is 
churned  sweet.  The  results  of  the  analysis  of  the  two  kinds  of  cheese  are  given  be- 
low: 


Common  sMm-cheese 

Scalded  milk  and  buttermilk  choeae. 


Water,  f   Ash.       Fat     Casemo, 


42.38 
44.48 


3.63 
4.50 


20.55 
15.23 


38.44 
45.80 


While  these  analyses  indicate  a  larger  proportion  of  fat  in  the  ordinary  skim-cheese, 
there  was  nevertheless  a  marked  difference  in  quality  in  favor  of  the  other ;  the  latter 
was  softer  and  more  salvy,  and  probably  more  digestible.  It  may  be  said,  further,  that 
the  proportion  of  fat  in  skim-cheeses  is  not  so  constant  as  in  whole-milk  cheese.  Another 
sample  of  scalded  skim-milk  and  buttermilk  cheese  analyzed  in  this  laboratory  was 
found  to  contain  20  per  cent,  of  fat. 

The  third  important  method  of  cheese  making  has  also  been  but  recently  introduced, 
and  the  practice  of  it  is  as  yet  confined  to  a  few  factories.  As  in  the  manufacture  of 
skim-cheese,  the  butter  fat  is  mostly  removed  from  the  milk  by  skimming;  but  while 
the  milk  is  coagulating  after  the  addition  of  the  rennet,  as  much  of  a  clean  animal  fat, 
manufactured  from  the  beefs  caul,  is  most  intimately  mixed  with  the  forming  curd  as 
it  will  take  up ;  the  excess  of  oil  floats  on  the  surface  after  the  coagulation  is  completed, 
and  is  skimmed  off;  a  cheese  is  thus  obtained  which,  as  the  anlaysia  below  shows,  is 
pometimos  richer  in  fat  than  the  ordinary  skim-cheese  : 


TTater. 

Ash. 

Fat. 

Caseins, 

&.C. 

40.56 

3.98 

20.43 

S6.07 

1 

For  some  unexplained  reason  the  curd  will  not  always  take  up  the  same  amount  of 
fat,  so  that  its  proportion  in  the  cheese  is  variable ;  in  the  case  of  other  analyses  of  the 
same  kind  of  cheese  made  in  this  laboratory,  the  proportion  of  fat  has  ranged  from  18 
to  25.9  per  cent. 

This  fat  that  is  added  to  the  curd  is  sometimes  called  oleomargarine,  and  the  cheese 
is  hence  conveniently  distinguished  from  other  kinds  by  the  name  given  to  it  above ; 
in  respect  to  quality,  it  is  much  superior  to  the  ordinary  ekim-cheese,  although,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  comparison  between  the  two  varieties  of  skim-cheese  already  mentioned, 
the  better  cheese  is  not  always  found  to  contain  the  larger  proportion  of  fat. 

We  have  found  but  one  veritable  imitation  of  the  styles  of  cheese  so  common  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe.  Lim  burger  cheese  is  made  in  one  place  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
somewhat  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  made  in  Europe.  The  analysis  shows  that  it 
contains  a  large  proportion  of  water — 43.67  per  cent. ;  and  somewhat  less  than  the  usual 
proportion  of  fat  that  is  found  in  whole-milk  cheese,  or  about  30  per  cent. 

The  collection  further  embraces  all  the  several  materials  used  and  by-products 
formed  in  the  three  most  important  methods  of  cheese  making ;  the  fresh  milk,  curd, 
whey,  and  ripe  cheese  in  the  whole-milk  cheese  manufacture.  In  addition  to  these, 
the  skim-milk,  cream,  and  buttermilk  in  the  case  of  the  skim-cheese  manufacture.  The 
analysis  of  these  substances  being  not  fully  completed  at  this  time  of  writing,  they 
will  be  communicated  hereafter. 

In  the  manufacture  of  whole-milk  cheese,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  fat  remains 
in  the  whey.  In  a  few  cases  this  fat  is  collected  and  made  into  whey-butter,  that 
brings  a  fair  price  in  the  market ;  and  the  removal  of  this  fat  does  not,  it  is  asserted, 
lessen  the  feeding-value  of  the  whey.  A  sample  and  an  analysis  of  this  butter  are 
presented  ;  but  if  a  chemical  analysis  is  no  true  test  of  the  quality  of  a  sample  of  cheese, 
still  less  is  it  so  in  the  case  of  butter.  Two  samples  of  factory-butter  and  one  of  butter 
made  from  the  milk  of  Jersey  cows  are  also  contained  in  the  collection,  of  which  the 
last  mentioned  was  by  far  superior  to  the  others  in  quality ;  but  no  such  difference  is 
indicated  in  the  results  of  the  analysis  given  below  : 


Jersey  bmtter. 
Factory-butter 
Whey -butter  . 


Water.     Ash 


11.29 
12.30 


8.82 
9.77 


3.20 
2.98 


3.43 
1.67 


Fat. 


84.70 
83.41 


Caseine, 
&c. 


0.75 
1.25 


87.  75 
88.56 


REPOET    OF    THE    CHEMIST.  49 

A  sample  of  Cordeu's  condensed  milk  illuntrates  that  important  branch  of  dairy  econ- 
ouiy.  The  analysis  reveals  the  largo  j-roportion  of  caae-siigar  that  is  added  to  the  luilli 
ia  order  to  get  a  product  that  ■n^ill  keep  well. 

Cowposition  of  Bordais  condensed  mill: 

Water 23,  C 

Ash ].y7 

Fat 11.19 

Caseine,  (by  difference) 14.71 

Milk-sugar YZA'i 

Cane-sugar ^ 36.20 

Finally,  wo  have  to  mention,  as  a  by-product  of  some  use,  whe.y-oil,  -whicli  is  pre- 
pared from  the  whey,  and  is  nsed  for  oiling  the  cheese  in  the  curing-room.  It  melts  at 
a  lower  temperature  than  butter  made  from  the  same  material,  ami  is  destitute  of  the 
texture  and  flavor  of  good  butter. 

As  stated  above,  thougli  the  original  investigations  made  by  the  divis- 
ion have  not  been  very  numerous,  the  results  obtained  are  of  great  value 
on  account  ot  the  probability  of  their  bringing  about  an  introduction  of 
new  industries  and  the  improvement  of  old  ones,  more  especially  in  the 
Southern  and  Western  St?ites,  where  such  an  effect  will  prove  most  ben- 
eficial. 

Those  of  the  greatest  value  in  this  particular  that  I  have  to  report  are 
those  of  the  analysis  of — 

BAT-G-UANOS  FOUND  IN  CAVES  IN  THE  SOUTH^JrvN  STATES. 

I  had  the  honor  in  a  previous  report  to  submit  the  results  of  an 
analysis  of  a  sample  of  bat  excrement  taken  from  a  deposit  near  Hunts- 
ville,  Ala.,  and  the  interest  manifested  in  them,  and  the  reports  of  other 
deposits  received  from  time  to  time,  seemed  to  render  it  advisable  to 
issue  a  circular-letter  to  the  regular  correspondents  of  the  Department 
in  the  South,  asking  for  information  concerning  the  existence  of  such 
deposits,  with  complete  descriptions  of  their  location  and  exten-t.  To 
these  letters  we  have  received  replies  of  a  very  favorable  character, 
many  of  them  being  accompanied  by  samples  of  the  deposits  described, 
developing  the  fact  that  the  deposits  were  not  confined  to  any  particular 
section  of  the  South,  but  that  they  exist  in  many  of  the  States  from 
Virginia  to  Texas,  several  of  them  being  of  considerable  extent.  It  was 
believed  by  manj^  persons  before  the  war,  and  by  officers  of  the  Confed- 
erate government  during  the  war,  that  they  would  prove  to  be  a  valu- 
able source  of  niter,  and  were  worked  for  the  extraction  of  this  com- 
I)Ound.  Some  of  the  attempts  in  this  direction  proved  successful,  but 
very  many  of  them  failed  runiously,  as  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  low  percentage  of  nitric  acid  in  some  of  the  samples  and  its  com- 
plete absence  in  others,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  all  enterprise  in  this 
direction  wag  abandoned.  They  will,  however,  bo  a  profitable  source 
of  fertilizing  material,  since  their  mechanical  condition  is  favorable  to 
their  ready  removal  and  application  to  the  soil.  Most  of  them  contain 
fair  percentages  of  organic  nitrogen,  while  some  of  them  contain  both 
actual  ammonia  and  nitrates.  Microscopical  examination  of  the  mate- 
rial shows  it  to  consist  of  the  remains  of  the  hard  parts  of  insects  in  a 
finely  comminuted  condition,  whicli  are  the  source  of  its  nitrogenous 
constituents.  Many  of  these  remains  are  in  such  a  fair  state  of  preser- 
vation that  the  species  of  insects  to  which  they  belong  may  be  deter- 
mined. 

Before  proceeding  to  further  descriptions  of  the  samples  received  by 
4a 


60  EEPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

the  Department  and  a  statement  of  their  analysis,  I  will  detail  some  of 
the  inforraatiou  concerning  the  deposits,  as  furnished  by  our  corre- 
spondents. _  ^^.     .   .  , 

Mr  J.  Layne,  McDowell,  Highland  County,  Virginia,  reports  caves 
containin;?  deposits  on  the  lauds  of  the  lollowing  geutlenien  :^  John  T. 
Armstrong,  2  ;  Samuel  Armstrong,  2 ;  .Jonathan  Lirous,  1 ;  H.  0.  Jones  s 
property,  on  Cave  Mountain,  2  or  more;  on  property  of  James  Woods, 
on  Jackson's  River,  1.  Mr.  Layne  states  that  from  all  of  these  caves 
large  amounts  of  saltpeter  were  made  during  the  war,  and  vast  quanti- 
ties of  fertilizing  material  could  be  obtained  from  them  at  any  time. 

Mr.  E.  E.  Talbot,  Georgetown,  Williamson  County,  Texas,  sent 
samples  of  deposit,  with  the  following  statement :  "  I  inclose  a  sample 
of  bat-excrement  from  the  cave  of  William  K.  Foster,  two  and  a  half 
miles  from  Georgetown.  The  amount  of  the  deposit  is  large,  supposed 
to  be  hundreds  of  tons.  Many  apartments  of  the  cave  are  tilled  to  the 
mouth,  making  it  impossible  to  tell  how  extensive  the  cave  is,  or  the 
amount  of  excrement  in  it.  For  a  space  of  about  100  yards  long  by 
20  yards  wide,  near  the  mouth,  it  is  from  G  to  10  feet  deep." 

Mr.  S.  B.  Thornton,  Tuscumbia,  Ala.,  reports  "a  deposit  in  a  cave 
three  miles  west  of  that  place,  worked  by  a  gentleman,  who  considers  the 
deposit  worth  $20,000.  The  cave  is  80  or  90  feet  deep.  Material  from 
it  has  been  tried  upon  corn  with  very  favorable  results." 

Mr.  Hugh  J.  Brady,  Spencer,  Tenn.,  sent  a  sample  taken  from  an 
extensive  deposit  found  in  a  cave,  one  division  of  which  "measures  one 
mile  in  length  and  50  feet  in  width.  This  is  the  main  room.  The  cave 
has  been  surveyed  for  a  distance  of  three  miles.  A  New  York  company 
manufactured  saltpeter  from  the  deposit  for  a  number  of  years,  but 
finally  failed."    The  deposit  is  believed  to  be  of  great  value. 

Mr.  H.  Weir,  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  writes : 

I  sent  you  by  express,  October  2G,  one  can  of  bat-guano,  contaiuiug  about  ten 
pounds,  taken  from  my  cave,  about  twenty  miles  nortlieast  of  this  city.  Ihere  is  a 
large  deposit  in  this  cave,  say  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  tons,  and  yearly  increasing. 
I  should  be  pleased  to  get  your  analysis  of  this  sample,  and  will  cheerfully  give  you 
any  further  information  you  may  desire  with  regard  to  this  cave,  or  others  in  thia 
section. 

Mr.  William  H.  Bayne,  postmaster  at  Batesville,  Ark.,  reports  one 
cave  in  his  vicinity  which  contains  a  largo  deposit  of  bat-excrement, 
and  is  at  present  the  resort  of  immense  numbers  of  bats. 

Mr.  P.  A.  Kendrick,  Brierfield,  Bibb  County,  Alabama,  reported  a 
cave  on  Six  Mile  Creek,  in  Bibb  County,  and,  in  response  to  a  request 
for  a  sample  of  the  deposit,  sent  it,  with  the  following  communication: 

In  reply  to  your  favor  of  September  9, 1  would  say  I  have  visited  the  cave  in  ques- 
tion and  forward  by  to-day's  mail  samples  of  excrement  of  bats  and  dirt  from  the 
floor  of  the  cave.  This  material  was  used  by  the  Confederate  government  during  the 
war  for  manufacture  of  saltpeter.    Both  the  dirt  and  the  excrement  are  found  m  large 

^"The^eutmnce  to  the  cave  is  10^  feet  high  and  20  feet  wide.  Thirty  feet  from  the  en- 
trance the  interior  is  about  15  feet  high,  and  hero  commences  a  series  of  rooms  coutam- 
ino-  the  dirt  and  manure.  A  tram-road,  used  by  the  Confederate  government,  ruES  a 
qu'arter  of  a  mile  into  the  cave,  but  beyond  this  it  has  never  been  explored.  Its  extent 
is  therofore,  unknown.  It  is  in  a  limestone  formation,  and  situate  seven  miles  trcm 
the  Selnia,  Rome  and  Dalton  Railroad,  and  half  a  mile  from  Six  Mile  Creek. 

Mr.  J.  A.  V.  Pue  writes  from  Bandera,  Texas : 

In  reply  to  circular  of  May  27, 1875, 1  have  the  honor  to  state  that  there  is  a  bat-cave 
situated  on  West  Verde  Creek,  about  8  miles  southwest  from  Bandera,  ou  a  survey  bo- 
lontriutr  to  Joseph  Ney.  During  the  war  large  quantities  of  saltpeter  were  manufact- 
ured from  it  for  a  time,  when  it  was  fired  accidentally  or  designedly.  It  is  now  a 
mass  of  ashes,  from  .i  to  5  feet  in  depth,  as  far  as  it  has  been  explored— a  distance  of 
about  400  yards.  The  width  of  the  cave  is  from  7  to  30  feet.  The  deposit  has  uover 
been  used  for  agricultural  purposes. 


REPOKT    OF   THE    CHEMIST. 


51 


Subsequent  to  the  time  of  writing  the  above,  Mr.  Piic  forwarded,  by 
request,  to  the  Department  a  sample  of  bat-excrement  of  fiiir  quality, 
as  is  evident  from  the  statement  of  analysis  given  below. 

Besides  the  sources  already  mentioned,  we  have  received  specimens 
from  Mr.  L.  A.  Downs,  Cave  City,  Ky.,  and  from  Benton  Couuty,  Arkan- 
sas. Wo  have  made  analyses  of  eight  of  the  specimens  received,  and 
their  composition  is  detailed  in  the  following  table  : 


Sand,  clay,  insolublo  bilicate 

Moisturo 

0rj;anic  volatile  matter , 

Alumina  and  sesquioxido  of  iron 

Phosphoric  acid..;?°SL::::::;: 

Limo 

Magnesia 

Sulphuric  acid 

Chlorine 

Nitric  acid 

Potassa 

Soda 

Sol  able  silica 

Organic  nitroiiou 

Ammonia  (N  Hj)  corrospondicg  to 

organic  iiitro|Tea 

Actual  ammonia 

Undetermined 


LOGS 
30.  300 
4ti.  n 
0.  350 
0.541 
3.000 
a  4-28 
0.  006 


1.  5S0 
0.750 


0.528 
1.  531 


II. 


82. 29 
2.51) 


8.00 

I   2.02 

2.92 

0.38 

0.01 

Trace. 


Trace. 

Trace. 

0.41 


III. 


0.46 
9.17 
82.18 
0.17 

C    1.52 

I  0.67 
1.86 
0.38 
1.10 
0.38 

Trace. 
0.67 

Notdet 


7.90 


IV. 


2. 153 

26.  710 
58.  439 


0.  125 
3.866 


1.471 
0.425 


1.  885 

44.330 

47.73 

0.  463 

1.833 

0.  581 

0.710 

Trace. 

2. 161 

0. 202 

0.  258 

0.  5U0 

0.  312 


0.675 
0.  132 
6.  5U 


6.000 


7.2>( 
2.013 


0.447 

0.  425 

92.  745 


1.691 
0.909 


VII. 


62.  600 
14.  020 
6.  144 


0.703 
0.160 


10.  091 


12.  2.53 
0.  472 


0.  070- 
0. 1.52 


0. 199 
2. 2410 


VIII. 


'6.09 


1.69 
0.47 


11.15 
1.13 


The  Eoman  numerals  at  the  top  of  the  tables  represent  different 
samples,  as  follows : 

I.  Sample  from  Brieriield,  Ala.  Part  of  the  deposit  from  which  it  was 
taken  was  burned  during  the  war,  but  this  sample  represents  that  por- 
tion which  remains  uninjured. 

II.  Sami)le  from  same  deposit  representing  the  remains  of  the  burned 
portion.     It  has  the  appearance  of  dr^^,  sandy  soil. 

III.  Sample  from  Bandera,  Tex. 

IV.  Sample  from  San  Antonio,  Tex. 

V.  Sample  from  Benton  County,  Arkansas. 

VI.  Sample  from  Georgetown,  Williamson  County,  Tex. 

VII.  Sample  from  Cave  City,  Ky. 

VIII.  Sample  from  J.  xV.  V.  Pue,  Bandera,  Tex. 

These  are  all  very  similar  in  appearance,  with  the  exception  of  those 
containing  the  high  proportion  of  insoluble  mineral  matter,  which  are 
very  much  like  soil.  Those  containing  high  proportions  of  organic  mat- 
ter vary  in  color  from  light  brown  to  dark  brown,  according  to  the  per- 
centage of  moisture  they  contain.  As  stated  before,  their  physical  con- 
dition, when  air-dried,  is  excellent,  both  for  handling  and  for  application 
to  the  soil,  and  the  analyses  given  above  represent  very  fairly  the  aver- 
age composition  of  the  material,  which  may  be  valued  at  from  $15  to  $80 
\)QV  ton,  reckoning  upon  the  basis  for  determination  of  the  value  for  fer- 
tilizers adopted  by  Dr.  Ch.  A.  Goessmanu,  inspector  of  fertilizers  for 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  in  his  report  for  187G.  These  values  com- 
pare favorably  with  those  of  the  fish-products  largely  manufactured  in 
New  England,  and  even  with  Peruvian  guano,  analyses  of  both  of  which 
may  be  found  in  the  report  just  alluded  to. 

Deposits  similar  to  these  have  also  been  discovered  in  Europe,  but  they 
are  by  no  means  as  valuable  as  those  of  this  country.  Thus,  accord- 
ing to  analyses  by  Schwarz,*  the  composition  of  a  deposit  near  Raab, 

*  Ding.  Polyt.  Jour.,  ccxviii,  315. 


52  REPORT    OF    THE   COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

in  Hungary,  is  variable,  two  samples  analyzed  containing  respectively 
0.98,  0.84,  and  0.70  per  cent,  nitrogen,  and  11.03  and  10.5G  per  cent, 
phosphoric  acid.  A  sample  from  an  Italian  deposit,  analyzed  by  F. 
Sestini,*  contained  20.790  per  cent,  volatile  matter,  (principally  organic,) 
2.021  per  cent,  nitrogen,  and  1.17  per  cent,  phosphoric  acid.  With  these 
facts  before  us  wo  may  readily  recognize  the  importance  of  the  develop- 
ment of  these  deposits  in  the  South,  where  fertilizing  materials  are  so 
much  needed  and  are  so  costly,  and  especially  is  this  true  when  they 
may  be  obtained  from  this  source  for  the  mere  cost  of  removal. 

Al^IERICAN  TANNING  MATERIALS. 

Under  this  head,  I  propose  to  submit  the  results  of  the  analyses  of  the 
vegetable  substances  containing  sufficient  of  tannic  acid  to  make  them 
of  value  for  tanning  that  were  collected  and  prepared  for  exhibition  in 
the  late  International  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia.  The  list  may  not 
comprise  all  the  indigenous  products  that  are  of  value  in  this  respect, 
but  some  of  them,  at  least,  have  not  yet  received  extended  application. 

The  methods  laid  down  for  estimation  are  numerous,  but  nearly  all  of 
them  are  liable  so  many  objections  as  to  render  their  results  extremely 
unsatisfactory,  and,  inYact,  this  condition  is  destined  to  continue  until 
we  have  more  definite  knowledge  of  the  constitution  of  the  varieties  of 
tannic  acid  found  in  diflerent  plants.  In  previous  estimations  we  have 
proceeded  by  extraction  with  ether,  exhausting  the  residue  obtained  from 
the  etheral  extract  by  distillation  with  water,  and  determining  the 
amount  of  tannic  acid  in  the  aqueous  extract  by  titrating  with  a  stand- 
ard solution  of  potassic  permanganate  after  the  addition  of  a  known  quan- 
tity of  potassic  sulphindylate.  In  the  estimations  in  which  the  present 
results  were  obtained  this  method  was  abandoned,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  complete  extraction  of  the  tannic  acid  by  means  of  the  ether, 
too  much  time  being  required,  and  wo  ado])ted  the  method  lately  de- 
scribed by  F.  Jean,  in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Chimiquo  de  Paris, 
XXV,  511,  which  depends  upon  the  absorption  of  iodine  by  tannic  acid 
in  presence  of  an  alkaline  carbonate.  It  consists  in  titration  of  the 
solution  containing  tannic  acid  with  a  standard  solution  of  iodine  in 
potassium  iodide,  the  end  of  the  reaction  being  determined  by  placing 
a  drop  of  the  solution  under  titration  on  a  white  paper  covered  with 
starch.  Y\^hile  this  method  is  open  to  some  objections,  one  of  which  is 
the  troublesome  character  of  the  end  reaction,  we  consider  it  on  many 
accounts  the  most  satisfactory  that  has  yet  been  devised.  By  this  method 
the  proportion  of  tannic  acid  found  in  tl^e  various  samples  respectively 
is  as  follows : 

Per  cent. 

Ground  snmac,  (mised,)  from  Wiucliester,  Va 24.18 

Sumac,  (Rhus  colinus,)  llallsborougb,  Va 24.08 

Sumac,  {Rhus  glabra,)  Georgetown,  D.  C - 26.1 

Leaves  of  sweet  fern,  {Coviptonia  asplcnifolia,)  from  near  Boston,  Mass 9.42 

Leaves  of  Polygonum  amplubium,  from  Nebraska 11.  G 

Ephedra  antisyphilUka,  from  the  table-lands  of  Arizona  and  Utah 11.1) 

Bark  of  sweet-gum,  (Liquidamlar  styraciflua,)  from  District  of  Columbia 8.  30 

Bark  of  red  oak,  (Qncrcus  rubra,)  from  Canton,  111 5. 5!^) 

Bark  of  white  oak,  ( Qucrcus  alba,)  from  Canton,  111 7.  85 

Crushed  quercitron  bark,  ( Quercus  nigra,)  from  Winchester,  Va C.  47 

Bark  of  Qucrcus  ■coccinea,  from  Canton,  111.... - 7.78 

Bark  of  Qucrcus macrocarr)a,  from  Canton,  111 7.85 

Bark  of  hemlock,  (Abies  canadensis,)  Van  Ettenvillo,  N.  Y 9.5 

*Land?r.  Versucbs-Stationen,  xi:c,  10. 


REPOET    OF    THE    CHEMIST. 


53 


The  percentage  of  tannic  acid  found  in  the  leaves  of  Polygonum  am- 
pMMum  is  very  much  below  that  found  by  Prof.  Samuel  Aughey,  of  the 
CTniversity  of  Nebraska.  The  sample  we  examined  had  been  collected 
over  a  year,  and  was  the  best  we  could  obtain.  We  hope,  however,  to 
be  able  to  secure  some  fresh  specimens  in  order  to  make  new  estima- 
tions, since  it  is  possible  that  on  the  account  stated  our  results  may  be 
low. 

AMERICAN  WIKES. 

Our  collection  for  the  International  Exhibition  contained  a  series  of 
specimens  of  American  wines  manufactured  and  contributed  by  Messrs. 
Bush  &  Son,  and  Meissner,  of  Bushberg,  Mo.,  and  since  the  series  con- 
tained specimens  made  from  all  the  varieties  of  grapes  usually  employed 
in  this  country  for  the  purpose,  and  many  made  from  varieties  new  to 
wine  manufacture,  the  results  of  their  analyses  are  considered  of  some 
interest  and  value.  Besides  this,  the  wines  being  made  by  the  same 
parties  are  more  likely  to  be  subject  to  similar  conditions  in  the  process 
of  manufacture,  and  a  comparison  between  them  with  reference  to  the 
value  of  the  grape  becomes  consequently  more  reliable. 

The  names  of  the  new  varieties  are  printed  in  italics  in  the  table. 


Tear  of 
vintage. 

Composition  of  wine. 

Nama  of  brand. 

Specific 
gravity. 

Alcohol,  by 
volume. 

Alcohol,  by 

weight. 

Acid,*  per 

cent. 

Solids,  per 
cent. 

1.  American  sherry 

17.0 
13.2 
13.9 
10.1 
12.4 
13.1 
11.3 
11.8 
11.8 
12.0 
11.0 
14.4 
13.5 
12.3 
11.8 
13.4 
13.1 
11.2 
12.6 
9.4 
8.7 
12.2 

14.23 

9.85 
11.24 

8.13 
10.01 

10.  59 
9.11 
9.51 
9.  51 
9.69 
8.87 

11.  C5 
10. 92 
10.33 

9.51 

10.83 

10.59 

9.03 

10.17 

7.56 

6.99 

9.85 

0.37 

0.G6 

0.48 

0.78   . 

0.48 

0.48 

0.43 

0.72 

0.57* 

0.37 

6.55 

2.  Norton's  Virginia  seedling 

3.  ffermann 

0.995 
0.990 

,    2.31 

1373 

1874 

2.52 

5.  Taylor  hullet 

0.995 

1.03 

0.995 

0. 9975 

0.995 

0.990 

0.995 

1.015 

0.990 

0.995 

0.  990 

0.  993 

y.990 

0.995 

0.  995 , 

1.  000 
0.  9975 
0.995 

1.73 

11.30 

7.  Martha 

lc73 
1874 
1874 
1874 
1875 
1875 
1874 
1874 
1873 
1874 
1874 
1874 
1873 
1873 
lt!75 
1874 

1.73 

8.  Missouri  claret 

2.37 

9.  Herbemont 

2.42 

1.66 

1.53 

12.  Catawba,  sweot 

0.40 
0.48 
0.54 
0.42 
0.45 
0.40 
0.54 
0.47 
0.(i0 
0.43 
0.47 

7.86 

13.  North  Carolina  seedling... 

i.eo 

3.15 

15.  Ooethe 

1.G3 

16,  Clinton 

3.70 

17.  Delaware 

2.18 

IS.  Ives  seedling 

2.29 

19.  Norton's  Virginia 

2.  46 

20.  Concord 

2.33 

21.  Concord 

2.36 

1.53 

"■ 

*  Calculated  as  dry  tartaric. 
MESEMBKYANTHEMUII  CEYSTALLEN'UT-I. 

This  plant,  which  belongs  to  the  natural  order  Flcoklecc,  is  found  grow- 
ing extensively  in  marshes  on  the  tide  water  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Diego, 
Cal.,  has  in  some  sections  been  used  for  food,  and  in  the  Canary  Islands  it 
has  been  burned  for  the  ashes,  which,  it  was  believed,  contained  a  high 
proportion  of  potash ;  on  this  account  they  were  transported  to  Spain  and 
sold  there  to  be  employed  in  glass  manufacture.  As  a  material  Ibr  food, 
it  is  always  used  in  the  young,  green  state,  and  necessarily  so,  since  in 
our  analysis  of  the  plant  a  preliminary  examination  revealed  the  presence 
of  a  considerable  quantity  of  oxalic  acid  in  the  full-grown  plant  submitted 
for  examination.  This  quantity  was  determined,  and  found  to  amount 
to.  about  13  per  cent.^  reckoned  ag  HjCjO^^JH^O,    For  this  purpose 


54  REPORT    OP    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

one  estimation  was  made  by  treating  an  aqueous  extract  of  the  plant 
witli  calcic  acetate,  in  presence  of  free  acetic  acid,  dissolving  tbe  pre- 
cipitate thus  obtained  by  means  of  hydrochloric  acid,  filtering  the  sepa- 
rated insoluble  organic  mutter,  reprecipitating  tbe  calcium  oxalate  in 
the  filtrate  by  means  of  ammonic  hydrate,  and  calculation  of  the  per- 
centage of  oxalic  acid  by  the  usual  methods. 

In  another  estimation  this  method  was  preceded  by  the  following : 
The  air-dried  plant  was  ground  in  a  drug-mill,  macerated  for  some  time 
in  y/ater,  the  whole  placed  upon  a  dialyzer,  and  submitted  to  dialysis 
for  three  days.  To  the  diffusate  thus  obtained  calcic  acetate  was  added, 
in  presence'  of  free  acetic  acid  as  before,  and  the  further  estimation 
made  in  the  usual  way.  In  the  first  case  13.05  per  cent,  oxalic  acid 
(C2H2O4,  2H3O)  was  found,  and  in  the  second  case  13.13  per  cent. 

The  estimation  of  potash  and  soda  to  determine  the  value  of  the  plant 
as  a  source  of  potash  gave  the  results  embodied  in  the  following  table, 
which  shows  also  the  percentages  of  crude  ash,  oxahc  acid,  and  phos- 
phoric acid  estimated : 

Per  cent 
In  total  plant : 

Crude  ash 36.72 

Potash 5.54 

Soda 10.1 

Crystallized  oxalic  acid,  (C2H204,2H20) 13.05 

In  eeed-cases : 

Crude  ash ." 39.62 

Potash 7.48 

Soda 16.50 

Phosphoric  acid 0.  88 

The  plant  contains  a  very  small  amount  of  sulphuric  acid  and  lime, 
but  a  large  proportion  of  chlorine.  The  alkalies  are  therefore  probably 
combined  with  oxalic  and  phosphoric  acids  and  chlorine.  Both  the 
stems  and  the  seeds  have  a  strong  saline  taste  and  a  peculiar  odor,  duo 
to  an  oil  soluble  in  ether. 

SUiEDA   CALIFORNICA. 

Specimens  of  this  plant  also  have  been  submitted  for  analysis  with  a. 
view  to  the  determination  of  its  value  as  a  source  of  potash.  It  grows 
extensively  in  the  salt  marshes  of  California,  and  belongs  to  the  natural 
order  Chejiipodiaccce.  Like  many  other  plants  of  this  order,  it  contains 
oxalic  acid  combined  with  potash  and  soda,  and  in  the  sample  analyzed 
we  have  found  2.54  per  cent,  of  this  acid  corresponding  to  the  formula 
C2H2O4,  2H2O. 

That  the  plant  has  no  superior  value  as  a  source  of  potash  over  that  of 
many  other  plants  will  appear  from  the  following  results  of  our  analysis 
of  the  ash  : 

Per  cent, 
lu  total  plant : 

Crude  aah 14.43 

Sulphunc  acid 0.20 

Oxide  of  iron,  &c 0. 13 

Limo 0.28 

Mugiiosia 0.34 

Iiisoi  u  bio  ailica 0. 10 

Soluble  silica 0.04 

Phosj)licric  acid 0.  33 

PutaHh 2.  05 

Soda 5.58 

Chioriue ■. 4.36 


REPORT    OF    THE    CllEMIST.  55 

GREENSAND  MARL. 

A  sample  of  groensaiid  marl  from  tbe  lands  of  George  13.  Westcott, 
near  Canlks's  Field,  Kent  County,  jMaryland,  was  submitted  for  analysis 
by  Paymaster  Frank  C.  Cosby,  United  States  Navy,  and  was  found  upon 
analysis  to  contain — 

Per  cent. 

Sand  C'.ml  silica 63. 9G 

Foiassa 4-.  4 

Phosphoric  acid 0. 33 

showing  it  to  bo  very  inferior  in  quality  to  similar  material  from  tbe 
deposits  ia  New  Jersey,  in  which  tlie  potassa  ranges  from  3  to  10  per 
cent,  and  tiie  pliosphoric  acid  from  0  to  G  per  cent. 

In  addition  to  the  results  of  our  own  investigations,  I  consider  it  of 
value  to  introduce  here  a  brief  synopsis  of  the  facts  relating  to  agricult- 
ure and  agricultural  chemistry  tliat  have  been  developed  during  the 
past  year  by  investigations  made  in  Europe,  as  the  work  has  been 
attended  with  results  of  the  highest  interest  and  importance  in  a  prac- 
tical as  well  as  a  scientific  point  of  view. 

The  investigations  into  the  questions  of  mineral  nutrition  of  plants 
during  the  past  year  have  mostly  been  with  particular  reference  to 
culture  of  the  beet  j  but  Boehm  has  made  experiments  upon  the  influ- 
ence of  lime  salts  upon  vegetation  in  general,  from  the  results  of  which 
it  appears  that  these  compounds  are  necessary  concomitants  of  the  pot- 
ash salts  in  the  formation  of  starch  and  allied  products  in  the  vegetable 
organism.  The  opinion  has  been  general  that  the  function  of  potash 
was  directed  especially  to  this  end,  but  the  experiments  in  question 
have  shown  that  when  not  associated  with  lime,  or  its  in  absence,  they 
may  have  an  absolutely  poisonous  influence.  Boehm  is  therefore  of 
the  opinion  that  lime  salts  are  as  essential  to  the  formation  of  starch, 
and  to  the  change  of  starch  to  sugar,  &c.,  in  building  up  the  cell-walls 
which  constitute  the  skeleton  of  the  plant  as  it  is  in  the  animal  economy 
in  the  metamorphosis  of  the  cartilage  of  the  bones.  The  notion  thus 
advanced,  that  the  function  of  potash  in  the  promotion  of  the  formation 
of  sugar  in  plants  is  limited,  has  received  confirmation  in  the  results  of 
the  investigations  of  Joulie  upon  the  relation  of  the  elements  of  fertil- 
izers to  the  composition  of  beets,  which  show  that  the  richness  in  sugar 
is  favorably  aflected  by  phosphoric  acid,  but  is  not  increased  by  the 
alkalies  or  nitrogen  compounds.  These  latter  elements,  if  applied  in 
moderate  quantities,  may  serve  to  augment  the  yield  of  beets;- but  if 
they  exist  in  the  soil  in  excess  of  the  amount  required  by  the  crop  in  nor- 
mal physiological  development,  they  become  injurious  to  the  quality 
— the  alkalies  by  increasing  the  saline  constituents,  and  the  nitro- 
genous compounds  by  increasing  the  size  of  the  beet  and  reducing 
the  saccharine  constituents.  These  results  agree  closely  with  those 
of  Fremy  and  Deherain,  who  have  found  that  the  richness  in  sugar  is 
not  affected  by  different  characters  of  the  soil,  such  as  argillaceous,  sili- 
ceous, or  calcareous ;  that  calcic  phosphate  and  potassic  nitrate  in  sterile 
soils  have  a  favorable  effect  on  the  quantity  of  the  product  and  its 
richness  in  sugar,  and  that  excess  of  nitrogenous  manures  is  injuri- 
ous. With  reference  to  the  nitrogen  compounds,  Joulie  finds  that 
the  nitogen  of  nitric  acid  is  preferable  in  this  connection  to  that  of 
ammonia,  which,  in  its  turn,  is  more  valuable  than  organic  nitrogen. 
When  used  in  the  form  of  nitrate,  the  soda  compound  may  replace  with 
advantage  the  potash  compound,  and  at  the  same  time  bring  about  a 
reduction  of  the  total  alkalies  in  the  products.    Stable  manures  should 


5G  EEPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

be  used  witli  great  care,  and  do  not  need  any  addition  of  mineral  fer- 
tilizers. They  should  be  well  rotted  before  application  to  the  crop,  or 
they  should  be  applied  sufficiently  iu  advance  of  planting  to  insure  this 
condition. 

From  calculations  ou  the  basis  deduced  from  his  experiments,  the  best 
formula  for  a  fertilizer  for  beets  on  very  i)oor  soil  would  be: 

Ponnds. 

Acid  calcic  phosplirote 160 

Sodic  nitrate,  (Chili  saltpeter) S40 

Gypsum,  (laud-plaster). - 900 

This  misture  should  be  applied  at  the  rate  of  1,000  pounds  per  acre. 
The  quantity  may,  however,  be  very  materially  reduced  when  applied 
to  soils  comparatively  fertile,  but  lacking  in  constituents  necessary  for 
complete  nutrition  of  the  crop. 

With  reference  to  mineral  plant-poisons,  a  remarkable  exception  to 
the  rule  for  the  influence  of  aluminium  salts  has  been  observed  by 
Bergstrand  in  a  locality  near  Westerbotten,  in  Sweden,  where  Kiibus 
articus  was  found  in  a  flourishing  condition  upon  a  sandy  soil  contain- 
ing as  high  as  3  per  cent,  of  alum.  The  dry  plants  yield  4.68  per  cent, 
of  ash,  containing  12.60  per  cent,  sulphuric  acid  and  5  per  cent,  alumina  j 
but  these  figures  are  very  much  reduced  when  the  percentage  of  alum 
in  the  soil  is  sufficiently  low  to  admit  of  the  growth  of  grass  and  grain. 
In  such  case  the  sulphuric  acid  of  the  ash  amounts  to  only  5  per  cent. 

Eug.  Peligot  has  discovered  a  veritable  plant-poison  in  the  compounds 
of  boracic  acid.  He  has  determined  that  the  free  acid  and  its  com- 
pounds are  distinctly  poisonous  to  vegetation,  and,  when  present  in  the 
soil  in  moderate  quantity,  may  cause  the  death  of  plants  in  a  very  short 
time. 

The  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  organic  and  atmospheric  nitro- 
gen in  their  relation  to  vegetable  nutrition  have  been  numerous,  and 
most  of  them  exceedingly  valuable.  With  reference  to  the  compound 
most  favorable  for  plant-nutrition,  Lehman  has  determined  that  it  varies 
with  the  stage  of  development  of  the  plant,  ammonia  being  more  favor- 
able in  the  early  stages,  and  nitrates  during  the  later,  though  some 
plants  require  nitric  acid  throughout  the  entire  x)eriod  of  growth  for 
normal  development.  In  the  course  of  his  experiments  he  found  that 
lupines  growing  in  sterile  soils  have  the  power  of  taking  up  nitrogen 
from  external  sources  to  such  an  extent  that  he  considers  them  the  cheap- 
est i)ossible  source  of  nitrogen  for  such  sterile  soils.  Their  power  in 
this  particular  has  received  a  clear  and  remarkable  explanation  in  the 
late  discoveries  of  Berthelot,  who,  by  a  series  of  careful  and  ingenious 
experiments,  has  found  that  the  proximate  organic  constituents  of  plants, 
under  the  influence  of  the  electrical  tension  always  existing  between  the 
soil  and  the  atmosphere  immediately  above  it,  may  combine  with  atmos- 
pheric nitrogen  to  form  compounds  which,  on  decomposition  at  300°  to 
400°  C,  in  presence  of  soda-lime,  are  capable  of  forming  ammonia. 
This  explanation  of  the  manner  of  the  absorption  and  assimilation  of 
atmospheric  nitrogen  has  been  the  subject  of  careful  and  laborious  re- 
search at  the  hands  of  the  leaders  of  chemical  science  since  the  study 
of  vegetable  nutrition  began,  and  has  been  sui)plemented  by  the  results 
of  the  late  investigations  of  Eoussingault  upon  the  influence  of  the 
soil  upon  the  nitrification  of  nitrogenous  organic  matters  employed  as 
manures,  in  which  he  made  an  extended  series  of  experiments  with  dif- 
ferent substances  in  admixture  v/ith  sand,  chalk,  and  garden-soil.  As 
a  result  of  these  experiments,  he  found  that  the  garden-soil  determined 
a  formation  of  the  greatest. amount  of  nitrogen  and  a  production  of  the 


REPORT    OF   THE    CHEMIST.  57 

highest  amount  of  nitric  acid,  but  the  lowest  amount  of  ammonia.  Be- 
tween sand  and  chalk  there  seems  to  be  little  difference  with  regard  to 
their  influence  upon  the  production  of  nitric  acid,  but  the  chalk  seems 
to  have  the  strongest  influence  in  the  formation  of  ammonia.  If  ar- 
ranged in  the  order  of  their  relative  value,  depending  upon  this  latter 
influence,  they  would  stand,  first,  chalk,  then  sand,  and  garden-soil  last ; 
but,  if  arranged  with  reference  to  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  trans- 
formed, the  order  would  be,  garden-soil,  chalk,  sand.  In  case  of  a  chalk- 
mixture,  the  proportion  transformed  varies  from  11  to  53  per  cent,  of 
the  total  organic  nitrogen,  while  for  the  mixture  with  garden-soil  these 
limits  were  30  to  90  per  cent. 

That  this  power  of  garden-soil  in  the  transformation  of  nitrogenous 
compounds  is  resident  in  the  humous  substances  it  contains  is  apparent 
from  the  results  of  Boussingault's  experiments;  but  it  is  made  more  evi- 
dent by  the  experiments  of  Simon  in  his  investigation  of  the  function 
of  humus  in  the  soil,  from  which  he  concludes  that  humic  acid  has  the 
power  to  appropriate  atmospheric  nitrogen ;  that  the  absorption  of  atmos- 
pheric nitrogen  is  attended  with  a  liberation  of  carbonic  acid,  and  that 
humic  acid  is  insoluble  in  water  free  from  nitrogen  or  atmospheric  air. 

A  curious  and  interesting  fact  may  be  noted  in  the  results  obtained 
by  Boussingault.  In  the  mixtures  with  sand  and  chalk,  raw  bone  was 
the  only  material  that  yielded  any  appreciable  quantity  of  nitric  acid. 
The  bones  seem,  therefore,  to  have  a  special  tendency  to  the  function  of 
nitrification ;  a  theory  supported  by  the  fact  that  M.  Herve  Magnon 
found  by  analysis  large  quantities  of  nitric  acid  in  the  drain  age- waters 
of  the  ossuaries  of  the  catacombs  of  Paris. 

With  regard  to  ammonia,  Houzeau  has  discovered  a  peculiar  quality : 
that  when  a  solution  in  water  is  allowed  to  stand  for  some  time,  it  com- 
pletely disappears  from  the  solution.  It  is  well  known  that  it  is  always 
present  in  rain-water;  but  found  in  comparatively  small  quantities  in 
spring  and  river  water,  a  fact  which  has  always  been  considered  due  to 
absorption  by  the  soil ;  but  M.  Houzeau  found  that  it  disappeared  from 
solutions  under  conditions  leading  to  the  conclusion  that  light  has  in 
some  way  an  influence  in  bringing  about  this  result. 

While  the  methods  involved  in  the  appropriation  and  assimilation  of 
atmospheric  nitrogen  were  being  made,  Gorup-Besanez  and  Will  have 
developed  some  important  facts  in  connection  with  the  utilization  of 
combined  nitrogen  in  the  interior  of  the  plant.  Thus  they  have  suc- 
ceeded in  separating  from  the  seeds  of  Cannabis  sativa,  (hemp,)  and 
Linum  tisitatisinnim,  (linseed,)  and  some  kinds  of  malt,  a  ferment  capa- 
ble of  acting  upon  fibriu  and  albumin  in  a  manner  similar  to  pepsin. 
It  is  snow-white  and  pulverulent,  and  retains  its  activity  for  weeks  when 
kept  in  well-closed  vessels.  It  changes  starch-paste  into  sugar  within 
an  hour,  and  acts  rapidly  upon  fibrine-forming  peptones.  They  also 
found  the  same  ferment  in  the  sap  of  different  species  of  Nepenthes,  and 
its  action  upon  animal  substances  so  decided  that  it  has  been  declared 
to  be  a  vegetable  solution  of  pepsin. 

Passing  from  the  absorption  of  nitrogen  and  the  formation  of  nitrog- 
enous compounds,  we  come  to  the  formation  of  carbohydrates.  Liebig 
and  Eochleder  believed  that  the  organic  acids  (oxalic,  tartaric,  &c.) 
form  the  transition  links  between  atmospheric  carbonic  acid  and  the 
carbohydrates  in  the  economy  of  plant-growth,  while  Davy,  Sachs,  and 
others  hold  that  the  transformation  is  direct,  with  no  intermediate  steps. 
Baeyer  subsequently  advanced  the  theory  that  when  sunlight  falls  upon 
chlorophyll  in  plants  well  supplied  with  carbonic  acid,  the  latter  seems 


58  REPORT    OF    THE    C'OMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

to  suffer  the  same  dissociation  as  at  higher  temperatures,  liberating 
oxygen  and  leaving  carbonic  oxide  combined  with  chlorophyll,  and 
that  in  this  combination  it  undergoes  further  reduction  under  the  inilu 
ence  of  the  cell-contents,  thus  entering  into  the  formation  of  the  carbohy 
drates.  Stiitzer,  of  Gottingen,  has  tested  these  views  by  careful  experi- 
ment under  various  conditions,  and  has  obtained  results  wliicli  show 
that  the  views  of  Liebig  and  Rochleder  are  incorrect,  and  that  oxalic 
acid  can  enter  into  the  process  of  nutrition  only  after  previous  oxidation 
to  carbonic  acid ;  that  this  being  true  for  oxalic  acid,  it  will  also  hold 
good  for  the  other  acids  of  the  carbonyl  group ;  but  tartaric  acid  and 
the  compounds  of  the  alcohol  group  may  be  changed  directly  into  the 
formative  material  of  the  plant.  The  views  of  Liebig  are  also  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  results  lately  obtained  by  Mayer. 

Stiitzer's  experiments  with  reference  to  Baeyer's  views  show  that  an 
assiuiilation  of  carbon  cannot  be  eflected  after  the  manner  indicated, 
and  that  we  must  for  the  present  hold  on  to  the  old  theory,  viz.,  that  of 
the  direct  change  of  carbonic  acid  to  the  carbohydrates  in  the  plant  con- 
taining chlorophyll  under  the  influence  of  light.  Whether  alcohol  may 
or  may  not  have  the  function  in  the  plant-nutrition  suggested  by  Stiit- 
zer, it  has  at  any  rate  been  found  in  the  unfermented  juices  by  Gutzeit, 
who  has  succeeded  in  separating  from  Heracleum  gu/anteuni,  Pastinica 
sativa,  and  Anthriscus  cerefoUum  small  quantities  of  volatile  fluid,  which, 
upon  examination,  proved  to  consist  of  one-third  methyl  alcohol  and 
two-thirds  ethyl  alcohol.  From  examination  of  fruits  in  various  stages 
of  growth,  he  concludes  that  as  the  process  of  ripening  advances,  the 
ethyl  alcohol  changes  to  other  compounds,  while  the  methyl  alcohol 
remains  constant.  This  conclusion  corresponds  to  a  certain  extent  with 
that  of  Stiitzer,  to  the  effect  that  the  compounds  of  the  methyl  or  me- 
thylen  groups  may  change  to  final  products  in  the  plant;  but  since  oxy- 
gen must  first  be  taken  up,  these  groups  are  subject  to  extensive  meta- 
morphoses. The  results  obtained  by  Gutzeit,  showing  a  variation  in 
the  amount  of  ethyl  alcohol  in  fruit  according  to  the  degree  of  maturity, 
are  confirmed  by  those  of  Lechartier  and  Bellamy,  who  have  found  that 
when  deprived  of  free  oxygen,  fruits  and  leaves  give  off  definit .  quan- 
tities of  carbonic  acid,  due  to  formation  of  alcohol,  according  to  the  stage 
of  ripening;  the  maximum  being  reached  before  complete  maturity. 
With  the  exception  of  the  horse-chestnut,  which  gave  oft'  22  cubic  cen- 
timeters per  gram  of  substance,  the  limits  for  fruits  and  leaves  are  from 
0  to  13,5  cubic  centimeters  per  gram.  That  this  formation  of  alcohol  in 
fruits,  &c.,  is  augmented  by  absence  of  oxygen  is  shown  by  the  results 
obtained  by  Missanghi,  who  observed  a  formation  of  alcohol,  acetic  and 
formic  acids  in  grapes  preserved  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid,  and 
showing  no  indications  of  decomposition,  the  flavor  of  the  grapes  when 
taken  out  being  similar  to  that  of  fruits  preserved  in  spirit.  JJe  Luca's 
conclusions  from  his  experiments  are  that  saccharine  matters  of  fruits 
may  undergo  a  change  to  carbonic  acid  and  alcohol  without  the  presence 
of  alcoholic  or  acetic  ferment.  He  finds  that  this  change  is  attended 
with  evolution  of  nitrogen,  and  sometimes  of  hydrogen,  and  that  leaves 
and  flowers  act  similarly  in  atmospheres  of  carbonic  acid,  hydrogen,  or 
air.  Fremy's  results  lead  to  totally  different  conclusions.  lie  placed 
cherries,  which  had  been  carefully  washed,  in  hermetically-sealed  tubes, 
under  various  conditions,  and  observed,  after  a  time,  a  liberation  of  car- 
bonic acid,  with  formation  of  alcohol.  On  examination  with  the  micro- 
scope, he  found  in  their  interior  germs  capable  of  exciting  alcoholic  fer- 
mentation in  sugar-solutions,  and  he  was  therelbre  led  to  a  belief  in  the 
spontaneous  generation  of  this  ferment.    In  this  belief  he  is  opposed  by 


REPORT    OF    THE    CHEMIST.  59 

P.istear,  aud  the  views  of  the  latter  are  supported  by  Struvc,  who,  in 
the  course  of  an  investigation  of  the  gases  Ibund  in  fruits,  phiced  some 
grapes  under  water,  free  from  air,  under  conditions  favorable  to  exhaus- 
tion of  air,  and  at  the  close  of  the  experiment  found  that  the  water  con- 
taiued  small  quantities  of  alcohol  and  yeast-cells,  but  on  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  grapes  was  unable  to  find  any  yeast-cells  in  their  interior. 
The  reliability  of  Fremy's  conclusions  are  therefore  questionable. 

As  might  be  inferred  from  the  presence  of  alcohol  found  in  plants  and 
fruits,  the  gas  they  contain  generally  consists  of  carbonic  acid.  Thus 
Struve  has  found  that  Avhen  grape-leaves  are  covered  with  ether,  a  lib- 
eration of  gas  takes  place,  varying  in  amount  with  the  stage  of  their 
development,  being  most  abundant  in  young  leaves.  Grapes  similarly 
treated  give  off  no  gases,  but  do  so  when  covered  with  water  and  placed 
under  a  bell-jar  from  which  the  air  is  subsequently  exhausted  by  means 
of  the  pump.  The  gas  liberated  was  found  in  each  case  to  consist  en- 
tirely of  carbonic  acid. 

On  analysis  of  the  gas  contained  in  the  pod  of  Colutea  arhorescens, 
(bladder-nut,)  Bender  found  it  to  consist  of  2.2  carbonic  acid,  18.7  per 
cent,  of  oxygen,  and  79.1  per  cent,  of  nitrogen.  These  results  correspond 
closely  with  those  obtained  by  Saintpierre  and  Magnien,  who  find,  how- 
ever, that  these  proportions  vary,  not  only  with  the  time  of  the  season, 
but  also  with  the  time  of  the  day  in  which  the  pods  were  collected. 
Bender  considers  that  the  gas  is  obtained  entirely  from  external  sources 
by  transfusion  through  the  walls  of  the  pods ;  but  the  results  of  the  ex- 
periments of  Saintpierre  and  Magnien  seem  to  favor  their  view,  that  the 
carbonic  acid  is  due  to  internal  exhalation,  and  that  it  subsequently 
becomes  mixed  "with  atmospheric  air  by  transfusion,  in  accordance  with 
the  law  of  diffusion  of  gas ;  that  the  oxygen  of  the  air  thus  taken  in  is 
absorbed  by  the  green  pods  in  the  process  of  growth.  A  simultaneous 
liberation  of  carbonic  acid  taking  place,  the  latter  being  often  greater 
than  the  absorption  of  oxygen,  and  producing  distension  of  the  cell- 
walls  of  the  pod.  But  it  must  not  bo  inferred  from  the  results  just 
described  that  the  gases  liberated  by  plants  always  consist  of  carbonic 
acid ',  for  Joseph  Boehm  has  observed  that  when  branches  of  woody 
l^lants  were  placed  in  direct  sunlight  under  water  freed  from  air  by  boil- 
ing, a  liberation  of  gases  immediately  began,  and  in  a  short  time  there 
was  set  free  an  amount  greater  in  volume  than  that  of  the  twigs  under 
experiment.  The  last  portions  were  almost  pure  oxygen.  Though  he 
considers  this  a  physiological  phenomenon,  he  does  not,  for  the  i^resent, 
attempt  to  explain  it ;  but  Ad.  Mayer,  who  has  also  observed  the  phe- 
nomenou,  considers  it  due  to  the  formation  of  starch  under  the  influence 
of  light,  by  reduction  of  acids  which  have  been  formed  by  oxidation  of 
starch  in  the  absence  of  light.  The  results  of  other  investigations,  as 
will  appear  further  on,  suggest  the  idea  that  there  may  be  in  such  case  an 
oxidation  of  sugar,  since  it  has  been  shown  by  different  persons  to  exist 
in  leaves  in  considerable  quantity.  Thus  13eherain  has  detected  its 
presence  in  the  leaves  of  beets,  and  from  the  results  of  tlje  investigations 
of  Corenwinder  it  appears  to  be  located  principally  in  the  ribs  or  veins, 
and  that  in  these  parts  it  amounts  to  1.607  per  cent.  From  further  ex- 
periments he  has  found  the  percentage  higher  in  roots  having  large, 
well-developed  leaves  than  in  those  having  smaller  ones.  Joseph 
Boussingault  has  also  found  sugar  in  the  petals  of  certain  flowers,  and 
has  estimated  the  amount  present.  He  divides  the  sugar  found  into 
reducil)le  sugar  and  invertibie  sugar.  The  first  may  consist  of  inverted 
sugar,  glucose,  levulose,  or  even  inactive  sugar,  or,  what  is  more  prob- 
able, a  mixture  of  them  all,  having  the  power  to  reduce  cupric  oxide. 


60  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

The  invertible  sugar  consists  of  saccharose.  The  limits  of  the  amounts 
found  in  the  various  flowers  examined  were,  for  reducing  sugar,  from  1.27 
to  4.88  per  cent,  of  the  normal  undried  substance,  and,  for  invertible 
sugar,  from  traces  to  3.12  per  cent.  The  average  of  the  amounts  found 
in  the  leaves  collected  at  the  same  time  as  the  flowers  was  2.2  per  cent. 
After  being  cut  and  exposed  to  the  air,  the  proportion  of  sugar  in  the 
flowers  was  reduced,  which,  according  to  Boussingault,  is  due  to  oxida- 
tion, with  formation  of  carbonic  acid.  This  action  takes  place  only  in 
the  green  state,  becomes  feeble  during  desiccation,  and  is  inappreciable 
in  the  dried  product.  While  for  this  liberation  of  carbonic  acid  or  of 
oxygen  reasonable  explanations  may  be  found  without  great  difficulty, 
it  will  not  be  as  easy  to  explain  the  liberation  of  hydrogen  gas  by  vege- 
tation, which  the  observations  of  Pollacci  seem  to  indicate.  Thus  he 
found  that  Oidium  Tuclieri  found  on  grape-leaves  is  rapidly  destroyed 
when  exposed  to  the  action  of  sulphureted  hydrogen,  and  he  therefore 
believes  that  the  destruction  of  this  fungus  by  application  of  sulphur  is 
due  to  this  gas  formed  by  the  action  of  nascent  hydrogen,  probably  lib- 
erated by  the  leaves  and  fruit  in  the  process  of  growth.  This  action  is 
indicated  by  the  results  obtained  by  washing  the  leaves  which  had  been 
treated  with  pure  sulphur  with  distilled  water  and  testing  the  washings 
with  lead  acetate  and  silver  nitrate.  Similar  experiments  made  upon 
other  plants  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  all  plants  are  capable  of  lib- 
erating hydrogen  in  a  nascent  condition.  Missanghi,  however,  takes 
issue  with  Pollacci  in  his  conclusions,  but  appears  to  have  misunderstood 
them.  He  experimented  with  a  view  to  the  determination  of  emission 
of  hydrogen  in  the  growth  of  mildew,  and  by  subjecting  the  atmosphere 
surrounding  the  fungus  growing  on  bread  to  suitable  tests,  he  was  un- 
able to  detect  the  slighest  trace.  While  these  results  are  of  valae  with 
reference  to  mildew,  they  do  not  seem  to  conflict  with  those  of  Pollacci. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  character  and  composition  of  the  gases  lib- 
erated by  plants  in  respiration,  Ad.  Mayer  finds  that  between  this  latter 
function  and  growth,  as  determined  by  exi)eriments  made  upon  small 
wheat-plants  under  various  conditions,  no  fixed  relation  exists.  Growth 
is  variable,  depending  upon  very  many  external  conditions,  while  respi- 
ration, the  quantity  of  oxygen,  and  the  character  of  the  plants  being 
similar,  is  remarkably  constant. 

From  the  consideration  of  these  questions  we  now  pass  to  those  of  a  more 
technical  character,  among  the  most  important  of  which  are  the  conclu- 
sions of  Soxhlet  and  Tisserand  with  reference  to  manufacture  of  butter. 
The  former,  in  a  discussion  upon  the  condition  of  fat  in  milk,  opposes 
the  generally-accepted  theory  that  it  exists  in  globules  surrounded  by  a 
membrane  which  it  is  necessary  to  break  up  in  the  process  of  churning, 
or  by  chemical  means,  for  the  production  of  butter,  and  believes  that 
it  exists  in  much  the  same  condition  as  oil  in  an  emulsion  with  albumin, 
citing  authorities  in  support  of  his  belief.  He  considers  that  in  new 
milk  the  butter  is  present  in  oily  drops,  as  it  appears  under  the  micro- 
scope j  but  his  experiments  show  that  if  the  milk  is  frozen  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  three  or  four  degrees  below  0^  C.,  they  become  solid  and  remain 
in  this  condition  after  the  milk  is  thawed.  It  can  then  be  separated  by 
churning,  it  is  said,  in  two  minutes,  a  result  usually  requiring  eleven 
minutes ;  which  is  a  point  of  great  practical  importance.  The  conclu- 
sions of  Tisserand,  who  has  made  an  extended  series  of  experiments 
upon  the  influence  of  low  temperatures,  varying  from  0<^  to  30.0°  C,  ujpou 
milk  and  the  production  of  butter,  are  similar  to  those  of  Soxhlet;  for  he 
finds  that  it  renders  the  separation  of  the  cream  more  rapid,  increases 
Its  volume  and  the  yield  of  butter,  and  improves  the  quality  of  the 


REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS.      61 

skimmed  milk,  butter,  and  cheese.  These  effects  increase  with  a  decline 
of  temperature.  Ho  therefore  considers  the  practice  of  warming  dairies 
in  winter  objectionable,  and  that  the  temperature  should  be  kept  as  low 
as  possible. 

Another  advance  in  technical  chemistry  relating  to  agriculture  that 
has  been  recorded  is  in  reference  to  the  x^urilication  of  sugar.  On 
account  of  the  insolubility  of  magnesia  and  its  compounds  in  saccharine 
liquors,  M.  M.  C.  Bernard  and  L.  Ehrmann  have  made  experiments  with 
reference  to  its  suitability  for  industrial  application  to  defecation  of 
sugar-solutions.  When  employed  for  this  purpose  in  the  proportion  of 
0.3  to  0.5  per  cent,  of  the  liquor  to  be  operated  upon,  the  defecation  was 
complete  and  the  liquid  made  clear.  They  made  use  of  calcined  mag- 
nesia, the  hydrate,  carbonate,  and  phosphate,  but  give  j)reference  to 
the  calcined  magnesia.    As  a  result  of  their  experiments,  they  obtained — 

1.  A  yield  in  white  sugar  of  the  first  crystallization  6  to  7  per  cent, 
higher  than  that  generally  obtained. 

2.  A  quality  of  sugar  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  fine  qualities  obtained 
by  the  regular  methods  of  manufacture. 

They  insist  that  the  magnesia  forms  no  combination  with  the  sugar, 
and  may  therefore  be  used  in  excess  with  no  necessity  for  treatment 
with  carbonic  acid  and  animal  charcoal.  It  settles  to  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel  and  remains  behind  on  drawing  off  the  liquid. 

This  resum6  of  the  work  accomplished  in  foreign  laboratories  may 
not  include  all  the  discoveries  made  during  the  year  within  the  domain 
of  agricultural  chemical  science,  but  it  embodies  the  results  of  the  most 
important  investigations  that  have  been  publishnd  in  the  regular  peri- 
odicals, and  it  may  not  be  devoid  ot  interest  to  the  readers  of  this 
report. 

In  our  own  laboratory,  investigations  of  an  important  character  other 
than  those  the  results  of  which  are  given  in  this  report  have  been  under 
way  and  are  in  the  process  of  completion,  and  reports  upon  them  must 
therefore  be  withheld  for  a  future  occasion. 
Very  respectfully, 

WM.  McMURTRIE, 

Chemist. 
Hon.  Fked'k  Watts, 

Commissioner. 


REPOUT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS 

AND  GROUNDS. 

SiE :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report : 
The  improvement  of  the  grounds  and  the  enlargement  of  the  collection 
of  plants  in  the  arboretum  is  prosecuted  from  time  to  time  as  far  as  the 
means  available  for  these  purposes  will  admit. 

The  herbaceous  ground,  intended  to  contain  specimens  of  all  native 
plants  not  i^roperly  admissible  in  the  ligneous  collection,  has  been  laid 
out  and  is  now  ready  for  planting.  Special  efforts  will  be  required  to 
complete  this  collection ;  a  large  number  can  be  raised  from  seeds,  plants 
of  many  species  can  be  procured  from  commercial  sources,  and  some  by 
exchanges  with  botanic  gardens,  but  the  chief  reliance  will  be  upon  com- 
petent collectors  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 


62  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

The  addition  to  the  grounds  of  the  space  formerly  occupied  by  the 
canal  has  been  filled,  drained,  and  graded  to  correspond  with  the  gen- 
eral design.  This  extension  will  be  fully  occupied  by  additional  genera 
to  the  groups  of  trees  in  that  section,  particularly  the  willow  family, 
which  is  now  very  fall,  numbering  over  two  hundred  species  and  varie- 
ties. 

In  improving  that  portion  of  the  grounds  formerly  occupied  by  the 
canal,  advantage  was  taken  of  the  position  to  construct  a  small  lake, 
mainly  for  the  purpose  6f  introducing  a  collection  of  native  water- 
plants. 

The  ornamental  as  well  as  the  picturesque  eflects  of  this  class  of  plants 
are  mostly  quite  neglected  in  modern  landscape-gardening.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  artificial  lakes  in  parks  and  pleasure-grounds  wholly 
destitute  of  this  class  of  vegetation,  and  although  water-surface  is  sel- 
dom uninteresting  in  scenery,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  possess 
all  the  attractions  and  sanitary  effects  which  can  be  imparted  by  the 
introduction  of  suitable  flowering-plants. 

No  flower  in  the  garden  border  can  excel,  either  in  beauty  of  form  or  in 
delicacy  of  fragrance,  the  white  water-lily,  Xymphcua  odorata ;  the  large 
cup-shaped  yellowish  flowers,  boldly  projected  out  of  the  water  on  long 
foot-stalks,  of  the  NehimMiim  luteum;  and  the  less  showy  blossoms  of 
the  yellow  pond-lily,  Nuj^liar  advena,  in  connection  with  the  massive 
spread  of  the  large  leaves,  especially  those  of  the  Nelumbium,  which 
are  frequently  18  inches  in.  diameter,  produce  an  effect  equal  to  the 
best  efforts  of  the  most  distinguished  artist  in  that  popular  formation  of 
"foliage"  plants  known  as  "carpet-bedding." 

In  addition  to^  the  water-lilies,  various  other  interesting  species  of 
water-plants  have  been  introdued,  and  are  spreading  rapidly  in  the 
lake.  Several  of  the  curiously-horned  seeds  of  the  Trapa  natans  were 
thrown  in,  and  in  due  time  the  small  triangidar-shaped  leaves  made 
their  appearance  on  the  surface,  neatly  arranged  in  roseate  form.  Sev- 
eral plants  of  a  tropical  iim^ioc/ictm  spread  rapidly  daring  summer,  and 
produced  abundantly  of  its  yellow  flowers.  The  duck-weed,  Lemna, 
thrown  in  a  sheltered  cove,  speedily  covered  the  surface  with  its  dimin- 
utive greenery.  In  deeper  water,  plants  of  the  eel-grass,  Yallisneria 
spiralis,  were  planted,  and  in  shallow  recesses  various  species  were  intro- 
duced, as,  Potamogetan,  Calla,  Pontederia,  Caltha,  Acoms,  Polygonum, 
&c.  On  prominent  points,  tall,  reedy  plants  will  be  disposed,  such  as 
Typlias  and  Sparaganiums,  with  Cypcrus,  Junciis,  and  smaller  growths, 
as  marginal  plants  to  the  taller  central  groups. 

A  small  island  was  formed,  having  its  surface  raised  about  six  inches 
above  the  water-level  with  spagnum,  in  which  various  low-growing  bog- 
plants  were  inserted,  such  as  the  pitcher-plant,  Barracenia  imrimrea,  the 
horse-tnil  grasses,  Equisetuus,  with  Hahenarias,  and  similar  low-growing 
forms  thnt  are  to  be  found  in  woody  swamps  and  wet  meadows. 

The  effective  arrangement  of  water  and  beg  plants  in  and  on  the  mar- 
gin of  lakes  should  be  as  much  a  subject  of  artistic  study  as  is  the 
arrangement  of  trees  and  shrubs  in  park  scenery.  This  branch  of  land- 
scape decoration  is  wholly  neglected,  but  it  is  destined  to  become  pop- 
ular, and  it  will  awaken  an  interest  in  an  extensive  class  of  plants  that 
are  but  little  known  and  that  possess  a  characteristic  individuality  of 
form  and  beauty,  which,  when  received  in  connection  with  their  natural 
surroundings,  cannot  fail  to  recall  pleasant  associations  to  the  mind, 
compared  to  which  the  landscape-effect  produced  by  a  group  of  flowering 
shrubs  will  appear  exceedingly  tame  and  uninteresting. 

Another  feature  connected  with  the  lake  is  the  rhododendron  island. 


EEPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS.      63 

On  this  the  soil  is  raised  18  inches  above  the  level  of  the  water,  sup- 
ported at  the  sloping  sides  by  a  rustic  wall  of  small  stones.  Plants  of 
the  Japan  bamboo-cane  have  been  thickly  set  on  the  margiu,  and  more 
sparingly  dotted  over  the  surface  of  the  bed,  for  the  purpose  of  aftbrding 
a  slight  shelter  and  shade  to  the  rhododendrons.  These  brilliant  flow- 
ering plants  have  been  found  to  grow  and  thrive  to  perfection  in  such 
positions.  They  are  provided  with  fine  hair-like  roots  that  ramify  near 
the  surface,  and  are  easily  destroyed  if  the  soil  becomes  dry ;  hence  a 
soil  that  is  kept  equally  moist  without  reaching  saturation  is  favorable  to 
their  extension  and  presei-vation ;  the  whole  secret  of  rhododendron 
culture  depends  upon  this  condition  of  the  soil;  for,  although  they  are 
natural  to  shady  forests,  they  become  habituated  to  sunshine  and  retain 
their  verdure  in  open  sites,  provided  the  roots  are  constantly  supplied 
with  moisture.  Surface-evaporation  can  be  retarded  by  mulching  the 
roots  with  decaying  leaves,  grass-cuttings  from  the  lawn,  or  strawy 
manure  from  the  barn-yard.  The  magnificent  display  of  rhododendrons 
in  flower  at  the  International  Exposition  has  created  a  widespread 
interest  in  their  culture;  from  comparative  obscurity  they  have  suddenly 
been  raised  to  a  popularity  which  they  deservedly  merit  as  regards  orna- 
mental effect  in  pleasure  grounds  and  public  parks. 

The  native  azalea  is  a  close  family  relation  of,  and  associates  well 
with,  the  rhododendron,  requiring  similar  conditions  of  soil  and  position. 
A  portion  of  the  bed  is  reserved  for  plants  of  Kalmia  latifoUa,  An- 
dromeda Jloribunda,  Ilex  {Prinos)  verticellata,  Itea  virginica,  and  Clethra 
alnifolia ;  the  trailing  arbutus,  the  partridge-berry,  and  others  of 
similar  habit  are  planted  as  undergrowths. 

The  interest  felt  in  the  introduction  of  new  economic  plants  for  exper- 
imental trial  leads  to  constant  demands  upon  the  Department  for  seeds 
and  plants  of  species  not  adapted  to  the  climate  or  locality  in  which 
these  experiments  are  proposed  to  be  made.  Among  those  in  frequent 
demand  the  following  are  noted,  with  remarks  on  their  adaptability  or 
fitness  for  cultivation  in  this  country : 

COFFEE. 

The  successful  culture  of  the  coffee-plant,  Coffca  arabica,  in  any  por- 
tion of  the  United  States  is  exceedingly  problematical.  There  is  a  con- 
stant demand  for  plants  for  experimental  purposes,  which  the  Depart- 
partment  is  unable  to  supply,  owing  to  the  difliculty  of  procuring  fresh 
seed.  It  is  barely  possible  that  in  Southern  California,  or  in  Southern 
Florida,  localities  may  be  found  where  it  may  succeed;  but  these  are  the 
only  regions  where  further  experiments  in  coflee-culture  need  be  made. 
Authorities  on  coffee-production  very  generally  coincide  in  the  opinion 
that  it  cannot  be  profitably  grown  in  any  climate  where  the  temperature 
falls  as  low  as  50°  F.  at  any  period  of  the  year.  It  may  be  presumed, 
however,  that  the  amount  of  summer-heat  required  to  mature  the  berry 
is  a  more  potent  factor  in  the  elements  favoring  success  than  is  the  mere 
ability  of  the  plant  to  endure  for  a  brief  time  a  certain  degree  of  cold; 
for  it  is  well  known  that  culture  can  extend  a  controlling  influence  so 
far  as  to  render  plants  better  fitted  to  endure  a  temporary  low  temper- 
ature without  inducing  any  perceptible  injury  to  their  vital  forces  ;  but 
no  modification  of  ordinary  cultural  appliances  can  increase  the  supply 
of  atmospheric  heat  in  a  climate  so  as  to  exert  any  favorable  influence 
on  its  vegetation.  Since  the  introduction  of  coflee-culture  in  Liberia, 
attention  has  been  directed  to  the  superior  size  of  the  berry  produced  in 
that  country.    For  a  time  it  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  varieties  of 


64  REPORT    OF    THE    COmilSSIONER    OF    AGRICULTUEE 

Coffea  arabica,  of  which  several  are  known  to  exist  in  Abyssinia  and 
Central  Africa ;  but  more  recent  investigations  have  placed  it  as  a  dis- 
tinct species,  which  has  been  named  Coffea  Liherica.  Efforts  are  now 
being  made  to  introduce  this  species  into  coffee-growing  regions,  on  ac- 
count of  its  supposed  immunity  from  the  rust,  a  fungoid  disease  that  has 
greatly  impaired  the  value  of  the  coffee-crop  in  some  of  the  best  plan- 
tations in  various  parts  of  the  world.  This  Liberian  species  is  said  to 
be  of  larger  and  of  more  robust  growth  than  any  other  cultivated  kind; 
whether  it  will  prove  to  be  hardier,  or  mature  its  fruit  in  climates  of 
lower  temperature,  remains  to  be  seen. 

A  young  plant  growing  in  the  Department  conservatory  fully  bears 
out  the  above  description  as  to  appearance  and  growth  ;  the  leaves  are 
double  the  size  of  those  of  any  other  species,  of  which  there  are  several 
in  the  collection,  and  in  other  respects  its  distinctive  character  is  quite 
apparent. 

Seeds  of  this  class  of  plants  are  not  readily  procurable  through  ordi- 
nary commercial  sources,  and  looking  to  the  desirability  of  giving  this 
promising  species  of  coffee  a  fair  experimental  test,  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  seeds  for  this  purpose  might  be  obtained  directly  from  Liberia. 

Unless  under  the  most  carefiilly-guarded  conditions,  coffee-seed  soon 
loses  its  vegetative  powers ;  the  only  successful  method  of  transporting 
fresh  seed  is  to  pack  securely  in  a  tin  box,  surrounding  each  seed  with 
dry  sand,  and  hermetically  seal  the  package. 

Statements  have  been  freely  circulated  to  the  effect  that  the  "coffee- 
plant  grows  wild  all  over  California."  The  latest  "coffee-plant"  thus 
eulogized  is  the  Frangula  californica,  a  native  plant  allied  to  the  buck- 
thorn. 

INDIA-RUBBER  PLANTS. 

In  the  praiseworthy  endeavors  to  introduce  new  industries  into  the 
Southern  States,  requests  are  made  for  economic  plants  of  many  kinds 
that  are  strictly  tropical  productions,  and  among  these  may  be  placed 
the  India-rubber-bearing  trees. 

Various  plants  afford  caoutchouc,  the  elastic,  gummy  substance  bet- 
ter known  as  India  rubber,  but  as  far  as  is  known  it  is  solely  produced 
by  plants  of  tropical  climates.  In  the  East  Indies  it  is  collected  from 
Urceola  elasiica  ;  from  several  species  o£Ficits,  mainly  from  Ficus  clastica; 
and  from  a  few  other  species,  natives  of  the  East  Indies  and  western 
tropical  Africa. 

South  American  rubber  is  also  extracted  from  plants  of  different 
genera.  The  best  is  said  to  be  obtained  from  the  Revea  ItrasiUcnsis,  a 
native  of  the  Para  forests,  considered  to  be  distinct  from  the  Siplwnia 
elastica,  which  furnishes  the  largest  portion  of  the  rubber  entering  into 
the  commerce  of  that  country.  The  sand-box  tree,  Stcra  creintans,  yields 
a  milky  juice  which  is  similarly  converted  into  caoutchouc  by  evapora- 
tion. These  plants  belong  to  the  natural  order  FuphorMacccc,  a  large 
family  of  plants,  mostly  yielding  a  milky  juice,  containing  acrid  and 
poisonous  properties. 

Mexican  rubber  is  extracted  from  a  native  tree,  the  CasUlloa  clastica, 
which  grows  abundantly  near  the  Gulf  coast.  This  plant  is  botauically 
allied  to  the  rubber-producing  Ficus  of  the  East  Indies. 

A  new  elastic  gum  has  recently  been  produced  in  Mexico,  which  is 
said  to  be  derived  from  a  native  herbaceous  plant  allied  to  the  family 
of  asters.    This  plant  would  probably  succeed  in  the  Southern  States. 

These  are  strictly  tropical  trees,  for  which  we  have  no  suitable  cli- 
mate :  but  attention  might  profitably  be  directed  to  the  gum-prodaciug 


REPOKT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS.      65 

Mesquit  tree  df  Texas,  Algarobia  glandulosat  wliich  yields  a  non-elastic 
gum  of  the  nature  and  possessing  all  the  essential  qualities  of  gum- 
arabic. 

CINCnONAS. 

During  the  past  ten  years  a  continuous  supply  of  young  plants  of  sev- 
eral species  of  cinchona  has  been  maintained  by  a  yearly  propagation 
of  young  plants  equal  to  the  numbers  distributed.  Plants  have  been 
sent  to  California,  and  to  several  of  the  Southern  States,  mainly  to 
Florida.  The  reports  that  have  reached  the  Department  do  not  indi- 
cate success  in  their  culture,  owing  to  adverse  climatic  influences.  Ex- 
periments here  show  that  none  of  the  species  will  stand  the  slightest 
frost  without  injury,  and  even  in  the  equable  atmosphere  of  the  green- 
house their  vitality  is  impaired  when  the  temperature  is  below  50o. 
Whether  or  not  the  climatic  conditions  for  the  growth  of  cinchonas  ex- 
ist in  any  portion  of  the  country  is  a  question  not  yet  solved,  but,  so  far 
as  our  present  knowledge  warrants  an  opinion,  further  experiments 
should  be  confined  to  the  locality  of  San  Diego,  Cal.,  as  offering  greater 
promise  of  success  than  any  other  point. 

In  the  recently-formed  cinchona-plantations  in  India  the  best  results 
are  said  to  be  obtained  in  a  warm,  equable,  and  very  moist  atmosphere, 
at  elevations  where  the  mean  yearly  temperature  indicates  64P',  and  in 
those  established  in  St.  Helena,  the  plants  flourish  well  at  an  elevation 
of  1,500  feet  above  sea-level,  in  rich  lands,  bathed  in  moisture,  the  mean 
temperature  for  the  year  being  60°. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Howard,  of  England,  (high  authority  in  everything  relating 
to  the  cinchona,)  in  the  transactions  of  the  Linnean  Society,  remarks 
that  "  it  must  be  remembered  that  these  are  mountain-plants,  loving 
free  air  and  alternate  mist  and  sunshine,  while  the  hot,  close  atmosphere 
of  the  lower  valleys  is  always  injurious  to  their  perfection  as  quinine- 
producing  plants."  It  is  shown  in  the  reports  of  the  Signal-Office  that 
the  mean  temperature  for  the  year  at  San  Diego  is  60°,  the  highest 
monthly  mean  reaching  68<3  in  August,  and  the  lowest  monthly  mean 
being  that  of  53°  in  January  and  February.  So  far  as  thermometric 
figures  indicate  atmospheric  temperature,  the  climate  of  San  Diego  cor- 
responds with  that  of  St.  Helena,  but  it  is  well  known  that  the  ther- 
mometer alone  is  not  a  safe  guide  in  comparisons  of  this  kind ;  the  hy- 
grometrical  condition  of  the  atmosphere  being  of  equal,  if  not  of  greater, 
importance  as  regards  vegetable  growth.  Experience  in  the  culture  of 
several  species  here  confirms  the  reports  that  Cincliona  succirubra  is  the 
most  robust  in  growth.  This  species  predominates  in  artificial  planta* 
tionSk  on  account  of  its  rapid  growth. 

EUCALYPTUS  GLOBULUS. 

The  interest  attached  to  the  Australian  blue-gum  tree,  both  in  rela- 
tion to  its  great  rapidity  of  growth  and  its  reputed  hygienic  qualities,  is 
increasing,  and  the  demand  for  plants  and  definite  information  regarding 
their  culture  and  sanitary  value  continues  unabated.  There  is  no  special 
difficulty  in  propagating  the  plant.  The  seeds  are  small,  very  similar  in 
size  and  appearance  to  those  of  the  onion,  and  vegetate  rapidly  when  sown 
in  good  condition.  The  young  plants  are  rather  delicate  at  first,  but  after 
a  few  weeks  they  grow  with  great  rapidity.  In  the  greenhouse  they  have 
reached  a  height  of  4  feet  iri  as  many  months  from  the  seed,  and  young 
plants  1  loot  in  height  planted  out  in  May  grow  from  4  to  C  feet  before 

5a 


66     REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

winter.  This  applies  to  plants  in  rich,  moist  soil.  Those  placed  in  sandy 
soil  poorer  and  drier,  do  not  reach  such  dimensions,  but  will  stand  a 
greater  degree  of  cold.  Succulent  leaves  and  branches  shrivel  when  the 
thermometer  falls  to  30°,  while  the  more  rigidly-matured  shoots  of  the 
slow-growing  plant  have  survived  after  being   subjected  to  12°  of 

As  a  forest  tree  it  will  not  flourish  in  this  country  north  of  the  thirty- 
fifth  parallel  of  latitude,  probably  it  will  not  succeed  even  up  to  this 
point :  but  it  is  unnecessary  to  experiment  with  it  in  higher  latitudes,  so 
far  as  pertains  to  hardiness.  As  to  the  sanitary  value  of.  the  Eucalyptus, 
evidence  is  accumulating  to  show  that  it  has  a  tendency  to  lessen  mala- 
ria and  destroy  miasmatic  poison.  This  has  been  largely  attributed  to 
the  great  absorbent  power  of  the  roots,  but  this  value  would  be  equally 
shared  by  other  trees  of  similarly  rapid  growth,  such  as  our  strong- 
ffTOwing  poplars.  It  is  no  longer  doubted  that  several  species  ot  Euca- 
lyptus evaporate  with  water  a  volatile  oil  and  a  volatile  acid,  which 
permeate  the  atmosphere  and  contribute  to  its  invigorating  and  healthy 
nature  and  character.  .   ^       ^  i.    v 

The  absence  of  malarial  diseases  in  Eucalypti  forests  seems  to  be 
well  established,  and  as  the  planting  of  useful  trees  is  not  likely  to  be 
overdone  with  us,  these  claims  for  special  recognition  are  worthy  ot 
consideration  and  encouragement.  ,       ,     ,         .     ,        r.       a 

Of  the  genus  Eucalyptus  upward  of  one  hundred  species  have  been  de- 
scribed. Growing  at  different  elevations,  andembracing  m  their  habitats 
many  degrees  of  latitude,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  some  of  the  species 
will  resist  cold  better  than  others.  The  numerous  species  possess  differ- 
ent properties  in  the  various  oils,  gums,  and  dyes  which  they  lurnish. 
The  iron-bark  gum,  the  peppermint  gum,  the  stringy-bark  gum,  the 
curly  gum,  the  red  gum,  and  the  sweet-scented  gum,  with  many  others, 
are  all  equally  worthy  of  introduction  and  trial. 

EUROPEAN  OLIVE. 

The  introduction  of  the  olive  into  this  country  as  an  object  of  culture 
dates  back  more  than  one  hundred  years,  and  during  that  time  various 
attempts  have  been  made  to  revive  and  extend  its  culture,  which  have 
in  turn  been  abandoned,  or  at  least  have  failed  to  maintain  a  permanent 
increasing  activity  in  the  business.  Various  reasons  may  be  adduced 
for  this  failure.  The  length  of  time  that  elapses  between  the  planting  ot 
the  trees  and  the  securing  of  a  crop,  variously  stated  as  being  from 
eight  to  twelve  years,  is  so  great  as  to  cause  olive-culture  to  give  way 
to  that  of  more  immediately  remunerative  crops.  The  difBculty  m  secur- 
ing a  sufacient  supply  of  the  most  approved  varieties,  yielding  traits 
best  adapted  to  the  respective  uses  to  which  they  are  applied,  has  also 
had  a  decided  influence  in  retarding  olive-culture  in  this  country. 

The  olive  is  not  a  tender  plant ;  it  is  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  hardy  as 
the  Chinese  tea-plant.  In  a  somewhat  sheltered  situation,  without 
special  protection,  both  of  these  plants  have  been  growing  for  several 
vears  in  the  grounds  of  the  Department,  and  annually  increase  in  size. 
European  authorities  state  that  "  the  olive  requires  tor  ripening  about 
one-third  more  annual  heat  than  the  grape,  and  that  the  best  localities 
are  those  where  the  winter  temperature  does  not  fall  below  18°  b.,  but 
that  the  plant  will  resist  for  a  short  time  even  28o  of  frost;  indicated 
at  4P  F.  Long-continued  droughts,  so  detrimental  to  most  plants,  will 
affect  the  olive  but  slightly.    It  thrives  best  on  a  free,  loamy,  calcareous 


REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS.      67 

soil,  but  it  dislikes  clays.  Proximity  to  the  sea  is  favorable  to  it,  and 
hill-sides  are  more  eligible  for  its  culture  than  plains." 

The  olive  is  oneof  the  oldest  cultivated  plants  of  which  history  makes 
mention,  and  during  the  centuries  of  its  culture  it  has  doubtless  run  into 
innumerable  varieties,  difiering  widely  from  the  original  form,  from 
which  selections  have  been  made  of  those  possessing  the  most  highly- 
valued  properties  of  tree  and  fruit.  It  has  been  stated  that  the  num- 
ber of  distinguished  varieties  of  the  olive  in  Europe  is  equal  to  that 
of  the  apple  in  America.  It  is  readily  perceived  that  plants  raised  from 
seeds,  even  if  the  seeds  have  been  collected  from  the  most  esteemed 
varieties,  may  not  inherit  the  qualities  of  the  parent  plant ;  and  plan- 
tations formed  of  such  seedling-plants  may  produce  fruits  of  inferior 
value,  causing  great  disappointment  and  loss. 

The  following  descriptive  list  of  select  varieties  is  taken  from  a  recent 
treatise  on  the  culture  of  the  olive  in  Spain,  and  may  therefore  be  consid- 
ered to  include  only  the  best  in  cultivation  in  that  country : 

Spanish  varieties  for  early  maturation,  for  colder  localities. 

1.  Var.  Promiformis.  —  ManzsimWo;  (French,  Ampoulleau.)  —  Fmit 
above  an  inch  in  diameter,  spherical,  shining  black. 

2.  Var.  Eegalis.SeYiWaTio;  (French,  Pruneau  de  Catignac.)— Fruit- 
about  an  inch  in  diameter,  ovate-spherical,  blunt,  bluish-black. 

3.  Var.  Bellotudo  or  Villotuda. — Fruit  about  an  inch  long,  egg-shaped : 
pericarp  outside  dark  red,  inside  violet. 

4.  Var.  Bedondillo. — Fruit  ovate-spherical,  nearly  an  inch  long :  peri- 
carp outside  bluish  black,  inside  whitish.    A  rich  yielder. 

5.  Var.  Ovalis.—Lechm',  Picholin;  Acquillo;  (French,  Saurine.)—Frmt 
broad-oval,  two-thirds  of  an  inch  long.    A  copious  yielder. 

6.  Var.  Argentata.—NeYadillo  bianco;  Doucel;  Gorzalena ;  Moradillo ; 
Ojiblanco ;  Olivo  lucio.— Fruit  broad-ovate,  an  inch  long,  very  blunt, 
not  oblique.    Quality  and  quantity  of  oil  excellent. 

7.  Var.  Varal  bianco.— {French,  Blanquette.)— Fruit  ovate,  globular, 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  long,  neither  pointed  nor  oblique,  outside  black- 
ish-red. 

8.  Var.  Empeltre. — Fruit  ovate,  an  inch  long,  equable.  Eich  in  oil  of 
excellent  quality,  also  one  of  the  best  for  pickles.  Outside  violet,  inside 
white. 

9.  Var.  Racimal.— {French,  Bouteillan,  Bouiiniene,  Eibien,  Rapngette.)— 
Fruit  violet-colored,  globose-ovate,  about  an  inch  long,  neither  pointed 
nor  oblique.  Bears  regularly  also  on  less  fertile  soil,  and  is  one  of  the 
earliest  to  ripen. 

10.  Var.  Varal  7iegro ;  Alameno;  (French,  Cayon,  liasics.)— Fruit 
violet-black,  spotted,  globose-ovate,  nearly  an  inch  long,  somewhat 
pointed.    Bears  richly. 

11.  Var.  Colchonudo. — Fruit  spheric,  outside  red,  inside  white,  one 
inch  in  diameter,  slightly  pointed.  Produces  a  large  quantity  of  good 
oil. 

12.  Var.  Ogillo  de  Liehre.— Fruit  nearly  spheric,  outside  violet-black, 
about  one  inch  long,  somewhat  oblique. 

13.  Var.  Carrasquena.~{French,  Bedouan  de  Cotignal)— Fruit  black- 
red,  almost  spherical,  slightly  oblique,  about  an  inch  long.  Valuable 
both  for  oil  and  preserves. 

14.  Var.  Eispalensis. —Gordal',  Ocal;  Olivo  real.— Fruit  black-gray, 
oblique,  spherical,  measuring  fully  an  inch.    Bather  a  large  and  quick- 


68  REPORT   OP   TEE   COSIMLSSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURS. 

growing  tree.    Fruit  uged  in  the  green  state  for  preserves,  not  used  for 
table-oil. 

15.  Yar.  Vcrdejo.-^Yeidial,  (French,  Verdal ;  Verdan.)— Fruit  black- 
violet,  oblique- spheric,  pointed,  about  one  inch  long.  Furnishes  good 
oil  and  resists  best  of  all  the  cold* 

Sjpanisli  varieties  of  late  maturation,  for  warmer  localities. 

IG.  Yar.  maxima. — Madrileno,  Olivo  morcal.— Fruit  over  an  inch  long, 
cordate-globose,  strongly  pointed.    Yaluable  for  preserves. 

17.  Yar.  Eostrata. — Strong  and  tall  plant,  very  hardy.  Fruit  black- 
reddish,  over  an  inch  long,  oval,  much  pointed.    Good  for  oil. 

18.  Yar.  Cemtocarjja.-^ (French,  Odorant;  Lvquoise.) — Fruit  fully  an 
inch  long,  oval,  pointed. 

19.  Yar.  Javaluno. — Fruit  black-gray,  over  an  inch  long,  egg-shaped, 
somewhat  oblique,  gradually  pointed.    Eich  in  good  oil. 

20.  Yar.  Picudo.^-F etudilla. — Fruit  fully  an  inch  long,  egg-shaped, 
blunt  at  the  base,  pointed  at  the  apex,  with  black-gray  pulp»  Good 
both  for  oil  and  preserves. 

21.  Yar.  Nevadillo  negro. — Fruit  egg-shaped,  fully  an  inch  long,  with 
turned  pointed  apex.  One  of  the  richest  of  all  varieties  in  yield,  and 
ripens  moderately  early* 

French  vari^ies  merging  into  the.  S;panish  hinds. 

22.  Yar.  Angulosa. — Laurine.— For  preserves. 

23.  Yar.  liouget. — Marvailletto. — Produces  a  fine  oil. 

24.  Yar.  Atroruhens. — Salierue.  Saverne.r— Fruit  dusted  white.  Fur- 
nishes one  of  the  best  of  oils. 

25.  Yar.  Yariegata. — ]\Iarbee.  Pigale,  Pigau. — Purple  fruit,  with 
white  spots. 

26.  Yar.  Le  Palma. — Oil  very  sweet,  sparingly  produced. 

27.  Yar.  Atrovirens. — Pointne.  Punchuda. — Fruit  large,  with  good 
oil. 

28.  Yar.  Rubicans. — Eougette. — Seed  small,  yield  annual  and  large. 

29.  Yar.  Alba.^-0]i\Q  blanche.  Blancane.  Yierge. — Productive,  but 
inferior. 

30.  Yar.  Caillet  Rogue. — Figanicr. — Tree  small.  Fruit  large,  red.  Oil 
good  and  produced  in  quantity. 

31.  Yar.  Caillet  Blanche. — Fruit  almost  white,  produced  annually  and 
copiously,  yielding  a  superior  oil. 

32.  Yar.  Raymet. — Fruit  large,  reddish.  Oil  copious  and  fine.  This 
variety  prefers  a  flat  country. 

33.  Yar.  Cotignac. — Fruit  middle-sized,  blunt.  Oil  obtained  in  con- 
siderable quantity,  and  of  excellent  quality. 

34. — Yar.  Bermillaon. — Yerniilion.— -Yields  good  table-oil.  Tree  very 
hardy. 

JAPAN  PERSIMiilONS. 

During  the  past  twelve  years  the  Department  has  made  various  im- 
portations of  seeds  of  the  persimmon  from  Japan,  but  only  in  a  few 
cases  have  they  reached  here  in  condition  to  vegetate.  When  young 
the  plants  suffer  to  some  extent  during  winter;  the  points  of  the 
branches  are  injured,  but  they  recover  as  summer  advances,  and  after 
the  second  winter  they  are  perfectly  hardy.  There  is  also  quite  a 
difference  in  the  seedling-plants,  some  few  remain  uninjured  from  the 


REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS.      C9 

start,  while  others  suffer  to  the  extent  of  being  killed  to  the  ground.  All 
the  young  plants  have  been  distributed;  a  few  only  having  been  planted 
in  the  grounds  some  years  ago,  which  are  now  ten  feet  and  over  in 
height,  but  have  so  far  given  no  indications  of  flowering. 

It  appears  that  in  Japan  the  persimmon,  like  our  own  orchard  fruits, 
has  long  been  subject  to  improvement  by  culture  and  selection  of  the 
best  varieties,  which  are  then  increased  by  grafting.  The  Japanese  are 
now  in  possession  of  many  fine  varieties,  differing  greatly  in  size,  shape, 
and  quality;  some  being  oblong,  like  a  huge  acorn,  others  are  flat, 
closely  resembling  both  in  shai^eand  color  a  large,  red,  smooth  tomato. 

It  may  therefore  bo  presumed  that  the  plants  raised  here  from  seeds 
would  bear  the  same  relation  to  these  improved  varieties  that  seedling- 
apples  do  to  the  finest  productions  of  our  orchards,  and  that  efforts 
should  bo  made  to  procure  a  supply  of  these  grafted  varieties  directly 
from  Japan. 

These  fruits  are  worthy  of  introduction ;  in  Japan  they  are  dried  in 
the  sun  and  preserved  in  the  same  manner  as  figs,  which  they  very  much 
resemble  when  thus  prepared.  The  fruit  is  not  so  astringent  as  is  our 
native  persimmon,  Diospyros  Virginiana. 

VANILLA. 

The  opinion  prevails  that  the  vanilla-plant  can  be  successfully  culti- 
vated in  Florida,  and  applications  for  plants  and  inquiries  as  to  their 
growth  and  culture  are  frequently  received. 

The  vanilla  belongs  to  the  family  of  orchids,  and  grows  wild  m  Mexico, 
Peru,  Brazil,  and  other  parts  of  South  America.  It  is  also  found  in 
Trinidad,  Jamaica,  and  other  West  India  Islands,  and  it  is  exceedingly 
doubtful  if  the  climate  of  any  portion  of  Florida  would  prove  suitable  for 
its  profitable  cultivation. 

The  vanilla  is  a  climbing  plant,  and  is  propagated  by  cuttings  inserted 
near  the  stems  of  trees  upon  which  it  climbs,  adhering  to  the  bark  by 
its  fleshy  roots. 

The  best  marketable  pods  are  supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  specie 
Vanilla  plaiiifolia,  and  the  principal  supply  comes  from  Vera  Cruz. 

Assertions  ha\6  been  made  that  the  vanilla-plant  grows  wild  in 
Florida.  In  answer  to  requests  for  specimens,  leaves  of  Liatris  odor  a- 
tissima  have  been  received.  This  plant  has  aromatic  foliage,  and  is 
sometimes  used  for  flavoring  cigars  and  tobacco,  and  is  locally  known 
as  wild  vanilla,  but  it  has  no  relation  whatever  to  the  vanilla-plant  that 
produces  the  fragrant  pods  of  that  name. 

PASAaUAY  TEA. 

The  Paraguay  tea-plant,  or  mat6-tree  of  South  America,  will  not, 
probably,  flourish  in  any  xiart  of  this  country.  It  is  a  species  of  ilex,  or 
holly,  and  the  prepared  leaves  form  an  article  of  considerable  commerce 
in  South  America,  but  has  not  yet  been  introduced  as  an  article  of  diet 
in  any  other  country.  Its  consumption  is  said  to  be  steadily  increasing, 
and  it  is  probable  that  it  may  yet  become  an  article  of  importation  here 
as  well  as  in  Europe,  if  its  reputed  good  qualities  are  truly  reported. 
The  leaves  contain  theine,  the  bitter  principle  of  tea  and  coffee,  but  in 
less  quantity  than  is  found  in  either  of  these  well-known  beverages,  al- 
though some  analyses  have  i^laced  it  equal  ^Q  coffee  in  its  stimulatiog 
properties. 

There  are  two  methods  of  preparing  it  for  use.    For  domestic  con- 


70  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

sumption,  it  is  simply  dried  in  the  sun,  tlie  leaves  are  then  broken  up  in 
small  fragments  and  kept  dry  until  used.  In  this  condition  it  resembles 
the  Chinese  tea,  and  is  similarly  prepared  as  an  article  of  food. 

For  commercial  distribution  it  is  mostly  reduced  to  a  powdery  state; 
the  leaves  being  dried  or  scorched  by  artificial  heat  until  they  become 
suflQciently  brittle  to  be  pounded  into  powder.  Mate  is  prepared  by 
adding  boiling  water  to  a  small  quantity  of  the  powder. 

It  is  asserted  that  Paraguay  tea  can  be  placed  in  market  at  rates 
much  below  those  of  coffee,  and  that  it  is  equal  to  the  latter  as  a  nourish- 
ing beverage. 

CHINESE  TEA-PLANT. 

Efforts  to  popularize  the  tea-plant  are  still  continued.  About  20,000 
plants  have  been  distributed  during  the  year.  Arrangements  had  been 
made  for  a  larger  distribution  of  this  plant  in  the  Southern  and  South- 
western States,  but  owing  to  the  great  reduction  made  in  the  ai)propria- 
tion  for  this  division,  they  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  propagation 
limited  to  a  few  thousand  only. 

The  expectation  that  tea  may  become  a  staple  article  of  our  productive 
industries  is  not  diminished.  Improved  processes  of  preparation  will 
undoubtedly  supersede  the  expensive  hand  manipulations  that  have 
hitherto  prevented  successful  competition  with  cheap  manual  labor,  and 
as  the  1)1  ant  becomes  more  widely  known  through  these  yearly  distribu- 
tions, and  its  hardiness  and  adaptability  to  a  wide  range  of  climates 
becomes  definitely  established,  public  interest  will  in  time  be  directed  to 
its  cultivation  as  an  article  of  commercial  value. 

HEDGE-PLANTS. 

The  jujube-tree,  Zizyphus  vulgaris,  will  form  a  good  protective  hedge 
south  of  the  thirty -eighth  degree  of  latitude.  It  is  of  rapid  growth, 
tho^'ny  branches,  and  pinnate  foliage  of  a  bright,  glossy,  green  color. 
As  a  lawn-tree  it  is  exceedingly  beautiful,  particularly  when  covered 
with  fruits,  which  are  profusely  produced.  The  cherry -like  fruit  is  of 
a  dull  red  color  when  ripe,  and  is  used  for  economic  purposes  in  some 
parts  of  the  world,  but  it  is  not  of  much  value  as  an  article  of  food. 

The  Chinese  tea-plant  will  make  a  good  ornamental  evergreen  hedge 
where  the  climate  is  favorable  to  its  growth.  The  periodical  clippings 
required  to  keep  it  in  proper  trim  could  be  saved,  dried,  and  utilized. 
The  experiment  is  worthy  of  trial,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  ascer- 
tain whether  or  not  this  would  prove  to  be  a  profitable  method  of  gath- 
ering the  young  shoots  and  leaves  for  tea,  as  seems  highly  probable  from 
the  large  surface  of  uniform  growths  which  frequent  clippings  would 
produce. 

The  evergreen  Euonymus,  Euonymus  Japonicus,  also  forms  an  admi- 
rable ornamental  hedge.  The  plant  is  easily  grown  from  cuttings'  of 
dense  growth  naturally,  but  little  care  is  requisite  to  keep  it  in  good 
condition. 

PHYLLOXERA  VASTATRIX,  (THE  GRAPE-ROOT  LOUSE.) 

For  several  years  past  considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
grape-root  insect,  and  the  injuries  it  inflicts  upon  vineyards,  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe.  Its  life-history  appears  to  have  been  thoroughly 
studied ;  its  curious  and  somewhat  i)erplexing  transformations  have 
been  elaborately  explained  by  entomologists  of  both  continents,  and  its 
destructive  capacities  duly  chronicled. 


REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GARDENS.      71 

Grape- groTvcrs  possess  their  full  sliare  of  that  propensity  in  maukind 
which  is  manifested  in  the  tendency  to  shift  responsibilities ;  and  all  fail- 
ures in  grax>e-cultiire,  with  but  little  of  hesitation,  are  freely  and  willingly 
attributed  to  this  diminutive  insect.  Unless  we  ignore  an  almost  over- 
whelming amount  of  clear  and  direct  evidence,  it  cannot  for  a  moment 
be  doubted  that  the  Phylloxera  has  worked  great  devastation  and  caused 
great  losses ;  but  when  it  is  asserted  that  all  failures  in  grape-culture  in 
this  country  are  traceable  to  its  ravages,  it  then  becomes  apparent  that 
the  insect  is  falsely  accused,  and  that  the  assertion  conveys  a  flagrant 
error,  for  v/hich  there  is  no  intelligent  excuse. 

It  has  been  distinctly  stated  that  the  failure  of  the  European  grape 
in  this  country  is  owing  to  the  ravages  of  the  Phylloxera.  With  as  much 
truth  the  statement  may  be  made  that  the  failure  of  the  orange-tree  on 
the  slopes  of  the  Adirondacks  is  due  to  the  presence  of  this  insect. 

The  true  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  foreign  grape  in  ordinary  field- 
culture  is  now  so  fully  understood,  that  it  seems  almost  superfluous  to 
state  that  it  is  solely  due  to  atmospheric  influences,  as  is  clearly  shown 
by  its  successful  culture  in  glass  structures  in  all  ])arts  of  the  country. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  a  purposely-rude  glass  structure  was  erected  in 
the  garden  of  the  Department  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  cause 
and  effects  of  mildew  on  the  grape-vine.  The  appearance  of  this  struc- 
ture will  be  best  understood  by  supposing  an  inclosure  made  by  placing 
a  few  glazed  sashes  against  a  common  board  fence.  A  collection  of 
grapes,  comprising  both  native  and  foreign  varieties,  were  planted  two 
feet  from  and  parallel  with  the  front  of  the  house.  In  due  time  two 
stems  were  procured  from  each  plant,  one  of  them  being  introduced 
nnder  the  glass  roof  and  the  other  trained  to  an  upright  trellis  set  four 
feet  from  the  front,  fully  exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  This  arrangement 
was  maintained  for  seven  years,  during  which  time  the  branches  under 
the  glass  cover  remained  in  perfect  health  and  annually  produced  crops 
of  well-ripened  fruit.  On  the  other  side,  the  branches  on  the  exposed 
trellis,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Concord,  were  more  or  less 
injured  by  mildew  each  season.  The  lona  branch  under  cover  produced 
branches  so  perfect,  both  in  size  and  quality  of  fruit,  as  to  suggest  a 
recommendation  for  its  culture  under  glass,  as  published  on  page  25  of 
the  annual  report  of  the  Department  for  the  year  1867.  The  branch  of 
this  vine  on  the  exposed  trellis  never  ripened  a  berry,  and  after  strug- 
gling for  a  few  years  against  mildew,  the  loss  of  foliage  during  summer, 
and  the  destruction  of  unripened  wood  during  winter,  it  ultimately 
succumbed. 

The  foreign  varieties,  Black  Hamburgh,  Black  Prince,  and  White 
Frontignac,  shared  the  same  fate,  only  more  rapidly.  Among  natives, 
the  Eebecca,  Maxatawny,  and  Delaware,  on  the  trellis,  occasionally 
ripened  a  few  branches,  accordingly  as  mildew  more  or  less  prevailed, 
while  the  protected  branches  never  failed  to  ripen  perfect  fruit.  Occa- 
sionally the  position  of  some  of  the  branches  were  reversed,  the  inside 
branch  withdrawn  and  fastened  to  the  outer  trellis,  and  its  place  in  the 
house  given  to  the  branch  it  displaced  on  the  trellis,  and  the  result  was 
in  all  instances  alike.  These  are  not  isolated  experiments.  Horticul- 
tural literature  is  replete  with  corroborative  evidence  of  a  similar  na- 
ture, and  if  the  history  of  every  vineyard  in  America  could  be  minutely 
recorded,  it  would  be  found  that  success  followed  immunity  from  mil- 
dew, (or  leaf-blights,  as  some  prefer  to  term  it,)"  or  fungoid  diseases  in 
other  forms,  and  that  failures  as  surely  followed  their  presence ;  and  the 
statement  is  not  presumed  to  be  made  that  this  intermittent  action  was 
due  to  the  erratic  movements  of  Phylloxera, 


72  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Neither  will  the  claim  be  seriously  entertained  that  this  insect  exer- 
cises an  influence  in  promoting  the  health  of  vines  when  their  foliage 
is  protected,  either  by  a  glazed  or  a  boarded  covering ;  that  the  result- 
ing loss  of  foliage,  disease,  and  weakness,  when  the  covering  is  removed, 
is  caused  by  their  active  presence,  and  that  they  again  abandon  the 
plant,  and  i^ermit  it  to  assume  health  and  vigor  when  the  protective  cover 
is  replaced;  if  so,  then  the  much-sought-for -and  highly-valued  remedy 
for  the  Phylloxera  is  readily  obtained. 

The  fact  that  the  Fhylloxera  is  found  on  the  roots  of  sickly  or  dying 
grape-vines  is  not  to  be  taken  as  conclusive  evidence  that  the  destruction 
of  the  plant  is  solely  the  work  of  the  insect,  since  the  presence  of  insects 
upon  diseased  organisms  is  of  common  occurrence  both  in  animal  and 
vegetable  life. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that,  if  wo  compare  the  list  of  varieties  said  to 
be  least  affected  by  the  Phylloxera  with  the  list  of  varieties  least  sub- 
ject to  mildew,  we  will  find  them  to  be  identical. 

The  sum  of  the  whole  matter,  then,  appears  to  be  this  :  that  when 
a  grape-vine  becomes  weakened  from  successive  yearly  attacks  of  mil- 
dew, destroying  the  foliage,  so  that  the  wood  or  shoots  fail  to  thoroughly 
mature  their  growth,  its  vitality  is  so  impaired  that  what  little  of  life 
remains  is  easily  vanquished  by  the  Phylloxera. 

It  has  been  recommended  to  graft  the  lona,  Delaware,  Catawba,  and 
other  varieties  infested  with  the  root-louse  on  roots  of  the  Clinton, 
Oporto,  Concord,  and  other  kinds  that  resist  its  attacks,  as  a  means  or 
securing  immunity  from  its  ravages.  It  may  safely  be  predicted  that 
the  results  expected  will  not  be  realized.  The  same  causes  that  ren- 
dered the  lona  unprofitable  on  its  own  roots  will  render  it  unprofitable 
when  grafted  on  the  roots  of  the  Clinton ;  and  it  would  not  be  at  all 
surprising  if  the  then  weakened  roots  of  the  usually  robust  Clinton 
be  found  badly  infested  with  the  Phylloxera. 

If  this  method  of  grafting  had  proved  successful,  our  vineyards  would 
be  planted  with  the  most  esteemed  grapes  of  the  world  j  but  the  expe- 
riment has  often  been  made,  and  as  often  failed. 

If  we  look  into  the  history  of  Europen  grape-culture  during  the  past 
thirty  years,  we  learn  that  previous  to  the  year  1846  the  crops  were  sat- 
isfactory and  the  wine-producing  interest  prosperous.  In  that  year  the 
grape-mildew  made  its  appearance  near  Paris,  and  soon  spread  over  vine- 
yards in  neighboring  districts,  from  whence  it  traveled  with  great  rapid- 
ity over  the  south  of  France,  Italy,  and  Hungary.  In  1851,  it  had 
crossed  the  Mediterranean,  invading  Algeria,  Syria,  and  Asia  Minor, 
destroying  the  wine-commerce,  and  bringing  ruin  to  the  owners  of  vine- 
yards. In  1853,  it  appeared  in  Madeira,  and  worked  suck  devasta- 
tion, that  in  1856,  only  200  pipes  of  wine  were  produced  as  against 
14,000  pipes  produced  in  1850  in  that  island. 

The  losses  incurred  and  the  destruction  occasioned  to  vineyards  by 
this  malady  were  beyond  calculation ;  thousands  of  acres  were  aban- 
iloned,  and  in  those  not  utterly  destroyed  the  vines  were  weakened  by 
the  disease  and  produced  only  inferior  crops.  About  the  year  1863,  it 
was  discovered  that  the  roots  of  diseased  vines  were  covered  with  ex- 
crescences, and  continued  obseiTations  proved  that  this  malady  was  in- 
creasing with  fatal  rapidity. 

In  1868  a  memoir  was  presented  to  the  French  Academy,  detailing  a 
new  disease,  which,  the  writer  thought,  was  "  likely  to  prove  more  dis- 
astrous than  the  mildew.  This  new  enemy  was  an  insect,  a  minute 
apMde,  which  formed  yellow  parasitic  patches  on  the  roots  of  the  grape- 
vine." This  "  new  enemy  "  has  since  received  the  name  of  Phylloxera 
vastatrix. 


REPORT   OP   THE   BOTANIST,  73 

The  warty,  knotty  processes,  now  so  familiarly  known  as  indicating 
the  presence  of  Phylloxera,  are  not  by  any  means  a  modem  i)roduction. 
They  have  long  been  observed  on  the  roots  of  grapes;  but  it  is  only  when 
the  plants  are  otherwise  diseased  and  their  normal  vitality  impaired 
that  the  insects  prevail  to  a  fatal  extent. 

Various  kinds  of  Aphides  have  existed  on  the  roots  of  plants  from 
time  immemorial. 

If,  as  maintained  by  most  entomologists,  the  leaf-gall-producing  insect 
and  the  root-louse  are  identical,  it  further  confirms  the  accuracy  of  the 
foregoing  observations  and  deductions.  Among  all  the  varieties  of 
grapes,  native  or  foreign,  that  have  come  under  observation,  I  do  not 
recall  to  mind  any  one  kind  that  has  been  so  frequently  or  so  severely 
attacked  by  the  leaf-gall  insect  as  the  Clinton.  But  this  variety  is  so 
healthy,  so  exempt  from  fungoid  diseases,  that  all  attempts  of  the  insect 
to  fatally  injure  its  roots  are  abortive;  a  result  that  may  be  expected 
of  all  other  varieties  so  long  as  they  retain  a  similarly  healthy  condi- 
tion. 

For  the  past  two  years  or  more  my  time  has  been  largely  devoted  to 
duties  devolving  upon  me  as  representative  of  the  Department  on  the 
board  on  behalf  of  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition,  1876.  These  duties  have  been  somewhat  arduous, 
but  I  have  not  permitted  them  to  interfere,  except  when  altogether  un- 
avoidable, with  my  daily  duties  in  the  Department. 

WILLIAM  SAUNDEES, 
Superintendent  of  Gardens  and  Grounds. 

Hon.  Frederick  Watts, 

Com77iissioner, 


EEPOET  OF  THE  BOTANIST. 

Sir:  I  have  the  pleasure  of  presenting  the  following  report  of  the 
work  of  this  division  during  the  past  year : 

A  large  amount  of  time  and  labor  has  been*  given  to  the  preparation 
of  the  collection  of  sections  and  specimens  of  forest-trees  of  the  United 
States.  This  collection  constituted  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  display 
of  this  Department  in  the  Government  building  during  the  recent  Cen- 
tennial Exposition,  and  was  appreciated  and  commended  by  the  most 
intelligent  citizens  of  our  country,  and  was  an  object  of  careful  study 
by  many  of  the  representatives  of  foreign  countries.  It  has  often  been 
stated  that  the  Government  building  was  one  of  the  most  instructive 
ahd  interesting  features  of  the  exhibition,  and'  itas  also  conceded  that 
this  Department  contributed  its  due  proportion  to  that  display.  A 
number  of  scientific  men,  who  had  part  in  the  representation  of  different 
countries  at  Philadelphia,  made  requests  to  be  furnished  with  duplicate 
specimens  of  our  forest- woods,  and  also  botanical  specimens  of  our  native 
I)lants,  for  the  scientific  societies  of  their  respective  countries.  In  ac- 
cordance with  these  requests,  there  was  prepared  and  delivered  before 
the  close  of  the  Exposition  boxes  of  specimens  from  the  duplicates  be- 
longing to  this  Department  for  the  following  countries,  viz :  for  Brazil  2 
boxes,  for  the  Argentine  RepubliQ  1  box^  for  Eussia.  1  box,  and  for  New 
South  Wales  1  box. 

More  recently  a  box  of  specimens  has  been  forwarded  through  the 
Sniithsonian  Institution  to„the^Eoyal  Herbarium  at  Kew,  England, 


74  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

Eight  sets  of  plant  duplicates  are  now  being  prepared  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible for  farther  distribution,  a  part  to  colleges  in  this  country,  and  a 
part  for  foreign  institutions.  The  duplicate  wood  sections  arc  also  being 
prepared  for  distribution. 

Of  the  very  large  contributions  which  were  made  to  the  United  States 
by  foreign  governments  represented  at  Philadelphia,  a  considerable  por- 
tion comes  to  this  Department,  and  will  serve  not  only  to  greatly  enrich 
our  Museum  and  Herbarium,  but  there  are  quantities  of  some  of  these 
objects  in  duplicates,  which,  it  is  understood,  are  to  be  divided  and  pre- 
pared for  distribution  to  various  museums  and  institutions  of  learning 
in  this  country.  This  will  involve  a  large  amount  of  work  for  this 
division,  but  the  benefits  to  be  conferred  upon  the  cause  of  education 
through  this  means  will  be  well  worthy  of  the  labor  and  expense. 

As  a  result  of  the  centennial  collection  of  forest- trees,  much  informa 
tion  has  been  gained  respecting  species  hitherto  imperfectly  known,  and 
several  species  have  been  obtained  which  were  before  unknown  to  our 
flora,  the  particulars  of  which  are  given  in  the  Catalogue  of  the  For- 
est-Trees of  the  United  States,  which  was  published  by  this  Depart- 
ment to  accompany  and  illustrate  the  collection. 

The  Herbarium  has  also  been  greatly  enriched  by  collections  of  plants 
made  in  connecfcion  with  the  procuring  of  the  forest-tree  specimens,  and 
also  by  the  purchase  of  a  large  number  of  rare  and  new  species  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region. 
Eespectfully, 

GEO.  YASET,  Botanist. 

Hon.  Frederick  Watts,  Commissioner. 


MICROSCOPIC    INVESTIGATION. 

By  Thomas  Taylor,  Microscopist. 

During  the  past  year  a  large  portion  of  my  time  was  devoted  to  the 
prei)aration  of  a  series  of  water-color  drawings  for  the  Centennial  Ex- 
hibition, having  in  view,  to  a  limited  extent,  the  illustration  of  objects 
connected  with  the  usual  work  of  the  Microscopic  Division,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  which  represents  the  leadmg  types  of  the  genera  of  micro- 
scopic fungi.  Another  section  of  the  exhibit  presents  the  results  of 
original  investigations  upon  chemical  tests  for  flax,  cotton,  ramie,  silk, 
wool,  hair,  and  both  animal  and  vegetable  cellulose ;  and  still  another 
series  illustrating  the  principal  vegetable  starches,  to  the  number  of 
about  one  hundred  varieties.  These  drawings  present  highly  magnified 
views  of  these  microscopic  objects,  including  those  most  important  in 
economic  mycology,  especially  the  fungi  commonly  known  as  molds,  so 
destructive  to  vegetation.  The  edible  and  poisonous  mushrooms  are 
distinguished  in  one  class  of  these  drawings. 

MUSHROOMS. 

The  importance  of  the  mushroom  as  an  article  of  diet  has  never  been 
properly  understood  in  the  United  States,  nor  is  it  generally  known  how 
abundant  our  supply  of  edible  mushrooms  is.  Many  of  those  popularly 
supposed  to  be  poisonous  are  not  merely  innoxious,  but  highly  nutri- 
tious, containing  as  they  do  many  of  the  elements  of  animal  food. 

In  France,  Germany,  and  Italy  the  mushroom  forms  so  important  a 
part  of  the  food  of  the  people  that  one  distinguished  writer  has  spoken 


PLATE    11. 


HYPHOMYCETES   MUOEDINES. 


Penicillium  crustaceum,  Lk. 


PLATE    III. 


HYPHOMYCETES  MUCEDINES. 


a. 


Aspergillus  glancus,  L. 

a. — Nat.  size.  h  and  c. — Threads  magnified. 

A. — Capitulum  in  section  x  500.  e. — Spores  x  500. 


Aspergillus  Miclicli. — A  geuus  of  Muccdiues  ( Hyphomycetous  fungi)  forminsf  common 
molds,  such  as  the  blue  of  cheese.  I  have  found  frequently  on  moldy  cheese  in  combination 
with  Aspergillus,  PenicilUum  glaucum.  Aspergillus  has  been  found  to  produce  .a  secondary 
form  of  fruit,  being  that  forming  the  subject  of  the  genua  Eurotium. 


MICROSCOPIC   INVESTIGATION.  75 

of  it  as  the  "  mauna  of  tlie  poor."  In  Transylvania  the  oyster-mush- 
room is  so  abunclant,  and  is  so  largely  used,  that  tons  of  it  mny  often  be 
seen  in  the  markets;  and  in  some  parts  of  Germany  the  Morel-mush- 
room is  so  popular,  that  the  people,  finding  it  to  grow  best  on  a  soil 
treated  with  wood-ashes,  were  a,ccustomed  to  burn  down  portions  of  the 
forests  in  order  to  secure  favorable  spots  for  its  cultivation  ;  a  practice 
which  the  government  ultimately  found  it  necessary  to  interdict. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  collection  of  drawings,  which  has  been  made  with 
so  much  care,  will  serve  to  call  public  attention  to  the  value  of  the  mush- 
room as  an  article  of  food,  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  means  of  dis- 
criminating between  the  poisonous  and  edible  varieties  of  the  plant. 

Pa;rticular  pains  have  been  taken  to  represent  the  last-named  class  of 
plants  as  fully  as  possible,  a  number  of  collectors  having  been  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  Professor  Peck,  of  New  York,  who,  in  that 
State  alone,  gathered  no  less  than  eighty  species  of  mushrooms,  includ- 
ing several  which  are  new  to  science.  The  specimens  furnished  by  Pro- 
fessor Peck  are  admirably  copied,  and  colored  to  nature.  There  are  also 
several  excellent  photographs  made  from  specimens  furnished  by  various 
collectors,  representing  different  genera  and  species  of  the  same  class  of 
plants. 

Another  series  of  drawings  illustrates  the  action  of  pear-tree  blight, 
showing  the  effects  of  the  chemical  changes  which  take  place  in  the 
interior  structure  of  the  tree  under  the  attacks  of  the  fungus  to  ^which 
this  disease  is  due.  The  disease  of  j^lum  and  cherry  trees,  known  as 
"black-knot,"  is  illustrated  in  a  similar  manner,  some  of  the  drawings 
exhibiting  it  as  it  appears  to  the  naked  eye,  while  others  show  in  detail 
its  distorted,  woody  structure.  The  fungus  which  produces  it  is  also 
shown  at  various  stages  of  its  growth. 

The  fungus  Peronospora  infestans,  which  causes  potato-rot,  is  illustrated 
in  the  various  stages  of  its  growth.  There  is  also  a  series  of  drawings 
of  its  "resting-spores,"  recently  discovered  by  Prof.  Worthington  Smith, 
and  so  named  from  the  fact  that  they  remain  for  months  in  a  stationary 
condition,  or,  in  other  words,  rest  for  that  time  without  germinating. 

There  is  an  interesting  series  of  drawings,  representing,  as  seen 
through  the  microscope,  the  mold  of  bread,  cheese,  jellies,  &c.,  and  illus- 
trating their  habits  of  growth,  a  knowledge  of  which  may  often  be 
useful  in  preventing  beer  or  milk  from  souring  and  wine  or  bread  from 
becoming  "  ropy." 

One  of  the  most  curious  of  the  cryptogamic  plants  is  the  Protococcus 
nivalis,  which,  we  believe,  was  first  found  by  Captain  Parry,  during  his 
northern  exploration,  and  to  which  was  given  the  name  of  "red  snow," 
from  the  fact  that  it  gives  Its  own  red  color  to  the  surface  of  the  snow 
on  which  it  grows.  This  singular  little  plant  is  represented  by  several 
drawings  of  exquisite  finish  and  color. 

The  fibers  of  hemp,  flax,  jute,  ramie,  esparto-grass,  and  Australian 
flax,  as  well  as  wool,  silk,  caU's-hair,  and  the  hair  of  the  Cashmere  and 
Angora  goats,  are  exhibited  as  seen  through  the  microscope,  bath  in 
their  natural  condition  and  under  various  forms  of  chemical  action.  In 
the  course  of  my  investigations  on  this  subject,  I  found  a  number  of 
new  chemical  tests  by  which  the  presence  or  absence  of  certain  of  these 
fibers  in  every  fabric  may  be  determined.  This  series  of  drawings  will, 
therefore,  be  of  considerable  interest  to  manufacturers  of  textile  fabrics, 
to  dealers  in  that  class  of  goods,  and  to  the  Government,  which,  besides 
being  an  extensive  purchaser  of  clothing  for  the  Army  and  Navy,  is 


76  REPORT   OP   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGEICDLTUEE. 

largely  interested  in  determining  correctly  the  materials  composing  the 
fabrics  which  pass  through  the  custom-house. 

There  are  a  number  of  drawings  illustrating  the  methods  employed 
by  me  iu  detecting  the  presence  of  animal  and  vegetable  starch  and 
cellulose  in  various  parts  of  the  animal  economy.  The  investigations 
to  which  these  drawings  relate  are  still  in  progress,  but  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  drawings  relate  to  the  leading  families,  orders,  and  genera 
of  cryptogamic  plants  or  fungi,  of  which  by  far  the  greater  number  are 
microscopic  in  size.  The  latter  are  often  visible  to  the  naked  eye  when 
massed  together  in  large  numbers,  presenting,  in  some  cases,  the  appear- 
ance of  a  pigment  on  the  surface  of  the  plants  upon  which  they  fasten. 
In  such  cases  the  microscope  sometimes  reveals  millions  of  spores  to  the 
square  inch.  The  ravages  of  these  minute  vegetable  organisms  are  in- 
credible in  their  extent.  The  potato  has  at  times  been  threatened  al- 
most with  extinction.  Grasses  have  been  affected  by  them,  and  the 
cereals  throughout  large  districts  have  at  times  suffered  blights  so 
serious  and  so  often  repeated,  that  the  farmer  has  been  almost  ready  to 
abandon  their  cultivation  in  despair.  Fields  of  hops,  vineyards,  and 
orchards  have  withered  under  their  blighting  touch,  and  in  lower  lati- 
tudes they  have  assailed  coffee-plantations  and  groves  of  orange,  lemon, 
and  olive  trees  with  equally  fatal  results.  Even  the  hardy  forest-treea 
have  not  in  all  cases  escaped  their  devastating  influence,  and  at  the 
present  moment  many  of  the  stately  maples  in  the  public  grounds  of 
our  cities  are  withering  under  the  insidious  attacks  of  these  minute 
destroyers.  In  short,  there  is  hardly  any  department  of  agriculture, 
horticulture,  or  forestry  that  can  claim  exemption  from  their  ravages  ; 
and  the  importance  of  a  correct  knowledge  of  their  characteristics, 
modes  of  propagation,  and  development,  and  the  conditions  under  which 
they  tend  to  flourislj  or  decay,  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  As  a  con- 
tribution toward  the  dissemination  of  such  knowledge,  tha,  collection 
just  described  possesses  a  high  practical  value. 

No  large  collection  of  well-executed  drawings  of  cryptogamic  plants 
has  heretofore  existed  in  this  country ;  but  by  the  assistance  of  Dr.  M. 
C.  Cooke,  of  London,  and  others,  I  have  been  able  to  supply  the  defect, 
and  have  formed  a  collection  which  will  be  of  permanent  value  to  my- 
cological  science  in  America.  The  drawings,  nearly  all  of  which  were 
made  from  nature  for  the  special  purpose  to  which  they  are  now  des- 
tined, exhibit  a  high  degree  of  delicacy  and  finish. 

Mushrooms  in  their  composition  more  nearly  resemble  flesh  than  any 
other  vegetable.  Dr.  Marcet  proved  that,  like  animals,  they  absorb  a 
large  quantity  of  oxygen,  and  give  out  in  return  carbonic  acid,  hydro- 
gen, or  azotic  gas.  Chemical  analysis  demonstrates  the  presence  in 
their  structure  of  the  several  components  of  which  animal  matter  is 
formed,  many  containing  sugar,  gum,  resin,  fungic  acid,  various  salts, 
albumen,  adipocere,  and  ozmazone,  which  last  "  is  that  principle  which 
gives  flavor  to  meat-gravy,"  according  to  Dr.  Badham. 

Fungi  are  applicable  to  other  than  culinary  uses,  though  their  most 
important  use  is  the  gastronomic  one.  To  obviate  the  difficulty  arising 
from  the  prejudice  against  the  wholesomeness  of  any  mushroom,  Mr. 
Berkeley  recommends  a  good  quantity  of  bread  to  be  eaten  with  them. 
He  is  of  opinion  that  mushrooms  are  only  indigestible  when  eaten  alone 
or  in  imprudent  quantity.  Of  course  this  remark  applies  equally  to  any 
sort  of  mush^Qom,  though  it  is  made,  with  reference  to  the  one  in  famil- 
iar use. 

As  an  indirect  but  very  important  article  of  diet,  the  tiny  fungus 
known  aa  ^' yeast.'-'  stands  prei-e.minentv   It  is  composed  of  globular  cells, 


PLATE    IV. 


CONIOMYCETES— OCEOMACI. 


Lecythba  Kosse,  Lev. 


rt. — Nat.  size.     b. — Cysts  enlarged,     c. — Section  of  same.     d. — Spores 
and  cysts  x  500.     e. — Free  spores  x  500. 

On  living  Rose  Leaves. 


PLATE    V. 


CONIOMYCETES— USTILAGINEI. 


^® 


o 


,o  0 


&  © 


o 


UsTiLAGo  Segetum. 

o, — Nat.  size.     b. — Infected  grain  enlarged,     c. — Spores  x  500. 
d. — Spores  germinating  further  magnified. 

On  Cereals  and  Gra'Sses. 


MICROSCOPIC  INVESTIGATION.  77 

which  produce  other  cells  with  iucredible  speed,  and  the  intercharsge  of 
fluids  on  either  side  of  the  membrane  is  the  cause  of  the  fermentation. 
German  yeast  is  formed  of  the  dried  globules. 

The  FGhjporus  hetuUnus  maizes  very  superior  razor-strops,  its  substance 
containing  minute  crystals ;  the  Folyporus  squamosus  is  also  good  for  this 
l)urposo,  if  cut  from  the  tree  in  autumn,  then  flattened  in  a  press,  rubbed 
carefully  with  pumice,  cut  into  slices,  and  each  slice  fastened  to  a  woo'deu 
stretcher.  The  Folyporiis  fomentarius  forms  the  amadou  of  commerce, 
formerly  used  only  as  "  German  tinder,"  but  now  applied — by,  at  any 
rate,  one  medical  practitioner — in  sheets  to  protect  the  backs  of  bed- 
ridden patients.  Gleditsch  relates  that  the  poorer  inhabitants  of  Fran- 
conia  stitch  it  together  and  make  garments  of  it.  Folyporus  ignarius  is 
used  as  snuff  in  the  north  of  Asia.  Folyporus  officinalis  was  formerly 
used  as  medicine,  but  is  so  employed  no  longer.  Folyporus  sulphureus 
furnishes  a  useful  dye.  Coprinus  atramentaritis  may  be  made  into  ink. 
Amanita  muscarius  furnishes  poison  for  vermin,  and  is  an  ingredient  in 
some  intoxicating  liquors.  Wood  impregnated  with  the  metallic  green 
spawn  of  the  Feziza  is  of  great  value  in  the  delicate  inlaid  work  known 
as  Tunbridgo  ware.  A  small  fungus  belonging  to  the  Ascomycetes  class, 
and  known  as  ergot  of  rye,  furnishes  a  powerful  and  useful  medicine, 
though  in  the  hands  of  the  ignorant  it  is  an  extremely  dangerous  poison. 
Mr.  Berkeley  suggests  that  decayed  fungus  would  form  good  manure. 
Such  being  the  case,  it  would  be  well  worth  the  trouble  to  let  the  laborers' 
children  collect  them  and  throw  them  into  a  heap,  like  dead  leaves,  for 
leaf-mold ;  thus  even  the  poisonous  species  might  be  utilized. 

How  TO  GKOW  MUSHROOMS. — Having  received  many  communications 
asking  for  information  in  relation  to  mushroom  culture,  we  append  the 
following  descriptive  answer  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  William  Saunders, 
Superintendent  of  the  Propagating  Gardens  of  this  Pepartment,  who  has 
given  much  practical  consideration  to  the  subject.  •  Many  persons  sup- 
130se  that  there  is  a  great  difficulty  in  cultivating  edible  mushrooms,  and 
they  believe  that  there  is  a  mysterious  secret  connected  with  their  propa- 
gation known  only  to  a  few: 

The  poisonons  properties  of  many  species  of  fungi,  find  tlie  clifQculty  of  distinguish- 
ing fhe  good  from  the  bad,  militate  against  them,  and  render  it  necessary  to  be  cau- 
tious in  making  them  an  article  of  food.  Nevertheless,  mushrooms  are  very  generally 
esteemed  when  properly  cooked,  and  are  nutritious  when  used  in  moderation.  Chem- 
ically they  have  more  resemblance  to  flesh  than  any  other  vegetable.  In  some  parts 
of  Eussia  it  is  said  that  the  peasantry  depend  on  mushrooms  and  bread  for  the  greater 
part  of  their  sustenance.  They  employ  about  fifty  kinds  of  fungi  as  food.  In  Kome 
there  is  an  inspector  of  mushrooms,  who  attends  the  market  as  a  guarantee  for  public 
safety;  and,  strange  to  say,  our  common  edible  mushroom  (Agaricus  campesiris)  is  in- 
terdicted. Speoimens  of  it  brought  to  the  fungus  market  are  sent  under  escort  and 
thrown  into  the  Tiber. 

It  appears  from  the  remarks  of  mycologists  that  the  majority  of  mushrooms  are 
harmless;  the  poisonous  varieties  being  the  exception,  the  innoxious  and  esculeut  the 
rule.  But  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  selection,  as  we  have  no  deii-uito  guide  to  point  ouc 
what  sorts  are,  or  what  are  not,  poisonous.  Even  some  of  the  wholsome  kinds  acquire 
noxious  properties  when  grown  under  peculiar  circumstances.  Soaking  in  vinegar 
destroys  many  of  the  poisonous  qualities,  if  present.  Cooking  also  removes  the  dele- 
terious properties  from  many  that  would  t)6  unsafe  to  be  eaten  in  a  raw  state.  Various 
tests  have  been  recommended.  The  i)resence  of  a  fi'ee  acid  has  been  considered  a  sign 
of  harmlessness.  This  is  found  not  to  be  conclusive,  as  many,  good  and  bad,  will  red- 
den litmus  paper.  Cooking  them  with  a  silver  spoon,  under  the  impression  that,  if 
bad,  the  spoon  will  change  its  color,  is  also  an  erroneous  idea.  Selecting  by  color  has  also 
its  disadvantages.  Many  of  the  most  noxious  species  are  of  a  snowy  whiteness,  while 
others  of  a  less  tempting  color  are  perfectly  harmless;  so  that  great  care  and  experi- 
ence are  requisite  to  discriminate  those  that  can  be  eaten  with  safety. 

The  Jgarictis  camjyestris,  or  common  mushroom,  is  the  only  species  that  is  generally 
grown  artificially.  It  is  thus  botanically  described :  Stipes  (or  stalk;  two  or  three 
inches  in  length,  white,  solid,  fleshy,  furnished  with  an  annular  veil,  (a  thin  mem-. 


78  KEPORT    OP   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

braneous  substance  encircling  the  stalk.)  Pilens  (cap,  or  edible  part)  fleshy,  dry,  con- 
vex, convexo-plane,  "white,  changing  from  yellowish  to  brownish.  Gills  (thin  parallel 
plates  underside  of  the  cap)  free,  ventricose  (swelling  unequally  on  one  side)  pink, 
changing  to  deep  purplish  brown.    Flesh  (internal  substance)  white. 

There  are  several  species  of  the  Agaricus  besides  the  preceding,  and  also  a  few 
varieties  of  the  A .  campesiris,  that  are  sometimes  grown  for  the  table.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  describe  them  here,  as  those  who  purchase  spawn  need  be  under  little  apprehension 
of  receiving  a  spurious  article;  at  least  so  far  as  my  experience  goes.  I  have  never 
been  disappointed  in  this  respect.  So  far  from  there  being  any  difficulty  in  growing 
them,  I  venture  to  say  that  not  one  in  fifty  who  make  the  attempt  will  tail.  Of  course 
some  little  attention  is  requisite,  as  with  everything  else  artificially  circumstanced.  A 
knowledge  of  the  condition  under  which  they  are  most  plentifully  lound  in  nature  will 
be  of  material  assistance  to  the  grower.  In  very  dry  seasons,  mushrooms  are  most 
plentiful  in  low  situations,  on  rather  strong  soils ;  on  the  contrary,  should  there  be 
much  wet,  they  are  more  abundant  in  uplands  and  drier  localities.  A  continuance  of 
warm,  dry  weather,  followed  by  slight  showers,  and  a  hazy,  still  atmosphere,  brings 
them  most  profusely.  These  considerations  are  worthy  of  being  kept  in  mind  in  their 
artificial  culture.  There  is  no  particular  season  for  making  a  mushroom-bed.  In  win- 
ter it  requires  to  be  under  cover,  and  in  summer  the  difficulty  lies  in  keeping  it  cool 
and  moist.  Autumn  is  perhaps  the  best  season  for  making  a  bed  out  of  doors ;  and,  if 
a  constant  supply  be  an  object,  a  bed  should  be  made  up  in  some  spare  cellar  about  the 
beginning  of  November. 

Before  entering  into  the  details  of  management,  it  may  be  useful  to  make  a  few  re- 
marks upon  the  propagation  of  spawn.  Summer  is  the  best  time  for  performing  this 
oppration.  Procure  some  horse-manure ;  if  there  is  a  sprinkling  of  short  litter  with 
it,  so  much  the  better;  cow-dung  and  light  loamy  soil,  or  road  scrapings,  in  about 
equal  proportions  ;  it  is  not  particularly  necessary  that  they  should  be  in  exact  quan- 
tities. I  mention  this  in  jiassing,  as  an  idea  sometimes  gets  abroad  that,  unless  every- 
thing is  mathematically  adjusted  by  number  or  weight,  it  would  be  folly  to  expect  a 
satisfactory  result.  Wash  these  ingredients  together  with  water  into  a  thick  mortar, 
and  spread  it  out  three  inches  in  thickness  in  an  open  shed  to  dry.  As  soon  as  firm 
enough,  cut  it  with  a  spade  in  squares  of  seven  or  eight  inches,  set  them  on  edge,  and 
turn  them  occasionally  to  facilitate  their  drying.  When  they  will  admit  of  being 
handled  with  safety,  cut  with  a  knife  two  or  three  holes,  about  two  inches  in  diameter, 
little  more  than  half  through  the  brick,  and  fill  each  hole  with  good  spawn,  plastering 
it  over  with  a  portion  of  what  was  cut  out.  They  should  now  be  left  until  quite  dry. 
Have  ready  a  quantity  of  fermenting  manure  which  has  been  well  sweetened  by  fre- 
quent turnings.  Spread  a  layer  of  this  six  or  eight  inches  in  thickness,  and  build  tho 
bricks  on  it  with  the  spawned  side  uppermost,  drawing  the  pile  up  to  a  point;  then 
cover  the  whole  with  warm  manure.  A  genial  warmth  of  about  sixty  degrees  will  be 
sufficient  to  cause  the  spawn  to  run  through  the  whole  of  tho  brickfi.  When  this  takes 
place  the  process  is  ended.  The  brick  can  be  laid  aside  in  a  dry  place,  and  the  spawn 
in  them  will  keep  good  for  years. 

Mushroom-beds  out  doors  may  be  made  of  any  material  capable  of  producing  a' mild 
heat  by  fermentation.  Stable-manure  is  best,  taking  long  and  short  as  it  comes  to 
hand,  and  tossing  it  into  a  heap  to  ferment.  When  it  becomes  sufficiently  heated,  turn 
it  over,  bringing  the  rougher  portions  into  the  center.  This  should  be  repeated  until 
it  is  well  mixed  and  equally  rotted.  The  object  is  to  bring  the  whole  into  an  equal 
state  of  fermentation  without  rottenness,  to  drive  oiF  excessive  moisture,  and  subdue 
the  burning  heat  with  the  least  possible  loss  of  the  essential  gases.  If  a  third  part  of 
old  hot-bed  manure  is  mixed  with  it,  it  will  moderate  the  heat  and  give  the  bed  a  con- 
sistency that  it  would  not  otherwise  possess.  Having  it  in  readiness,  choose  a  spot  for 
makingthebed;  ifunder  the  shade  of  a  tree,  so  much  the  better.  Mark  out  the  ground 
four  or  five  feet  wide,  and  of  a  length  to  correspond  with  the  quantity  of  manure.  Com- 
mence by  throwing  in  a  layer  of  the  least  decayed  portions  of  the  dung ;  then  build  the 
whole  up  in  a  rounded  ridge  three  feet  high.  It  must  be  equally  and  firmly  beat  down, 
that  it  may  produce  a  mild,  equable  heat.  Pushing  in  a  few  stakes  at  intervals  all 
round  and  drawing  '  hese  out  occasionally,  and  at  the  same  time  feeling  them  with  the 
hand,  will  afibrd  a  tolerable  estimate  of  the  interior  warmth.  The  heat  should  never 
exceed  ninety  degrees  after  the  bed  is  put  up.  If  likely  to  get  warmer  than  this,  make 
holes  all  over  it  with  a  stout  stake,  and  when  the  heat  subsides  to  between  seventy 
and  eighty  degrees,  it  is  ready  for  planting  tho  spawn.  Beat  the  bed  evenly  all  round, 
and  insert  the  spawn  just  below  the  surface,  in  pieces  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg,  twelve 
inches  apart ;  then  cover  it  over  with  a  layer  of  strong,  loamy  soil  two  inches  in  thick- 
ness, beating  it  firmly  and  leaving  it  quite  smooth.  To  prevent  accident  from  over- 
heating, it  should  be  only  partly  soiled  at  Crst^say,  half-way  up — covering  the  whole 
some  days  afterward.  To  prevent  the  soil  from  cracking  in  dry  weather,  a  thin  cover- 
ing of  short  straw  or  hay  may  be  thrown  over  it ;  very  little  watering  will  be  neces- 
sary. When  it  is  found  requisite  to  moisten  the  surface,  let  water  pass  through  a  fine 
rose  on  the  outside  of  the  covering,  which  is  preferable  to  applying  it  directly  on  the 


PLATE    VI. 


CONIOMYCETES— USTILAGINEI. 


TiLLETiA  caries,  Tul. 


a. — Infected  grain,  nat.  size.  h. — Si^ction  of  grain  enlarged,  c. — Spores  x  500. 
d. — Spore  x  1000.  e. — Germinating  Spore.  /. — Secondary  Conjugating  Spores. 
g. — Secondary  Spores,  fr.— Secondary  producing  Tertiary  Spores,  i. — Tertiary 
Spores  again  germinating. 

In  kernels  of  Wheat. 


PLATE     VII. 


HYPHOMYCETES— DEMATIEI. 


h 


POLYTHRINCIUM  Trifolii,  Kze. 

a. — Nat.  size.     &. — Tuft  eularged.     c, — Threads  and  Spores  x  500. 
On  living  Clover. 


MICROSCOPIC   INVESTIGATION.  79 

bed.  Should  the  bed  be  made  up  about  the  middle  of  August,  mushrooms  may  be  ex- 
pected toward  the  end  of  September,  from  six  weeks  to  two  months  after  spawning. 
When  the  nights  become  cold,  the  covering  should  be  increased,  and  to  guard  against 
damp,  choose  a  clear  day,  occasionally  turn  oif  the  covering,  remove  all  decaying  mat- 
ter, and  when  all  is  dry,  cover  as  before.  It  will  keep  in  bearing  for  two  months  or 
more,  if  the  interior  heat  is  preserved  by  additional  covering. 

Various  schemes  may  be  resorted  to  for  obtaining  mushrooms  in  winter.  Those  who 
have  a  greenhouse  may  make  a  bed  in  the  furnace-room,  if  they  desire  to  do  so,  taking 
advantage  of  the  heat  that  escapes  from  the  furnace.  A  good  supply  may  be  had  from 
a  bed  formed  underneath  the  plant-stage,  provided  the  drippings  of  water  from  the 
pots  above  be  guarded  against  by  boards  or  water-proof  cloth.  Portable  boxes,  three 
or  four  feet  long,  two  feet  wide,  and  one  in  depth,  filled  with  horse-manure,  and 
spawned  in  autumn,  being  set  in  a  dry  place,  will,  when  spiled  over  in  rotation,  and 
placed  in  the  warm  end  of  a  greenhouse,  afford  a  moderate  supply.  Even  good  sized 
flower-pots  may  be  thus  prepared,  and  a  few  introduced  at  intervals.  The  equal  tem- 
perature of  an  underground  cellar  or  root-room  is  very  suitable  for  the  growth  of  this 
esculent.  In  such  a  place  mushrooms  may  be  had  the  whole  year  from  successional 
beds  without  much  trouble  or  expense.  The  best  crop  I  ever  saw  was  in  beds  on  each 
side  of  a  close  shed,  with  a  row  of  fermenting  manure  between  them.  The  frequent 
turning  over  of  the  manure  filled  the  place  with  an  agreeable  moisture,  and  obviated 
the  necessity  of  watering.  The  ammonia  disengaged  by  this  process  was  al  so  decidedly 
beneficial.  Shelves  four  feet  long  and  one  in  width,  rising  one  above  another,  will  be 
found  economical  where  space  is  limited.  Where  an  ample  and  constant  supply  is  do- 
sired,  it  is  better  to  erect  a  structure  on  purpose.  This  need  not  be  a  costly  afiiair.  A 
house  thirty  feet  long,  ten  wide,  and  ten  high  to  the  ridge,  built  with  timber,  would 
not  bg  expensive.  Allowing  three  and  a  half  feet  on  each  side  for  beds,  there  would  be 
three  feet  in  the  center  for  a  path,  underneath  which  a  flue  or  hot-water  pipes  should 
be  placed.  By  having  a  bed  on  the  surface,  there  would  be  space  for  two  tiers  of 
shelves  on  each  side,  affording,  in  all,  upward  of  six  hundred  square  feet  of  surface  for 
growing  the  crop.  This  would  be  sufficient  for  a  constant  supply  the  whole  year 
Means  should  be  provided  in  the  roof  for  light  and  ventilation.  Four  windows,  three 
feet  square  each,  would  be  sufficient  for  this  purpose. 

The  principal  material  for  forming  beds  in  winter  or  at  any  season,  on  shelves, 
should  consist  of  horse-manure,  with  a  little  short  litter  intermixed.  As  this  is  col- 
lected, spread  it  out  thinly  to  diy,  turning  it  over  frequently  to  prevent  violent  heat- 
ing. The  object  is  to  get  it  into  a  dry  state  without  decomposition.  When  it  is  in  this 
latter  condition,  commence  making  the  bed,  by  throwing  in  the  manure  to  the  depth 
of  three  or  four  inches,  and  beat  it  firm  with  the  back  of  a  spade,  or,  what  is  more 
expeditious,  with  a  flat,  heavy  board,  having  two  handles  to  work  it  with.  Proceed 
in  this  manner  until  there  is  a  depth  of  ten  inches  or  so,  firmly  beaten  ;  then  insert  the 
spawn  j  ust  below  the  surface  as  before.  Insert  the  bulb  of  a  thermometer  into  the 
bed,  and  should  the  heat  rise  above  eighty  degrees,  bore  holes  eight  or  nine  inches 
apart  all  over  it.  W^hen  the  temperature  is  about  seventy-five  degrees,  cover  the  sur- 
face with  two  inches  of  strong  turfy  loam,  well  beaten,  leaving  the  surface  smooth  and 
level.  The  atmospheric  temperature  may  range  from  fifty  to  sixty  degrees,  with  pro- 
portionate humidity.  A  sprinkling  of  short  hay  laid  over  the  bed  will  keep  it  moist 
Where  it  is  found  necessary  to  moisten  the  surface,  apply  the  water  on  the  hay,  which 
is  preferable  to  watering  directly  on  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Pass  it  through  a  syringe 
or  fine-rosed  watering-pot,  observing  to  use  the  water  a  few  degrees  warmer  than  the 
temperature  of  the  house.  It  is  better  to  give  it  frequently  than  too  much  at  a  time. 
If  duly  attended  to,  mushrooms  will  be  gathered  in  six  or  seven  weeks,  and  keep  in 
bearing  for  two  or  three  months.  An  occasional  watering  Avith  weak,  clear  manure- 
water  will  prolong  their  duration.  In  gathering  the  crop,  the  mushrooms  should  be 
twisted  up  as  far  as  possible  without  disturbing  the  young  ones  around.  When  cut 
over,  the  remaining  part  of  the  stem  is  liable  to  hurt  the  others  from  its  decomposi- 
tion. 

Edible  fungi. — As  it  is  highly  important  to  be  able  to  distinguish  the  edible  from 
the  poisonous  fungi,  I  herewith  submit  a  list  of  the  foi-mer,  as  tested  by  one  of  the 
highest  authorities  on  this  subject,  Dr.  Curtis,  of  North  Carolina: 

Agaricus,  {Amanita.) — casareus,  strobiliformis,  rubescens. 
Lepiota. — procerus,  rachodes,  excoriatus,  mastoideus. 
ArmiUnria. — melleus. 

Tricholoma. — Russula,  frumentaceus,  hypopithyus,  Columbetta,  castus,  albellus,  con- 
ecciatus,  personatus. 

CUtocijhv. — nebularis,  odorus,  giganteus,  cespitosns. 

Colljjhia. — radicatus,  esculentus. 

Plcurotus. — ulniarius,  tessulatus,  Pometi,  glandulosua,  ostreatus,  salignus. 

Voltaria. — bombycinus,  speciosus. 

CUtopilus. — Prunulus. 

FhoUota. — squanosus,  mutabilig. 


80  REPORT   OF  THE  COMMISSIONER   OP  AGRICULTU.HE. 

PsalUota. — campestris,  arvensis,  amygdalinus,  cretaceus,  sylyaticut. 

Coprinus, — comatus,  atramentariua. 

Cortinarius. — infractus,  violaceus. 

(    )'Unarius. — pholideus,  cinnamomeus,  castanens. 

J    ijropliorus. — chrj'sodon,  ebnmeus,  pratensis. 

Ladariiis. — torminosus,  iusulsus,  piperatus,  deliciosus,  volemus,  subdulois. 

HussitJa. — adusta,  lepida,  virescens. 

Bussula. — ochroleuca  alutacea. 

Cantharellus. — cibarius. 

Marasmius. — oreades,  ecorodonius. 

Boletus.— Intens,  elegans,  flavidus,  coUiuitus,  granulatus,  bovinuB,  subtomeutosus, 
edulis,  versipellis,  ecaber,  castaneus. 

Polpiiporus,  (1.  Mesopus.) — leucomelas,  ovinus,  poripes. 

McHsma. — froudosus,  cristatus,  confluens,  giganteus,  eulphureas,  berkeleii. 

FistuUna. — hepatica. 

Mydnum,  (1.  Mesopus.) — imbricatnm,  subsquamoaum,  laevigatum,  repandiun,  rafes- 
cens. 

Merisma. — coralloides,  caput-Medu8». 

iSparissis. — crispa,  laminosa. 

Clavaria,  (liamaria.) — flava,  botrytis,  fastigiata,  rauscoides,  tetragona,  cristata,  ra- 
gosa,  uliginea,  macropus,  subtilis,  pyxidata,  aurea,  formosa. 

Tremella.—iolitLceaf  mesenterica. 

Dr.  Curtis  says  that  hill  and  plain,  mountain  and  valley,  woods,  fields, 
and  pastures,  swarm  with  a  profusion  of  good  nutritious  fungi,  which 
are  allowed  to  decay  where  they  spring  up,  because  people  do  not  Ijnow 
how,  or  are  afraid,  to  use  them.  "By  those  of  us  who  know  their  use, 
their  value  was  appreciated,  as  never  before,  during  the  late  war,  when 
other  food,  especially  meat,  was  scarce  and  dear.  Then  such  persons  as 
I  have  heard  express  a  preference  for  mushrooms  over  meat  had  gener- 
ally no  need  to  lack  grateful  food,  as  it  was  easily  had  for  the  gathering, 
and  within  easy  distance  of  their  homes,  if  living  in  the  country.  Such 
was  not  always  the  case,  however.  I  remember  once,  during  the  gloomy 
period  when  there  had  been  a  protracted  drought,  and  fleshy  fungi  were 
to  be  found  only  in  damp  shaded  woods,  and  but  few  even  there,  I  was 
unable  to  find  enough  of  any  one  species  for  a  meal,  so,  gathering  of 
every  kind,  I  brought  home  thirteen  different  kinds,  had  them  all  cooked 
togther  in  one  grand  ^o;f^oMm,  and  made  an  excellent  supper." 

"  One  important  use  to  which  several  species  of  fungi  can  be  applied  is 
the  manufacture  of  catsup.-  For  this  purpose,  not  only  is  the  mush- 
room, Agaricus  campestris,  and  the  horse- mushroom,  Agaricus  arvensis, 
available,  but  also  Agaricus  rubescms  is  declared  to  be  excellent  for  the 
purpose,  and  a  delicious,  but  pale,  extract  is  to  be  obtained  from  Ma- 
rasmius oreades.  Other  species,  as  Coprinus  comatus  and  Coprinus 
atramentarius,  are  also  available,  together  with  FistuUna  hepatica  and 
Morceliella  esculenta.  In  some  districts,  when  mushrooms  are  scarce,  it 
is  stated  that  almost  any  species  that  will  yield  a  dark  juice  is  without 
scruple  mixed  with  the  common  mushroom,  and,  it  should  seem,  without 
any  bad  consequence,  except  the  deterioration  of  the  catsup.  There  is 
an  extensive  manufacture  of  catsup  conducted  at  Lubbenham,  near 
Market  Harborough ;  but  the  great  difficulty  appears  to  be  the  preven- 
tion of  decomposition.  Messrs.  Perkins  receive  tons  of  mushrooms  from 
every  part  of  the  kingdom,  and  they  find,  even  in  the  same  species,  an 
immense  difference  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  produce.  The 
price  of  mushrooms  varies  greatly  with  the  season,  ranging  between  one 
penny  and  sixpence  per  pound.  Messrs.  Perkins  are  very  careful  in 
their  selection ;  but  little  discrimination  is  used  by  country  manufacturers 
on  a  small  scale,  who  use  such  doubtful  species  as  Agaricus  lacryma- 
bundus  with  Agaricus  spadiceus,  and  a  host  of  allied  species,  which  they 
characterize  as  nonpareils  and  champignons.  In  the  eastern  couilties 
Agaricus  arvensis  has  the  preference  for  catsup." 


PLATE  VIII. 


French  Phylloxera,  alighl  ly 

'  O.istorted. 


Frencli  Phylloxera,  distorted  in  inouiitiiig. 


Amerkaa  Phylloxera. 


American  PhvUoxera. 


MICROSCOPIC   INVESTIGATION.  81 

MICROSCOPIC   CENTENNIAL   COLLECTION  OF  FUNGI. 

We  propose  to  publish,  from  time  to  time,  in  tlie  monthly  and  annual 
reports  of  the  Department,  copies  of  the  water-colored  drawings  of  the 
centennial  collection  of  microscopic  fungi,  edible  and  poisonous  mush- 
rooms, textile  fibers,  &c.,  comprising  the  exhibit  of  the  Microscopical 
Division  of  this  Department.  As  this  collection  was  made  under  the  super- 
vision of  some  of  the  most  noted  cryptogamists  of  Europe  and  America, 
and  represent  some  of  the  most  common  types  of  fungi,  it  is  believed  it 
will  prove  of  great  interest  to  students  of  botany  generally,  and  partic- 
ularly to  the  instructors  of  botany  in  the  schools  and  colleges  of  agri- 
culture of  the  United  States. 

We  make  our  first  selection,  blue  mold,  Fcnicillium  crnstaceum,  from 
a  class  of  common  molds  which  are  frequently  found  on  moldy  bread 
and  other  articles  of  food,  and  appear  of  various  colors,  blue,  green, 
red,  yellow,  white,  black,  &c.  Blue  mold  (P.  glaucum)  is  supposed  to 
have  intimate  relations  to  fermentation:  a  represents  the  appearance  of 
this  fungus  to  the  naked  eye  on  a  piece  of  bread;  h,  tuft  enlarged;  c, 
threads  enlarged,  420  diameters;  cZ,  apex  X  620;  e,  chain  of  spores 
further  magnified;  /,  spores  germinating. 

CONIOMYCETES  USTILAGINEI. —  TJsUlaginci  is  the  name  given  to  a 
family  of  Coniomycetes  fungi  related  to  the  Uredinei,  generally  dis- 
tinguished by  their  growing  in  the  interior  of  the  organ  (especially  the 
ovaries  and  anthers)  of  flowering  jilants,  causing  deformity,  absorption 
of  the  internal  tissue,  and  its  replacement  by  a  pulverulent  substance 
consisting  of  the  spores  of  the  fungi.  In  the  earlier  stage,  the  infected 
orgin  exhibits  either  a  grumous  mass,  or  an  interwoven  filamentous 
mycelium,  from  which  acrogenous  spores  arise;  finally,  the  mycelium 
disappears,  and  a  dark-colored  (often  fetid)  powder  remains,  composed 
entirely  of  the  spores,  which  are  simple. 

TJsUlago  segetum,  a  genus  of  Ustilaginei,  frequently  found  on  cereals 
and  grasses,  forming  the  blight  called  smut  of  corn,  commonly  infesting 
wheat,  oats,  barley,  and  other  grasses,  filling  the  ears  with  a  black 
powder  of  smooth  spores  about  ^^Vo  ^^  ^^  ^"^^  i^  diameter,  in  corn 
sometimes  about  twice  as  large  in  the  varieties  attacking  species  of 
Bromus.  The  smut  of  maize,  U.  maidis,  has  minutely  echinate  spores 
_.^i_  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Sedges  are  infested  by  U.  oUvacea  with 
olive-colored  spores.  U.  antJierarum,  growing  in  the  anthers  of  Caryo- 
phyllacecc,  has  violet- colored  spores.  Many  other  species  are  described 
by  Tulasne.* 

PHYLLOXERA. 

The  following  letter,  accompanied  by  specimens  of  the  graxie phylloxera 
was  addressed  to  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  by  Dr.  C.  Jaqueme, 
of  France : 

Marseilles,  September  25, 1876. 
To  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture : 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  send  you,  by  post,  some  specimens  of  the  Phylloxera  vasta- 
irix  and  some  of  the  grape-roots  which  have  been  attacked  by  that  insect ;  of  the  rav- 
ages of  which,  in  France  particularly,  you  are  well  aware.  Ifc  is  alleged,  I  believe 
unjustly,  that  we  are  indebted  to  your  country  for  this  destructive  evil,  the  Phjlloxera 
having  been  brought  to  this  country  in  the  first  importation  of  American  vines.  By  a 
comparison  of  our  insects  with  your.s,  you  can  judge  whether  they  are  the  same  species. 
Please  send  me  some  specimens  of  your  PhyUoxera,  and  give  me  the  particular  habits 
of  the  insect. 

The  habits  of  ours  are  as  follows : 

1.  During  the  summer,  the  wingless  females  remain  about  four  months  upon  the  roots. 

*  See  Micrographic  Dictionary. 
C  A 


82     REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

2.  In  October,  some  of  the  females,  after  metamorphosis,  tatinpj  flight  from  the 
ground,  ascend  to  the  stems  of  the  vines,  where  they  deposit  their  eggs. 

3.  The  eggs,  which  are  called  winter-eggs,  are  hatched  in  the  spring. 

YoiirH,  &e., 

C.  JAQUi:ME. 

The  specimens  of  Phylloxera  vastatriv  alluded  to  arrived  safely,  and  I 
mounted  the  best  of  them  in  balsam.  Having  good  specimens  of  the 
American  Phylloxera  on  hand,  I  selected  two  of  them  and  also  two  of 
the  foreign  species,  and  had  them  photographed.  The  French  Phylloxera 
appears  to  be  smaller  than  the  American.  The  same  objective  was  used 
for  both  specimens,  and  they  seem  to  be  identical.  Photographs  have 
been  forwarded  to  Dr.  C.  Jaqucme,  Marseilles,  France.  Since  the  receipt 
of  the  specimens  no  opportunity  has  occurred  to  enable  me  to  make  any 
outdoor  examination  of  the  habits  of  the  American  Phylloxera;  and, 
moreover,  the  grape-vines  of  this  section  of  our  country  are  seldom 
injured  to  any  appreciable  extent  by  this  insect. 

Fig.  A  represents  a  top  view  of  the  French  Phylloxera  vastatrix,  and 
B  a  profile  of  the  same;  and  C  and  D  represent  two  views  of  the  American 
Phylloxe7-a. 

EUCALYPTI. 

The  preservation  of  medicinal  alkaloids  from  fermentation  is  a  sub- 
ject of  much  interest  to  the  medical  fraternity,  hence  the  following 
inquir3"  addressed  to  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  by  Dr.  Wm.  H. 
Eoss,  of  this  city  : 

1019  F  Street,  N.  W., 
Washington,  D.  C,  December  11,  1876. 
Sir  :  My  attention  having  been  lately  called  to  the  properties  of  infusions  of  leaves 
of  Eucalypti  to  preserve  medicinal  alkaloids  from  fermentation,  I  would  suggest  that 
this  bo  made  a  subject  of  examination  by  the  Microscopist  of  your  Department,  with  a 
view  to  ascertain  their  general  bearings  as  an  antifungoid  and  deodorizer. 
Very  respectfuUv, 

WM.  H.  ROSS,  M.  D., 
Professor  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  University  of  Georgetown,  D.  C. 

In  consideration  of  the  preceding  request,  I  made  a  series  of  experi- 
ments with  eucalyptol  and  other  essential  oils,  as  follows :  Twelve 
glass  jars,  each  holding  one  quart,  w^ero  arranged  side  by  side.  In  six 
of  them  I  placed  a  quantity  of  the  leaves  of  several  species  of  the  Mio- 
calyptus,  taking  care  that  each  jar  should  contain  the  leaves  of  a  dis- 
tinct species.  The  jars  were  then  filled  with  pure  water.  Ground  stop- 
pers were  used  to  exclude  air  and  dust  from  the  solution.  Each  jar  was 
numbered,  respectively,  from  one  to  six.  jSTo.  6  contained  leaves  of  the 
Eucalyptus  globnlus.  Seven  other  jars,  numbering  from  seven  to  thir- 
teen, Avere  filled  with  solutions,  and  various  plant-leaves,  as  follows : 
No.  7  contained  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  quinine  in  the  proportion  of 
about  3  per  cent,  of  the  alkaloid.  In  this  solution  I  immersed  a  foreign 
grape-leaf.  No.  8  contained  a  grape-leaf  and  pure  water ;  No,  9,  a  grape- 
leaf  and  pure  acetic  acid;  No.  10,  equal  parts  water;  No.  11,  a  large 
cinchona-leaf  and  a  weak  solution  of  the  essential  oil  of  the  Eucalyptus 
globulus,  made  by  immersing  a  few  leaves  of  that  plant  in  pure  water, 
by  which  the  water  became  impregnated  with  the  oil.  No.  13  contained 
water,  a  grape  leaf,  and  about  half  an  ounce  of  the  flowers  of  sulphur. 
At  the  termination  of  ten  days  I  found  that  nearly  all  the  plant-leaves 
had  fermented ;  the  exceptions  were  those  contained  in  numbers  0,  9, 
10,  11,  and  13.  Although  eucalyptol  oil  is  very  sparingly'  soluble  in 
water,  its  weak  solutions  prove  highly  antiseptic  and  deodorizing ;  and 
when  the  amount  of  albuminoids  held  in  solution  is  reasonably  limited, 
they  are  preserved.    Solutions  of  the  alkaloids,  and  some  of  their  medic- 


MICEOSCOPIC   INVESTIGATION.  83 

inal  preparations,  may,  therefore,  be  prevented  from  decaying  by  fer- 
mentation when  alcohol  cannot  be  used  successfully  with  them. 

The  foregoing  results  induced  me  to  extend  my  experiments  to  other 
well-kuown  essential  odorous  oils,  first,  to  ascertain  their  relative  value 
as  antiseptics  and  deodorizers ;  second,  whether  their  oxidizing  power 
is  proportional  to  the  strength  of  their  odors;  and,  third,  their  imme- 
diate chemical  action  on  the  soluble  alkaline  sulphides  of  potassium 
and  amuiouiuiii.    For  this  purpose  I  arranged  a  series  of  test-tubes, 
about  ten  inches  in  length  by  one  in  diameter,  each  of  which  I  filled  to 
within  half  an  inch  of  the  top  with  water,  adding  a  few  drops  of  an 
essential  odorous  oil,  combining  the  mixture  as  well  as  could  be  dons 
by  shaking  it.    All  of  the  essential  oils  are  sparingly  soluble  in  water. 
In  tbis  series  of  experiments  I  used  the  oils  of  bergamot,  spearmint 
cloves,  caraway,  cinnamon,  lavender,  peppermint,  lemon,  winter-green 
rosemary,  origanum,  and  cajeput.    The  results  demonstrate  that  sev 
eral  of  them  decompose  the  sulphide  of  potassium  quickly,  while  others 
although  highly  odorous,  are  slow  deodorizers,  and  do  not  seem  to  de 
compose  these  sulphides  under  the  conditions  stated.    Eosemary,  pep 
perment,  winter-green,  and  lavender  are  of  this  class. 

If  concentrated  solutions  of  the  oils  of  pennyroyal,  tincture  of  myrrh, 
the  oil  of  rose  geranium,  and  oil  of  horse-mint  are  combined  in  separate 
test-tubes  with  sulphide  of  ammonium,  it  will  be  found  that  pennyroyal 
and  myrrh  produce  a  heavier  precipitate  than  either  of  the  other  two 
oils,  rose  geranium  and  horse-mint. 

The  oil  of  cloves  oxidizes  quickly  the  potassium  of  the  sulphide  and 
precipitates  sulphur  when  both  solutions  are  combined  in  concentrated 
form,  and  it  also  decomposes  this  sulphide  when  it  is  highly  diluted; 
but  it  exhibits  no  decomposing  properties  when  combined  with  the  sul- 
phide of  ammonium.  Concentrated  sulphide  of  potassium  and  ammo- 
nium exhibit  but  very  slight  action  on  cajeput.  Origanum  decomposes 
concentrated  sulphide  of  potassium,  while  it  exhibits  no  reaction  on  the 
sulphide  of  ammonium.  Turpentine  and  eucalyptol  oil  have  a  similar 
action  on  the  concentrated  solutions  of  potassium  and  ammonium  sul- 
phides ;  but  the  eucalyptol  exhibits  a  higher  precipitating  power  than 
turpentine  or  any  other  of  the  essential  oils  with  which  I  have  experi- 
mented. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  atmosphere  of  pine  forests  is  highly 
favorable  to  invalids  suffering  from  pulmonary  complaints,  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  oxidation  of  the  oil  of  turpentine  exuded  from 
pine-trees,  and  of  other  essential  oils,  such  as  the  odorous  oils  of  flowers 
in  the  air,  is  attended  by  the  formation  of  ozone,  inasmuch  as  the 
oxidized  oils  and  the  air  in  their  vicinity  exhibit  the  reaction  of  ozone 
with  potassium  iodide  and  starch.  Kingzett  attributes  the  active 
properties  of  the  oxidized  turpentine-oil  to  the  formation  of  mouohy- 
drated  terpene  oxide  C^^ff^OH^O,  which  was  shown  some  time  ago 
by  Sobrero  (Ann.  Gh.  Pharm.,  b.  xxx,  lOG)  to  be  formed  when  turpentine- 
oil  containing  water  is  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays  in  a  vessel  filled  with 
oxygen,  (see  page  887,  Watt's  Chemistry,  second  supplement,)  and  it  has 
been  shown  that  the  air  of  the  country  contains  an  odoriferous  and 
oxidizing  principle  which  imparts  to  it  a  peculiar  odor,  and  the  power  of 
bluing  iodized  red  litmus  paper;  also  of  decolorizing  blue  litmus  paper 
without  previously  reddening  it,  and  of  destroying  bad  odors.  This 
principle  is  called  ozone.* 

When  a  varnish  containing  commercial  turpentine  is  applied  to  a 

*  Ozone  ia  supposed  to  be  oxygea  in  a  positive  state,  or  allotroi)ic  form,  having  agid 
properties. 


84     REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

bronzed  surface,  the  metallic  powder  is  oxidized  by  the  turpentine.  If 
copper-bronze  powder  is  combined  with  turpentine,  the  bronze  is  first 
oxidized  and  ultimately  dissolved  by  it.  Since,  then,  turpentine  has  an 
acid  reaction  on  copper  bronzed,  it  will  necessarily  have  a  reaction  on 
the  alkaline  metals.  When  common  oil  of  turpentine  is  added  to  the 
sulphide  of  potassium,  the  potassium  is  oxidized,  and  sulphur  precipi- 
tated. In  this  way  we  may  be  able  to  explain  ^/ij^Mri  the  deodorizing 
action  of  essential  oils  on  soluble  sulphides  and  gaseous  sulphur  com- 
pounds. To  test  this,  I  poured  an  ounce  of  turpentine  into  a  transparent 
glass  quart  jar,  in  the  atmosphere  of  which  I  suspended  a  sheet  of  bib- 
ulous paper  which  was  saturated  with  a  composition  of  the  iodide  of 
potassium  and  starch.  The  mouth  of  the  jar  was  quickly  covered  with 
a  sheet  of  glass  to  exclude  the  action  of  the  air.  Within  ten  minutes 
the  paper  appeared  brown.  The  turpentine  had  oxidized  the  potassium 
and  liberated  the  iodine,  which  in  turn  colored  the  starch  purple;  but, 
to  render  this  fact  more  apparent,  I  combined  a  drop  of  turpentine  with 
a  drop  of  the  composition  of  iodide  of  x>otassium  and  starch.  When  the 
composition  became  visibly  brown  to  the  naked  eye,  and  was  placed 
under  a  suitable  jiower  of  the  microscope,  it  was  observed  that  many  of 
the  starch  granules  were  stained  purple  by  the  iodine.  Subsequent  ex- 
periments with  concentrated  eucalyptus  oil  and  the  starch  composition 
gave  similar  results.  Had  these  experiments  been  made  in  a  pine  forest 
or  plantation  of  Eucalypti,  the  liberation  of  the  iodine,  and  consequent 
coloration  of  the  starch-paper^  would  have  been  attributed  to  the  pres- 
ence of  ozone  in  the  atmosphere.  N^early  all  the  essential  oils  give 
similar  results  when  combined  directly  with  the  iodide  of  potassium  and 
starch.  Since  the  preceding  experiments  were  made,  I  have  placed  a 
paper  moistened  in  the  starch  composition  in  ah  inclosed  atmosphere  of 
turpentine,  placing  the  jar  containing  it  in  a  dark  closet;  but  the  action 
of  the  turpentine  vapor  seemed  to  be  as  powerful  in  darkness  as  in  the 
presence  of  light. 

Some  suppose  that  ozone,  or  active  oxygen,  is  in  great  abundance  in 
the  atmosphere  of  eucalyptus  plantations,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the 
poisonous  gases  of  marshy  districts  in  their  vicinity  are  decomposed  by 
it,  ozone  acting  the  part  of  an  acid;  while  others  have  supposed  that 
such  unhealthy  regions  are  purified  by  the  rapid  absorption  of  the  marsh- 
waters,  owing  to  the  very  great  rapidity  of  the  growth  of  the  EucalyptiLs 
family.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discredit  the  views  of  those  who 
attribute  so  much  importance  to  the  production  of  ozone  under  such 
conditions,  but  to  remind  those  who  insist  that  oxidation  of  the  gases  of 
malarial  districts,  and  the  consequent  improved  healthy  condition  of 
them,  in  the  presence  of  the  essential  oils  of  the  eucalyptus  family,  or  of 
other  odoriferous  plants,  are  not  necessarily  the  result  of  ozone.  Any 
acid  or  substance  having  an  acid  reaction  will  oxidize  the  potassium  of 
iodide  of  potassium.  My  experiments  demonstrate  that  eucalyptol,  tur- 
pentine, benzole,  or  any  of  the  essential  oils  will  oxidize  potassium  when 
it  is  combined  with  iodine  or  sulphur;  and  we  are,  therefore,  in  a  posi- 
tion to  explain  how  the  favorable  changes  and  purifications  of  the 
atmosphere  to  some  extent  are  affected,  independent  of  the  theory  of 
ozone.  Turpentine  of  commerce  contains  formic  and  succinic  acid, 
(Lowig;)  but  turpentine  itself  is  anoxidizable  body,  as  has  been  shown, 
and  will  oxidize  some  foreign  bodies  in  the  atmosphere.  Mix  turpentine 
of  commerce  with  caustic  potash  and  suspend  in  its  atmosphere  a  slip 
of  paper  moistened  with  the  starch  mixture ;  after  the  lapse  of  twelve 
hours  it  will  be  found  that  the  starch  is  colorless  or  tinged  yellow,  instead 
of  a  very  dark  purple;  in  this  case  demonstrating  that  the  presence  of 


MICROSCOPIC   INVESTIGATION.  85 

an  alkalic  atuiospbere  may  modify  the  oxidizing  couditious.  Place  half 
an  ounce  of  turpentine  in  a  quart  jar,  and  put  in  the  jar  a  test-tube  con- 
taining the  sulphide  of  ammonium,  which  is  very  volatile,  taking  care 
that  only  the  gases  of  each  liquid  will  come  in  contact.  Suspend  in  this 
mixed  atmosphere  a  slip  of  the  starch-paper*  and  exclude  common  air. 
After  the  lapse  of  twelve  hours  it  will  be  found  that  the  test-paper  is 
saturated  with  the  sulphide  of  ammonium,  and  no  tinge  of  purple  or 
other  indication  of  free  iodine  is  observed ;  in  this  case  the  atmosphere 
is  highly  alkaline. 

If  to  an  aqueous  solution  of  iodide  of  potassium  and  starch  a  few 
drops  of  commercial  turpentine  be  added,  by  agitation  a  purple  color 
will  appear,  lirst  on  the  top,  but  ultimately  the  entire  mass  will  appear 
beautifully  stained.  If  a  portion  of  the  liquid  bo  examined  under  a 
suitable  power  of  the  microscope,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  starch  granules 
have  become  swollen  and  are  tinged  a  blue-purple.  The  granules  have 
an  appearance  of  partially-boiled  starch,  and  remain  suspended  for  a 
long  period  in  the  liquid.  Slips  of  iodized  starch-paper  prepared  with 
very  weak  solutions  of  iodide  of  potassium,  hung  in  an  inclosed  atmos- 
phere of  turpentine,  take  a  very  slight  tinge  after  a  lapse  of  twelve 
hours.  The  same  changes  are  observed  when  other  essential  oils  are 
used,  but  when  a  saturated  solution  of  the  iodide  of  potassium  and  starch 
are  used  instead,  a  very  deep  color  is  quickly  obtained.  Sometimes  the 
color  will  approach  to  blackness,  but  is  in  reality  a  deep  purple,  as  seen 
under  the  microscope.  When  the  oil  of  bergamot  is  used  with  the  weak 
solutions,  a  very  slight  change  is  effected;  but  should  a  drop  of  the 
starch  mixture  fall  into  this  oil,  it  will  take  a  very  deep  stain.  Nearly 
all  the  essential  oils  behave  in  a  similar  manner  under  similar  conditions. 
The  vapor  of  benzole,  supposed  to  be  chemically  pure,  does  not  give  any 
appreciable  color  to  iodized  paper ;  but  when  droppings  of  the  starch 
mixture  are  immersed  in  the  benzole  from  ten  to  twenty  hours,  they  be- 
come deeply  stained  brown  or  purplish.  It  will  be  seen  that  various 
substances  of  a  very  dissimilar  character,  chemically  considered,  give 
acid  reaction;  and  those  who  favor  the  ozone  theory  in  eucalyi)tus, 
coniferous,  and  other  essential  oils,  will  do  well  to  consider  the  facts 
above  recited.  It  is  only  by  a  full  and  faithful  consideration  of  all  the 
facts  which  relate  to  the  changes  and  conditions  that  affect  the  (ozone) 
test-paper  that  a  knowledge  of  its  value  or  worthlessness  may  be  under- 
stood. 

The  fleshy  sides  of  the  skins  of  animals  may  be  preserved  from  putre- 
faction by  rubbing  on  them  eucalyptus  oil.  It  may  also  be  combined 
with  plaster,  and  injected  into  the  veins  and  arteries  of  animals  for  the 
purpose  of  preservation. 

As  a  result  of  actual  experiment,  I  find  that  beef  or  any  animal  mat- 
ter may  be  preserved  by  it.  I  placed  two  ounces  of  solid  beef  in  a  glass 
jar  with  a'few  drops  of  this  oil,  securing  the  contents  Irom  contact  with 
the  atmosphere  by  means  of  a  glass  stoppei".  At  the  expiration  of  three 
months  I  examined  the  beef  and  founcl  it  fresh,  and  on  cutting  into  it 
the  fresh  surfaces  appeared  of  a  healthy  flesh  color.  I  examined  the 
surface,  by  removing  ijortions  of  it  and  placing  them  in  the  usual  man- 
ner under  a  power  of  about  350  diameters,  but  no  organic  germs  of  any 
kind  were  visible.  I  next  removed  the  beef  from  the  jar,  and  exposed 
it  to  an  atmosphere  of  about  75°  F.  Within  twenty-four  hours  after- 
ward the  beef  dried'  up,  and  became  very  hard,  showing  no  sign  of 
moldiness  or  iiutrefactiou.    In  consideration  of  these  facts,  I  deem  it 

*  Paper  dipped  in  a  solution  of  iodide  of  potassinm  and  starch. 


86  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

probable  that  eucalyptus  oil  may  be  safely  emplo3'ed,  and  with  advan- 
tage, in  cases  of  liuraid  gangrene,  as  it  certainly  will  preserve  animal 
matter  I'rom  decay  and  deodorize  that  which  is  putrescent. 

The  preceding  experiments  demonstrate  that  eucalyptus  oil,  turpen- 
tine, and,  indeed,  nearly  all  the  essential  oils,  possess  an  oxidizing  prop- 
erty. To  speak  in  figurative  language,  they  have  the  power  to  burn  up 
or  decompose  some  products  deleterious  to  health,  which  are  always 
present  in  malarial  regions,  and  are  well  known  as  products  of  animal 
and  vegetable  decay. 

Composition  op  eucalyptol,  C^m^°0,  (Colez.  Ann.  Ch.  Pharm.,  cliv,  372.)— Tho 
Sanatarian  Monthly  Journal  says :  This  compound  is  contained  in  large  quantity  in  the 
volatile-oil  of  Eucalyptus  gJohdus,  a  tree  indigenous  in  Tasmania  and  much  cultivated 
in  the  southwest  of  Europe.  The  crude  oil  contains  also  a  number  of  products  with 
boiling  points  between  188°  and  190^,  and  above  200°;  the  eucalyptol  is  contained  in 
the  portion  which  passes  over  between  170'^  and  178°,  from  which  it  may  be  obtained 
pure  by  contact,  first,  with  solid  potassium  hydrate,  then  with  calcium  chloride,  and 
subsequent  distillation. 

Eucalyptol  boils  at  175°,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  0.905  at  8°,  and  turns  the  plane  of 
polarization  to  the  right.  Its  molecular  rotary  power  is  -|-10.42o  for  a  length  of  100 
millimeters.  It  is  slightly  soluble  in  water,  and  dissolves  completely  in  alcohol ;  the 
dilute  solution  has  an  odor  of  rosea.    Vapor  density,  obs.=5.92 ;  calc.  =  6.22. 

Ordinary  nitric  acid  attacks  eucalyptol,  forming,  among  other  products,  an  acid 
probably  analogous  to  camphoric  acid.  Strong  sulphuric  acid  blackens  eucalyptol,  and 
water  separates  from  the  product  a  tarry  body,  which  yields  by  distillation  a  volatile 
hydrocarbon. 

Eucalyptol  heated  with  phosphoric  anhydride  parts  with  water,  and  yields  eucalyp- 
tene,  C'^H's,  (vapor-density =5.3,)  which  boils  at  165°,  and  has  a  specific  gravity  of 
0.836  at  12°.  At  the  same  time  there  is  formed  another  liquid,  eucalyptolene,  which 
has  the  same  composition,  but  boils  above  300°.  Eucalyptol  absorbs  a  large  quantity 
of  dry  hydrogen  chloride,  the  liquid  first  solidifying  to  a  crystalline  mass,  which,  how- 
ever, afterward  liquefies,  with  separation  of  water  and  formation  of  a  body  appar- 
ently identical  with  eucalyptene. 

Just  outside  the  walls  of  Rome  may  be  seen  the  Abbey  of  the  Three  Fountains,  long 
since  abandoned  on  account  of  the  unhealthfulness  of  the  locality.  In  1868  some 
French  Trappists  obtained  possession  of  this  place,  with  the  intention  of  reclaiming 
the  land  and  rendering  the  locality  tenable.  But  they  suffered  severely  from  the  effects 
of  malaria,  and  in  summer  were  obliged  to  go  every  night  into  the  city  to  sleep. 
Father  Gallos,  having  learned  the  qualities  of  the  Eucalyptus  globulus,  determined  to 
test  its  value  in  this  place.  His  success  has  been  complete,  aud  the  ecclesiastics,  as 
well  as  the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  are  now  enabled  to  reside  permanently  on  tho  prem- 
ises, without  any  apprehension  for  their  safety.  Father  Gallos  has  been  complimented 
for  his  success  by  the  Agricultural  Bureau  of  Rome,  and  many  of  the  members  of  the 
agricultural  committee  have  visited  his  plantation  to  obtain  plants  aud  seeds,  and  tes- 
tify their  appreciation  of  tho  benefits  he  has  conferred  on  tlie  health  of  the  people  as 
well  as  on  agriculture. 


V 


REPORT  OF  THE  STATISTICIAN. 


Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  present  my  twelfth  annual  report  as  Statisti- 
cian of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  period  covered  by  the 
work  of  this  division  has  been  emphatically  an  era  of  statistical  progress. 
The  advance  of  the  world  in  industrial  invention  and  social  science  has 
demanded  increased  activity  in  statistical  investigation,  and  greater 
accuracy  and  breadth  in  statistical  statement.  The  progress  of  nations 
in  beneficent  legislation  and  good  government  has  been  found  dependent 
upon  the  work  of  the  statistician.  The  profit  of  the  tradesman  and  the 
thrift  of  the  farmer  are  greatly  affected  by  the  accuracy  of  the  informa- 
tion upon  which  the  business  operations  of  each  are  based. 

The  intelligent  farmer  is  beginning  to  learn  that  misrepresentation  of 
crop  prospects,  in  the  interest  of  higher  prices,  meets  with  but  temporary 
and  partial  success,  followed  by  revulsion  and  disaster.  As  water  finds 
its  level,  so  prices  naturally  tend  to  the  equilibrium  found  under  the 
law  of  supply  and  demand,  which  acts  as  inevitably  as  the  law  of  gravi- 
tation. If  a  high  price  is  obtained  for  a  time,  under  a  false  impression 
of  scarcity,  the  i)roducer  inevitably  pays  the  penalty  in  prices  running 
to  the  other  extreme,  whenever  a  surplus  is  accumulated  in  the  hands 
of  the  purchaser  for  consumption.  The  buyer,  with  better  means  of  in- 
formation and  a  longer  purse,  oftener  defrauds  the  isolated  and  needy 
producer  of  a  portion  of  the  legitimate  results  of  his  labor.  The  truth  in 
its  plainest  garb  subserves  best  the  true  interests  of  consumer  and  pro- 
ducer, though  not  the  pecuniary  advantage  of  the  sharks  who  would 
thrive  by  the  plunder  of  honest  labor,  making  more  in  an  hour  than  the 
producer  receives  for  a  year's  work  and  investment. 

It  is  conceded  that  the  Government  has  an  interest  and  a  stake  in  the 
enlightenment  of  laborers,  agricultural  and  mechanical,  the  makers  of 
the  wealth  and  couservers  of  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  for  their 
guidance  in  production  in  kind  and  quantity  required  and  for  their  pro- 
tection against  the  pirates  of  trade.  The  revenues  of  the  Government, 
as  at  present  secured,  depend  upon  the  ability  of  the  masses  to  consume 
the  products  of  native  and  foreign  industry  5  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation  is  involved  in  the  welfere  of  the  industrial  classes.  Even  mon- 
archical governments  see  the  necessity  of  aiding  industry  by  technical, 
agricultural,  and  industrial  education;  by  commissions  for  scientific  and 
statistical  investigation ;  in  brief,  by  doing  for  the  producers  collectively 
what  they  have  no  means  or  sufficient  inducement  for  doing  individually, 
or  even  by  organized  association.  Millions  annually  are  spent  for  such 
purposes  by  France,  Austria,  Italy,  and  other  European  governments. 
Eeports  of  investigation  bearing  on  the  interests  of  labor  are  multiplied 
annually,  greatly  to  the  advancement  of  industry  and  human  happiness. 

Eecently  the  subject  of  international  statistics  has  attracted  much 
attention  abroad  and  among  progressive  minds  in  this  country.  Sev- 
eral sessions  of  the  International  Statistical  Congress  have  been  held 
with  good  results,  though  a  far  greater  work  yet  remains  to  be  accom- 
plished.   It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  this  Government  that  a  sys- 

87 


88  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

temof  iuteruatioual  crop  reports  should  be  inauguratetl,  and  the  prompt 
exchaDge  of  current  statistics  should  be  secured.  It  is  my  desire  that 
this  Department  especially  should  be  encouraged  to  joarticipate  in  an 
eflbrt  in  one,  and,  if  possible,  in  both  of  these  directions. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  a  higher  appreciation  of  the  value  of  investiga- 
tion tending  to  the  introduction  of  new  industries  into  this  country,  and 
for  the  j)rotection  of  those  already  established,  should  not  characterize 
our  law-makers.  Few  of  the  State  legislatures  have  ever  provided  a 
I)ermanent  system  of  statistical  inquiry,  though  more  has  been  accom- 
plished in  ten  years  in  that  direction  than  in  the  entire  prior  history  of 
State  legislation.  In  some  cases,  after  successful  initiation,  ignorant 
majorities  have  ruthlessly  stricken  down  a  system  just  beginning  to  work 
beneficently.  A  department  of  agriculture  established  in  Georgia,  the 
first  in  the  cotton  States,  at  the  cost  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  per  an- 
num, has  been  the  means  of  saving  and  producing  millions  in  the  inspec- 
tion, of,  fertilizers  and  the  stimulation  of  neglected  branches  of  produc- 
tion; yet  a  majority  report  of  a  committee  of  the  legislature  has  recom- 
mended its  abolition,  though  the  minority  showed  that  it  was  putting 
into-the  State  treasury  far  Diore  than  its  cost  in  fees  for  inspection  of 
fertilizers.. 

The  provision  for  statistical  investigation  in  this  Department  has 
sometimes  been  less  than  that  provided  by  a  single  State  for  a  similar 
purpose.  It  was  but  $10,000  in  1876,  a  sum  not  sufficient  for  the  salaries 
of  a  meager  clerical  force  for  compilation  in  the  office,  when  $50,000  was 
necessary  properly  to  supplement  and  complete  the  gratuitous  work  of 
the  statistical  corps  worth  three  times  that  sum.  A  moderate  increase 
was  obtained  for  the  coming  year,  on  the  demand  of  the  House  Committee 
on  Agriculture,  yet  the  $15,000  given  was  far  less  than  the  allowance  in  the  ■ 
infancy  of  the  division,  when  the  requirements  of  its  service  were  not  a 
fourth  as  great  as  at  present.  A  member  of  the  committee  from  North 
Carolina,  in  the  discussion,  declared  "  that  the  amount  of  information  col- 
lected by  this  Department  cannot  be  procured  from  any  other  source  at  a 
cost  ten  time5  as  much  as  asked  for  by  the  Committee  on  Agriculture." 
An  influential  member  from  New  York  asserted  that  "  every  interest  in 
this  country  can  obtain  appropriations  more  readily  than  the  agricultural 
interest."  A  Pennsylvania  member  believed  that  the  increase  would  be 
repaid  "ten  times,  probably  a  hundred  times,  to  the  people  of  the 
country  in  the  information  brought  to  them."  The  following  statement 
of  the  work  of  this  division,  made  by  the  Statistician  at  the  unanimous 
request  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  w^as  ordered  to  be  printed  in 
the  Congressional  Eecord,  and  will  convey  some  idea  of  the  work  reason- 
ably required  of  this  branch  of  the  Department  service : 

In  response  to  the  request  of  your  committee  for  a  sliovring  of  the  inadequacy  of  the 
proposed  appropriation  for  the  Statistical  Division  of  this  Department,  allow  mo  to 
Ijreseut  the  following  considerations : 

The  appropriation  is  for  the  entire  expenses,  including  clerical  service,  of  this  division, 
the  current  work  of  which  includes —  ' 

1.  Statistical  investigation  in  more  than  twenty-five  hundred  counties  of  the  United 
States- 

2.  The  crop-reporting  system  now  including  our  organized  corps  of  correspondents 
in  seventeen  hundred  of  the  principal  counties. 

3.  Investigations  for  furnishing  advanced  and  practical  original  materi.al  for  the 
annual  volume. 

4.  Record  and  tabulation  of  such  statistics,  with  current  data  from  ofi&cial  statistics 
of  States,  hoards  of  agriculture,  and  of  trade. 

5..  Translation  and  compilation  of  foreign,  oflScial,  and  other  statistics  of  agriculture. 

6.  Writing  and  editing  fifteen  hundred  printed  pages,  annually,  of  regular  and  special 

reports,  and  preparing  an  equivalent  of  one  thousand  pages  more  for  industrial,  com- 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  89 

mercial,  aud  other  orgauizations ;  in  all,  an  auuual  average  of  seventy-five  liuudrcd 
manuscript  pages. 

For  this  work,  at  its  initiation  thirteen  years  ago,  $-20,000  was  appropriated,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  salary  of  the  Statistician.  With  the  decrease  of  appropriations,  a  few  years 
later,  as  the  war-begotten  labors  of  other  branches  of  the  civil  service  declined,  the 
pro  rata  system  of  reduction  was  applied  to  this  new  work,  when  its  importance  and 
usefulness  demanded  increase,  and  the  appropriation  was  cut  down  to  $15,000.  Last 
year  it  was  reduced  to  $10,000  for  all  these  purposes,  when  the  salaries  of  the  regular 
i'orce  of  clerks  employed  in  tabulating  and  recording  amounted  to  $10,(500,  leaving 
nothiug  lor  collecting  statistics,  statistical  investigations,  or  the  preparation  of  mate- 
rial for  the  auuual  volume  or  other  work.  This  staggering  blow  might  have  been 
regarded  as  a  vote  of  censure,  but  for  the  fact  that  on  the  day  before  an  appropriation 
of  $130,000  was  voted  for  the  printing  for  congressional  distribution  of  300,000  copies 
of  the  annual,  for  which  no  fnturo  provision  was  apparently  desired.  But  it  was  evi- 
dently an  accident  of  the  conference  committee,  as  it  v.-as  less  than  iirovision  made  in 
the  House  bill,  v.'hich  was  enlarged  by  a  Senate  amendment. 

The  appropriation  proposed  in  the  present  bill,  $5,000,  if  all  applied  to  the  collection 
of  statistics,  will  not  give  twenty  cents  for  each  monthly  county  return  or  pay  the 
postage  between  our  county  correspondents.  If  applied  to  the  routine  office-work 
exclusively,  it  would  not  pay  $2  each  per  day  for  the  smallest  force  for  its  possible 
accomplishment.  If  used  for  investigations  and  writing  for  the  annual,  all  other  work 
being  discarded,  it  could  not  produce  a  volume  worthy  an  edition  of  200,000  copies,  or 
even  10,000.  In  fact,  it  would  be  far  better  to  blot  out  the  $5,000  and  the  division  and 
its  work  together,  and  with  it  the  Department,  rather  than  to  degrade  and  dwarf  to 
utter  inefficiency  a  branch  of  the  service  which  has  possibilities  of  eminent  usefulness 
and  needed  protection  to  both  producers  and  consumers,  who  have  already  been  saved 
the  plunder  of  millions  by  heartless  speculators  through  its  instrumentality. 

You  know  vroll  the  history  of  agricultural  appropriations;  that  a  hundred  dollars  has 
been  given  in  the  aid  of  commerce  to  every  dollar  appropriated  for  the  promotion  or 
protection  of  agriculture.  There  is  no  lack  of  provision  for  investigation  in  aid  of  other 
industries.  One  of  the  geological  explorations  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1876  obtained 
$75,000 ;  another,  $40,000 ;  a  third,  $25,000,  and  $40,000  more  were  given  for  illustrations 
of  two  of  them.  In  the  same  year  the  appropriation  for  the  observation  and  report  of 
storms  was  §470,000  for  the  benefit  of  commerce.  There  was  appropriated  for  clerical 
service  in  compiling  commercial  statistics  during  the  same  year  $59,440,  and  an  addi- 
tional fund  of  $20,000  for  special  investigation.  There  was  also  as  large  a  sum  appro- 
priated for  the  preparation  of  a  singlo  annual  of  mining  statistics  in  the  same  year  as 
was  given  for  all  the  operations  of  the  Statistical  Division.  And  yet  there  is  no  Gov- 
ernment publication  for  which  the  popular  demand  is  so  imperative  and  public  appre- 
ciation so  marked  as  for  the  reports  of  agi'iculture. 

We  have  at  least  the  value  of  $150,000  -pev  annum  in  gratuitous  service  of  public- 
spirited  citizens.  We  need  $50,000  per  annum  to  supplement  this  work  and  render  it 
truly  efficient.  But  for  the  present  year  $20,000  is  as  small  a  sum  as  should  be  given 
for  present  purposes. 

CEOP  ESTIMATES  OF  THE  YEAE. 

In  former  times  there  were  attempts  at  estimates  of  the  quantities 
produced  of  principal  crops,  but  they  were  either  futile  or  so  unsatisfac- 
tory that  they  were  soon  abandoned.  The  difiiculties  of  the  work  are  suf- 
ficient to  stagger  the  determination  of  any  one  to  make  such  attempt. 
The  national  census,  costing  millions  once  in  ten  years,  is  more  a  series 
of  minor  estimates  than  an  actual  enumeration,  so  far  as  crops  are  con- 
cerned 5  the  defective  memory  of  the  farmer  as  to  the  crops  of  the  pre- 
vious year,  which  may  never  have  been  actually  measured,  is  the  best 
dependence  of  the  census-taker,  when  he  is  too  conscientious  to  take 
second-hand  estimates  of  neighbors  or  make  draughts  upon  his  imagina- 
tion for  facts. 

Yet  estimates  must  be  made,  and  are  daily  made,  even  before  a  crop 
is  half  grown,  and  published  as  a  guide  to  trade  operations,  most  fre- 
quently by  those  interested  in  speculation.  A  traveler  rides  by  rail, 
through  tunnels  and  cuts  and  over  barren  slopes,  by  night  aud  day,  and 
is  ready  for  the  most  detailed  and  accurate  of  estimates;  and  the 
country  trader  and  railroad-agent  is  equally  ambitious  and  confident. 
Thousands  of  such  irregular  and  unsystematic  estimates  might  give  an 


90  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

idea  of  great  changes  in  production,  but  would  be  valueless  for  detailed 
and  particular  statement  that  should  even  approximate  the  truth. 

What  are  our  facilities  for  such  work?  Meager  enough  in  some  re- 
spects, costing  a  mere  trifle  in  money,  but  involving  gratuitous  work 
of  thousands  of  earnest  men.  We  have  a  board  of  statisticians  in  each 
county,  trained  for  the  work  of  comparison  with  former  areas  in  specific 
crops,  with  the  normal  condition  of  the  plant  of  each  from  month  to  month, 
and  ultimately  with  the  result  in  quantities  produced.  These  returns  are 
scanned,  and  any  obvious  error  corrected  before  recording.  The  records 
are  made  by  the  counties  as  reported,  summed  up  and  averaged,  and 
such  averages  corrected  by  a  duplicate  record,  in  which  the  differences 
in  productive  value  of  the  counties  is  considered.  The  corrected  result 
stands  as  an  average,  not  inevitably  of  the  whole  State,  but  of  such  por- 
tion, half  or  two-thirds,  or  whatever  area  is  reported  of  the  entire  State. 

Now,  these  men  are  fallible  and  may  err  in  judgment.  If  their  exact 
figures  are  taken,  and  made  to  cover  unreported  areas  as  well,  and  their 
errors  are  annually  piled  on  errors,  the  cumulative  inaccuracy  might 
become  something  utterly,  if  not  monstrously,  unreliable.  What  is  done 
next?  Here  is  where  all  routine  arithmetic,  all  ordinary  clerical  effort, 
is  found  unavailing  and  worthless.  There  are  now  tests  to  be  applied  by 
which  errors  are  eliminated ;  first,  by  comparison  of  results  of  separate 
returns  made  at  different  times,  as  changes  in  acreage  tested  by  returns 
of  quantity  produced,  rate  of  yield  per  acre,  etc.  When  discrepancies  are 
found,  they  must  be  reconciled  by  an  investigation  of  the  local  circum- 
stances affecting  the  result,  the  history  of  the  season  in  the  monthly 
returns  of  condition,  returns  of  prices  as  a  valuable  indication  of 
increased  or  decreased  supply,  the  various  existing  causes  of  local 
changes  in  cropping,  and  outside  data  from  State  or  other  reports. 

In  the  case  of  the  principal  crops  in  the  older  and  settled  States, 
these  methods  diligently  pursued,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  quality  of 
soils  and  special  cropping  of  every  slope  and  valley  in  the  United 
States,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  very  satisfactory  results.  Remarkable 
accuracy,  even  in  the  absence  of  yearly  State  reports,  has  been  attained 
in  some  notable  cases  of  fluctuating  production.  Illinois,  for  instance, 
promising  nearly  250,000,000  bushels  of  corn  in  July,  was  credited  with 
scarcely  half  that  amount  in  November,  18G9.  The  census  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  corroborated  a  deficiency  of  more  than  120,000,000  bushels. 
The  wheat-crop  was  reported  at  almost  the  exact  figures  given  by 
the  census  J  and  the  numbers  of  farm-animals  were  as  near  as  an  inde- 
pendent census  by  the  same  marshals  would  have  made  it.  In  the 
South  and  distant  West,  in  the  shadow  of  the  war  and  amid  the  rush 
of  new  settlement,  similar  accuracy  was  not  possible.  It  is  gratifying 
to  know  that  substantial  progress  in  the  direction  of  accuracy  has  been 
made,  which,  with  better  facilities  in  the  future,  may  be  materially 
quickened. 

CROPS  OF  THE  PAST  YEAR. 

Corn. — The  crop  of  187G  is  placed  at  nearly  1,284,000,000  bushels,  only 
37,000,000  less  than  the  great  crop  of  1875.  The  rate  of  yield  per  acre 
is  25  bushels,  which  is  about  4  bushels  per  acre  less  than  last  year. 
The  acreage  of  Illinois  is  placed  at  8,920,000  acres,  an  area  about  50  per 
cent,  greater  than  that  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  Iowa  and  Mis- 
souri come  next. 

The  surplus  of  the  crop  of  1875  has  had  an  effect  in  reducing  the  aver- 
age price  from  42  (in  that  year)  to  37  cents. 

'Wheat. — The  reported  deficiency  of  30,000,000  bushels  of  spring- wheat 


REPORT   OF   TH.E    STATISTICIAN. 


91 


in  the  ISTorthwest  proves  on  analysis  of  all  tlie  facts  to  be  substantially 
correct.  The  yield  in  ]SI"ew  York  and  Pennsylvania  was  larger  by  8,000,000 
bushels  than  in  1 875.  A  large  increase  is  also  found  in  the  South,  mainly 
in  Texas.  The  effect  of  such  increase  was  to  make  the  crop  nearly  as 
large  as  the  medium  one  of  1875.  The  figures  in  the  estimates  are 
289,350,500  bushels.  The  acreage  is  estimated  at  27,627,021,  against 
26,381,512  in  1875.  The  yield  per  acre  is  less  only  10.4  bushels  5  in  1875, 
11.07.  Both  of  these  crops  are,  therefore,  below  a  medium  yield.  A 
good  yield  would  produce,  with  the  present  acreage,  330,000,000  bushels. 
The  average  price  of  wheat  is  $1,037,  3  cents  higher  than  that  of  the 
l^revious  year. 

Rye. — There  is  a  small  increase  in  the  area  of  rye  as  well  as  in  the 
rate  of  yield.    Average  yield,  13.8  bushels ;  i^rice,  66.9  cents  per  bushel. 

Oats. — The  acreage  of  oats  was  increased  nearly  a  million  and  a  half, 
but  the  product  is  placed  at  320,000,000  bushels,  34,000,000  bushels  less 
than  in  1875.  The  price  averaged  35  cents,  2  cents  more  than  that  of 
the  previous  year,  notwithstanding  the  great" abundance  and  low  price 
of  corn. 

Barley. — No  increase  in  the  area  of  barley  is  reported;  but  there  was 
an  improvement  in  the  yield,  which  averaged  nearly  22  bushels.  Value, 
06.4  cents  per  bushel. 

BucJcivJieat. — The  reported  area  is  slightly  decreased,  as  well  as  the 
total  i)roduct,  with  an  increase  of  average  price,  which  is  72.6  cents. 

Potatoes. — A  marked  change  in  potato-production  is  indicated,  the 
crop  of  1876  being  the  poorest  for  many  years ;  the  reduction  being  from 
106,000,000  to  125,000,000  bushels. 

Hay. — The  hay-crop  of  1876  was  unusually  heavv,  amounting  to  nearly 
31,000,000  tons,  10  per  cent,  larger  than  that  of  1875.  The  large  sup- 
ply afieGted  the  price,  which  averaged  $11.90  per  ton,  against  $12.27 
the  previous  year. 


Tahle  showing  the  product  of  each  principal  crop  of  the  several  States  named,  the  yield  per 
acre,  the  total  acreage,  the  averageprice  in  each  State,  and  the  value  of  each  crop,  for  1876. 


t! 

1.1 

M 

. 

£ 

0 

^& 

I§ 

0 

Cm  t) 

cS 

Products 

Si 
5  ^ 

t--2 
1 

,2  0 

u  0 

o9 

> 

§ 

3-" 

11 

3 

G? 

0 

!z5 

t> 

H 

MAINE. 

Indian  corn 

bushels. 

1,  dOO,  000 

31 

45, 161 

10  79 

$1, 106,  ODD 

Wheat 

do 

296,  000 

12 

24,  666 

1  58 

467, 680 

Kyo 

do.... 

33,  GOO 

14 

2,400 

1  11 

37, 296 

Oats 

do.-.. 

2,  352,  COO 

23 

102, 260 

49 

1, 152, 480 

Barley 

do.-.. 

CG3,  000 

18.5 

35,  837 

75 

497, 250 

Buckwheat 

do.... 

397,  000 

22.5 

17,  644 

62 

246, 140 

Potatoes 

do.... 

5,  8G8,  000 

100 

58,  C80 

.  63 

3,  C96,  840 

pounds. 

tons. 

Hay 

1, 204,  800 

0.98 

1, 290, 612 

11  20 

14, 165,  760 

Total 

1,577,260 

21, 369,  446 

sniRE. 

KEW  HAlir 

Indian  corn 

bushels. 

2. 029,  000 

42 

48,  309 

79 

1,  602,  910 

"Wheat 

do.... 

192, 000 

15 

12,  800 

1  55 

297, 600 

Rye 

do.... 

47,  000 

18 

2,611 

1  00 

47, 000 

Oats 

do.... 

1, 222,  000 

33 

37,  030 

49 

598,  780 

Barley 

do.... 

108,000 

24.  S 

4,354 

86 

92,  880 

Buckwheat 

do.... 

97, 000 

19 

.'">,  105 

G5 

63, 050 

92 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


Tailc  shoivUifj  the  2^>'oduci  of  each  pyine'quil  crop,  ..[c,  for  187u— Conlinned. 


Products. 


XEW  nAMPSIIinE- 

Potatoes 

-Continued 

bushels, 
.pounds. 
tons. 

Hay 

Total . 


VERMONT. 

Indian  corn Lnsbols 

Wheat do 

Eye do 

Oats do 

Bai'ley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds . 

Hay tons 


Total. 


MASSACHUSETTS. 

Indian  corn busheld . 

"Wheat do 


Kye. 


.do. 


Oat8 do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco peunds. 

Hay t  on  8 . 


Total. 


iraODE  ISLAND. 

Indian  corn bushels . 

Wheat do. 


Kye. 


.do. 


Oats do... 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Total . 


COSXECTICUT. 

Indian  corn buHhols. 

Wheat do.... 

Kye do 

Oats do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat f  lo 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Total . 


NEW  YOUK. 

Indian  corn bu.ihels. 

Wheat do.... 

Rye do 

Oats do 

Barley ; do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay r..tons. 

Total 


3,  990,  000 
414,000 
702,  OOO 


1,  892,  000 

421, 000 

80,  000 

4,  514,  000 
121, 000 
399, 000 

5,  265, 000 


1,  060,  500 


1, 150, 000 

17,  509 

290,  500 

490,  000 

55, 000 

54,  000 

3, 250, 000 

4,  650,  000 

675, 000 


290,  000 


18,  500 

90,000 

9,000 


500,  000 

'iis.'ooo' 


1,  850,  000 

35,  000 

360,  000 

1, 050, 000 

27,  500 

130, 000 

1, 700,  000 

7,  568, 000 

575, 000 


21.  000,  000 
y,  750,  000 

2,  760,  000 
40,  025, 000 

C,  600, 000 

3,  750,  000 
23,  ODD,  000 

1,  500,  000 
5,  600, 000 


100 

1,500 

90 


39 
14.7 
18.5 
37 
22.  5 
20.0 
140 


1.00 


35 
1.^ 
13.5 
30 

25 

13 

100 

,640 

1.02 


65 
"'6."80' 


32.5 
14.5 
12 
24 
25 
15 
65 
1,220 
1.03 


30 
15 
12 

28.5 
22 
14 
55 
700 
1.15 


39,  900 

276 
780,  000 


930,  385 


48,  512 
28,  039 

4,324 
122,  000 

5,  377 
19,  3G8 
37,  007 


1, 060,  500 


1,  326,  327 


32,  857 

H72 

21,518 

16, 333 

2,200 

4,  l.')3 

32,  500 

2,  835 

C61,  704 


775, 132 


8,285 


1,541 

3,333 

473 


7,692 
'i43,"756' 


165,  074 


56, 923 

2,413 

30,  000 

43,  750 

1,100 

8.  cm 

2i;,  153 

6,203 

558,  252 


733,  460 


700,  000 
6i0,  OCO 
230, 000 

1,  404,  385 

300,  000 

267,  857 

413,181 

2, 142 

4,  669,  565 

6,  842, 130 


-s^- 

> 


60 

12 

12  28 


78 
1  43 

90 
42 

88 
64 
50 


10  31 


1  30 

90 
51 
90 
65 

83 
09.4 
16  00 


1  00 
20  OO' 


74 
1  30 

80 
43 
92 
80 
97 
09.1 
n  50 


OS 

31 

82 

42 

Si 

74 

80 

08. -I 

20 


2,  394,  000 

49,  680 

8,  020,  560 


13,  766,  460 


1,  475,  7G0 
602, 030 
76,  800 

1,  895,  880 
106,  480 
255, 360 

2,  632,  500 


10,  933, 755 


17,  978,  565 


802,  500 

22,  750 

261,450 

249, 900 

49,  500 

35, 100 

2,  097,  500 

437, 100 

10,  800, 000 


15, 415, 800 


217,  500 


16,  650 

54,  000 

8,100 


500,  000 
'2,' 300,' 656 


3, 096, 250 


1,  309,  000 

45,  500 

309,  600 

501,  000 

25,  300 

104,  000 

1,  649, 000 

683,  688 

10,  062,  500 


14,  757,  588 


14,  280, 000 

12,  772,  500 
2, 263, 200 

16,  810,  500 
5,  478, 000 
2,  775,  COO 

18,  400,  000 
126,  000 

62, 720,  000 

135,  625, 200 


REPOET    OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 

Table  showing  Ihe  product  of  each  prindpal  crop,  ij-c,  for  187G — Continued. 


93 
/ 


Products. 


NEW  JEUSEY. 

Irnlian  corn bushels. 

Wheat ilo 

Kye <lo 

Oiits do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Total . 


rEXXSYLVAXIA. 

Indian  corn bushels . 

Wheat do.... 

Kj'6 , do — 

Oats do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do — 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds . 

Hay tons. 


Total . 


DELAWARE. 

In dian  corn bnshels. 

Wheat do 

Kye do 

Oata do — 

Barley do — 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do — 

Tobacco pounds. 

Ha  J' tons. 


Total. 


MAllYLAKD. 

Indian  corn bnshels. 

Wheat do.... 

Rye do 

Oats do  — 

Bariey do 

Buckwheat do — 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Total. 


VIRGIKIA. 

Indian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do..., 

Kye do 

Oiits do.... 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco l>ound8. 

1  lay tons. 


Total.. 


NOUTII  C.VnOLIXA. 

Tnnlan  corn bushels. 

Wheat do..., 

Kyo do 

Oats do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 


P<cc 


O" 


0,  400,  000 

2, 17(),  000 

520,  000 

4, 150,  000 


330,  000 
2, 100,  000 


590,  000 


42,  250,  000 
18, 740,  000 

3, 240,  000 

33, 150,  000 

560,  000 

2, 100, 000 

6,  800, 000 
13, 200, 000 

2, 900, 000 


3, 850, 000 

920, 000 

12, 000 

375,  000 


325,  000 
"37,500 


13,  780, 000 

6,  000,  000 

315,000 

4,  450,  000 


75,  000 

1, 1.50,  000 

21,500,000 

237,  000 


20,  COO,  000 

7,  875, 000 

475,  000 

7,  050, 000 


48,  000 

1, 350,  000 

49,  300, 000 

256, 000 


23, 000,  000 

3,  000,  000 

360, 000 

3,  530, 000 


30 
13.  6 
1.3.5 
26.5 


11.5 

40 


35 
13.2 
14 

28.6 
22 
13.6 
50 
1,380 
1.23 


70 

'i.'is 


29 
12.5 
13.5 
21.5 


19.5 
Gl 
61)0 
1.20 


20 
8.5 
9.6 

15.8 


13.4 
64 
COO 
1.  25 


14.6 
7.3 

8.4 
13.  5 


a. 9 


201,111 

mo,  000 

38,  518 
156,  C03 


28,  695 
52,  500 


491,  6G6 


1, 189,  093 


1, 207, 142 

1,  419,  096 

231,428 

1, 159,  090 

25,  454 

151,411 

136,  000 

9,565 

2, 357, 723 


6,  700, 509 


128,  333 

57,  500 

923 

14,423 


4,  642 

'si,' 779" 


237,  600 


475, 172 

480,  000 

23, 333 

206,  970 


3,846 

17,  968 

31,159 

197,  500 


1,  435,  954 


1,  0.30,  000 

926,  470 

49,  4':9 

484, 177 


3,  582 

21,093 

82, 106 

204,  800 

2,  801,  767 


1,  575,  342 

410,  958 

42,  857 

201,  481 


S  O 
H  ft 


to  56 
1  32 

81 
42 


83 
1  20 


55 
1  25 
74 
35 
85 
74 
85 
09 
12  16 


50 

1  27 

80 

31 


95 

is'oo" 


CI 

73 

08 

14  50 


46 

1  13 

C4 

40 


53 

C2 

08 

13  82 


54 
1  20 


•i"),  264,  000 

2,  872,  320 

421, 200 

1, 743,  000 


273,  900 
2,  520,  000 


9,  381, 000 


22,  475,  420 


23, 237,  500 

23,  425, 000 
2,  397,  600 

11,602,500 

476, 000 

1,554,000 

5, 780,  000 

1, 188, 000 

35, 264, 000 


104,  924, 600 


1,  925, 000 

1, 108, 400 

9,600 

127,  500 


308, 750 
"'562,' 500 
4, 101,  750 


6,  752,  200 

7, 620, 000 

239,  400 

1,  513, 000 


45, 750 

839,  500 

1,  720,  000 

3, 436, 500 


22, 166, 350 


9,  476,  000 

8,  898,  750 

30 1, 000 

3,  060, 000 


27, 840 

837, 000 

3,  944, 000 

3,  537,  920 


30,  085,  510 


12,  420, 000 

3,  600,  000 

316, 800 

1,  906, 200 


94  REPORT    OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Tabic  shouiiig  tlie  product  of  each  principal  crop,  c^-c.,for  1876— Continued. 


I'roducts. 

o 

S  t5 

a 

& 

yso,  000 

16, 225, 000 
116,200 

"3   . 

5  3 

*    . 

©_- 

c  ^ 

a  Pi 
> 

Total  valuation. 

North  Cauolina— Cont 

Potatoes 

Tobacco 

Hay 

nued. 

bushels. 

pounds. 

tons. 

70 
550 
1.25 

12, 142 

20,  500 
92,  900 

64 

o;» 

11  12 

544,  COO 
'.,460,250 
1,292,144 

Total           

2,  425,  240 

78 
1  66 
1  47 

82 

21,539,394 

bushels . 

do.... 

CO 

do.... 

do 

SOUTH  CAllOLIXA. 

Indian  corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Bnckwhoat 

Potatoes 

Tobacco 

Hay 

9,  700,  000 

850,  000 

44,  000 

1, 100,  000 

P.  2 
8 

0.6 
14.5 

1,18'^  920 

lOG,  250 

6,  666 

75,  862 

7,  566,  000 

1,  411,  000 

64,  680 

SC2, 000 

do 

do.... 

pounds. 

tons. 

104,  000 

80 

1, 300 

93 

96,  720 

24,  000 

1.20 

20,  000 

IG  50 

396,  000 

Total 

1,  303,  004 

CO 
1  31 

10,  436,  400 

bushels. 

do.... 

do 

'GEORGIA. 

Indian  corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Buckwheat 

Tobacco 

Hay 

23,  620,  000 
2,  640,  000 

11 

G 

2,147,272 
473,  333 

14, 172, 000 
3,  80.?,  600 

do.-.. 

do 

5, 700,  000 

11.6 

491,379 

(IS 

3,  876, 000 

do 

do 

pounds. 

tons. 

23,  COO 

i.30 

18, 153 

14  73 

347,  628 

Total 

3, 130, 137 

22, 201, 228 

bushels. 

do 

FLORIDA. 

Indian  corn 

2, 500,  000 

10 

250,  000 

83 

2, 150,  000 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

do  ... 

do.... 

do 

132, 000 

13.5 

9,  777 

99 

130,  680 

do 

do 

Hay 

pounds. 

tons. 

225,  000 

700 

321 

20 

45, 000 

Total  

260,  038 

2,016,536 
175,  384 

48 
1  23 

2,  325, 630 

bushels. 

do.... 

do  ... 

ALABAMA. 

Indian  corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

26,215,000 
1, 140,  000 

13 

0.5 

12,  583, 200 
1,402,200 

do.... 

.  ...do 

1,  800,  000 

14.1 

127,  659 

67 

1,206,000 

Tobacco 

Hay 

do.... 

pounds. 

tons. 

260, 000 

50 

4,  042 

90 

249,  600 

24,  OCO 

1.30 

18,  461 

16  75 

402,  000 

Total        

2,  342,  684 

15,  843, 000 

bushels. 

do.... 

Mississirpi. 

Indian  corn 

"Wheat 

20,  000,  000 
325, 000 

15 

7.7 

1,  333,  333 
42,  207 

.'in 
1  35 

11,000,000 
i  \r,  500 

do.... 

1                  

Oats                     

do.... 

780,  000 

16.3 

47,  852 

C',1 

OJ^,  200 

do.... 

do 

do... 

320, 000 

80 

4,  000 

06 

307. 200 

Hay      

pounds 

tons 

23,  500 

1.35 

17,  407 

16  31 

3b3,  285 

Total 

1,  444,  799 

12, 677, 185 

REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


'^    xy     95 

Table  showing  the  product  of  each  in-lncipdl  crop,  ^-c.^for  1876 — Contim\pd.     -v>  ^ 


Products. 


LOLI.-IANA. 

ludian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do.... 

Rye do — 

Oats do 

Barley do. . . 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do  — 

Tobacco ponuds 

Hay tons. 

Total 

TEXAS. 

Indian  corn bu.shel.s 

"Wheat do... 

Eye do... 

Oats do... 

Barley do. .. 

Backwheat do... 

Potatoes do... 

Tobacco pounds 

Hay tons 


Total. 


AKKANSAS. 

Indian  corn bushels . 

"Wheat ...do... 

Rye do... 

Oats do... 

Barley do 

BiickWheat do . . . 

Potatoes do  — 

Tobucco , pounds.. 

Hay tons 


Total. 


TFAXESSEE 

Indian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do . . . 

Rye do  — 

Oats do . . . 

Barley do . . . 

Backwheat do... 

Patatoes do . .  . 

Tobacco pouud.s 

Hay tons 


Total. 


WEST  YIHGIXIA. 

Indian  corn bushels 

Wbeiit do . . . 

Rye do... 

Oats do... 

Barley do. . . 

Buckwheat do... 

Potatoe.s do. .. 

Tobacco pounds 

Hay tons 

Total 


KEXT'JCKY. 

Indian  corn bu.sliels 

Wheat do . . . 

Rye do 

Oats do. .. 

Barley da... 


12, 000,  000 


43,  000,  000 
4,  750,  000 

50,  000 
3,  050,  000 

SO,  000 


544,  000 
175,  000 

80,  000 


21,  500, 000 

1,  400, 000 

50,  COO 

•;25,  000 


450,  000 

1,980,000 

23,000 


54,  500,  000 

11,200,000 

355,  000 

5,  100,  000 

80,  000 

97,  000 

1,  260, 000 

32,  200, 000 

165,  000 


10,  005,  000 
3,  377,  000 

300,  oi;e 

2,  800,  000 

52,  000 

83,  000 

1,125,000 

2,  750,  000 

265,  000 


63, 300,  000 

8, 237,  000 

1, 150,  000 

C,  850,  000 

275,  000 


05 
745 
1.38 


24 
8.2 
11 
20.5 


77 
000 
1.40 


24.5 
8.3 
9 
17.6 
le.  5 
16.4 
80 
630 
1.36 


^  2 


8,  400, 000 


34,  000 


C98,  220 


8, 434,  000 


1.  920,  000 

305,  384 

3,200 

117,741 

2,758 


5,726 

234 

57,  971 


2,  473,  014 


895,  833 

170,731 

4,545 

45,121 


07 

22 

11  26 


24, 000, 000 
5, 130, 000 

53, 200 
2,117,000 

65,  600 


364,  480 

38,  500 
900,  800 


32,  669,  580 


8, 385, 000 

1,  330,  000 

39, 500 

462,  500 


5,814 
2,  200 
16,  428 


5>'     ;  201, 000 

12  237, 600 

13  10  301,  300 


1,140,702    11,016,900 


2,  224,  489 

1,  356, 626 

39, 444 

306,  818 

4,  324 

5,914 

15, 750 

51,111 

121,  323 


32 
93 
92 
39 
90 
83 
48 
08 
13  56 


28.2 
11 

12.0 
22.5 
15.  6 
17.6 
66 
640 
1.30 


33.5 

10 

11.1 


4, 125,  799 


376,  063 

307,  000 

23,  809 

124,  444 

3,333 

4,715 

17, 045 

4,296 

203,  846 


45 

1  11 

74 

35 

85 
65 
52 
08 
10  00 


17,  440,  000 

10,  471,  800 

326,  600 

2, 106,  000 

72,  000 

80,510 

604,  800 

2,  576,  000 

2,  237,  400 


35,  915, 110 


4,  772,  250 

3,  748,  470 

222,  000 

980,  000 

44,  201 

53, 950 

5.S5, 000 

22!),  000 

2,  050,  000 


1,004,551    13,275,870 


1,  889,  552 

823,  700 

103,  C03 

311,363 

12,  790 


18,  990,  000 
8,  237,  OOO 

805,  000 
2,  466,  000 

231,  000 


96  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Tabic  showing  the  2)rodat:t  of  each  jirincqial  croj),  tjr.,  for  1876— Contiaued. 


Products. 


Ke.vtlcky— Continued. 

Buckwheat bushels. 

Potatoes do... 

I'obacco pounds . 

Hay tons. 


Total. 


Indian  corn bushels 

Wheat do... 

IJyo do... 

Oiits do... 

Barley do... 

Buckwheat - do . . . 

Potatoes do . . . 

Tobacco pounds 

Hay tons 


Total. 


Indian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do. . . 

Rye 


Oats do... 

Barley do — 

Buckwheat do — 

Potatoes do — 

Tobacco pounds 

Hay tons 


Total. 


Indian  corn bushels 

AVheat do... 


Ky 


.do. 


Oats do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do... 

Potatoes do. . . 

Tobacco I)0und8 

Hay tons 


Total. 


ILLINOIS. 

Indian  corn bushels 

Wheat do... 

llye do... 

Oats do... 

15arley do... 

Buckwheat do... 

Potatoes do... 

Tobacco pounds 

Hay tons 


Total . 


WISCOXSIX. 

Indian  corn bushels. 

AVheat do..., 

Ityo do — 

Oats do..., 

liarloy do — 

Buckwheat do — 

I'otatoes do — 

Tobacco pounds 

Uay ton.s 

Total 


2i2 


2, 100, 000 

12S,  000,  000 
363,  000 


115,000,000 

21,  750,  000 

4G0,  000 

24, 500,  000 

t^OO,  000 

3:i0,  000 

9,  000,  000 

26,  500,  000 

1,  950,  000 


21, 350,  009 

15,  no,  000 

252, 000 

11,500,000 

955, 000 

620,  000 

4,  750,  000 


1,  375,  000 


on,  000,  000 

20,  000,  000 

520,  000 

13, 270, 000 

400,  000 

160,  000 

4,  300,  000 

10,  500,  000 

1, 150,  000 


223.  000,  OCO 

23,  440,  000 

2,  5s0,  OCO 

48,  OIJO,  000 

2,  200,  000 
175,  000 

9,  450,  000 
11,  000,  000 

3,  500, 000 


27,  000,  000 

16,  800,  COO 

1,  330,  000 

21 ,  700,  000 

1,800,000 

425,  000 

5,  820,  000 

3,  300,  000 

1,  533,  000 


ceo 

1.25 


36.7 
11.8 
12.8 
26.5 
20 
12.2 
70 
810 
1.20 


20 

12 

13.5 

31.4 

20 

14.1 

55 


1.30 


no 
11 

12.2 

22.  7 
is!  2 
17.2 

65 
750 
1.25 


!».  3 
Hi 
20 
17.7 
14.8 
7.") 
760 

1.40 


£00 
1. 


a.s 


25,  60!) 
183,235 
290,  400 


3,  645, 252 


3, 133,  514 

1,  843,  220 

35,  937 

924, 528 

40,  000 

31,967 

128,  571 

32, 716 

1,625,000 


7,  795,  453 


736,  206 

1,  264, 166 

18,  666 

366,  242 
47,  750 
43,  971 
80,  303 


1, 057,  692 


3,  621,  056 


3,  300, 000 

1,  818, 181 

42, 022 

584,  581 

26,  315 

9, 302 

66,  l.")3 

22,  000 

920,  000 


u  o 


49 

07 

10  25 


38 
1  14 

68 
31 
78 
75 
62 

06.5 
8  42 


1,  029, 000 
8,  960, 000 
3,  720,  750 


44,  438,  750 


43,  700,  000 

24,  795,  OUO 

312,800 

7,  59.5,  000 

024,  000 

292,  50O 

5,  580,  000 

1, 722,  500 

16,  419, 000 


6,  789, 154 


8,  920,  000 

2,  520,  430 

161,  2,50 

2,  400,  000 

124, 293 

11,  824 

126,  000 

14,  473 

2,  500,  000 


16,  778, 270 


794,117 

l,y66,  666 

!C.,  000 

700,  000 

81,818 

23,611 

72,  750 

4,  125 

1,095,000 

4,  7.33,  0S7 


34 

1  02 
71 
31 

79 
76 
56 
0.5. 
8  57 


101,040,800 


11,102,000 

17,  597,  200 

168, 840 

5,175,900 

735,  350 

427,  800 

3,  420,  000 


13,  750,  000 


52,  376, 190 


33,  600,  000 

20,  400,  000 

369,  200 

4,113,700 

316,000 

121, 000 

2,  408,  000 

940,  500 

9,  855,  500 

72, 184,  500 


31 

93 

58 

26 
■  50 

81 

61 

05.7 
6  08 


69, 130,  000 

21,799,200 

1,496,400 

12,  480,  000 

1, 100,  000 

141, 750 

5, 764,  .500 

627,  000 

23,  380,  000 


135,  918,  850 


11,070,000 

16,  968,  000 

837,  900 

6,  5X0,  000 

1,170,000 

259,  250 

2,  851,  800 

198, 000 

11,  880,  750 

51,  745,  700 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


97 


Table  showing  the  product  of  each  j)rjncy;af  crop,  tf-c,  for  1876— Continued. 


Frodnots. 


Indian  com bushels 

Wheat do... 

1! 


lye. 


-do. 


Oats do 

Barley do... 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do . . . 

Tobacco poundH 

Hay tons 


Total . 


In ^an  corn bn shels . 

Wheat do 


Kye. 


.do. 


Oata do.,., 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Xotal. 


MISSOURI. 

Indian  corn bu.shels. 

Wheat do. 

Kye do. 

Oats do. 

Barley do. 

Buckwheat do. 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds 

Hav tons 


7,  400,  000 

16,  000,  000 

111,  000 

12,  000, 000 

1,  5-20,  000 

47,  800 

3, 100, 000 


1, 060,  000 


142, 500, 000 

17,  600, 000 

350, 000 

21, 250,  000 

5, 800,  000 

140, 000 

7, 000, 000 


1,  950, 000 


tx-'» 


25.  4 
P.  5 
Ifi 
"5 
21.0 
14.5 
00 


1.40 


30 
6.1 
14 

25.4 

2i 

14.8 


Tetal . 


Indian  corn bushels 

Wheat do... 

Eye do 

Oat  -s do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds . 

Hay tx)n3. 


Total. 


NEBRASKA. 

•Indian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do 

Rye do 

Oats do... 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tona . 


Total. 


CALIFOKNIA. 

Indian  corn bushels . 

Wheat do 

Eye do 

Oats ilo 

Barley do 

7A 


102, 500, 000 

15, 240, 000 

680,  000 

13, 150,  000 

435, 000 

55, 000 

5,  400, 000 

43, 245,  000 

750,  000 


836,  000 
510,  000 
450,  000 
380,  000 
960, 000 
96, 000 
286,  000 
770,  000 
864,  000 


25,  500,  000 

4,  330,  000 

92,  000 

3,  500,  000 

470,  000 


1,400,000 
""380,' 000 


27.8 
1-^4 
14.8 
20.  2 
17 
18 
76 
775 
1..35 


43.5 
14.6 
20.8 
31.7 
23.  5 
16 

io.-> 

700 
1.20 


201,  338 

1,  882,  352 

6,  987 

480, 000 

69,  406 

3,  2f)6 

32,  291 


757, 142 


3, 522,  762 


4,  750,  000 

2,  88.5, 245 

25,  000 

8.30,614 

241,666 

9,  459 

87,  500 


1,  373,  239 


10,  208,  723 


3,  687,  050 

1,  220, 032 

4.5,  945 

650,  990 

25,  588 

3,055 

71,  052 

55,  800 

555,  555 


O  3 


■fO  40 
90 
61 
37 
63 
C6 
36 


5  00 


$2,  960,  000 

14, 400, 000 

07,710 

4,  440, 000 

957, 600 

31,548 

1, 116,  000 


5,  300,  OOO 


29, 272, 858 


30 
1 1.  5 
16.5 
2,-).  3 


1,  600,  COO 
30,  000,  OOO 

78.  000 

2,  450,  000 
11,  800,  000 


77 
"i.'40 


6,  324,  0G7 


1,  904, 275 

1,  ];ili,8vil 

16.-1,865 

3!/0,  8'JO 

83,  404 

6,  000 

50,  ;i42 

1,100 

720,  000 


4,  452,  027 


8.-0,  000 
3:6,521 
5,  575 
138,339 
21,  363 


18,181 

'27i,'428 


1,081,407 


24 
86 
43 
22 
45 
90 
50 
10 
4  90 


35,  625, 000 

15,  840, 000 

18,5,500 

4,  887,  500 
2,  610,  000 

109, 200 

5,  600, 000 


9,  750, 000 


74,  607,  200 


28,  700,  000 

13,  563,  600 

387, 600 

3,419,000 

282,  750 

30,  850 

2,  268,  000 

3,  027, 150 
6,  390,  000 


58,  074,  950 


19, 880,  640 

14, 198,  600 

1, 483,  .500 

2,  725, 530 

882, 000 

86,  400 

2, 643,  000 

77,  000 

4, 233, 600 


46,  210,  320 


48,  484 

2,  3l'7,  692 

r,,  131 

70,  000 

530, 363 


1  07 
1  14 

95 
74 
69 


fi,  P85,  000 

1, 169, 100 

36,  800 

f  0.5,  000 

150,  400 


443, 000 
'i,"286,"000 


10, 774, 900 


1,  712,  000 

31,200,000 

74, 100 

1,  813,  000 

8, 142,  000 


98 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Taile  showing  the  product  of  each  principal  orop,  ^c,  for  1876 — Continued. 


Products. 


Califoknia— Continued. 

Buckwheat bushels. 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons 


Total. 


Indian  corn bushels. 

"Wheat do..-. 

Kye do 

Oats do 

Barley do.... 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Total 


NEVADA 

Indian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do.... 

Rye do 

Oats do 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco. ., , pounds. 

Hay tons. 


Total. 


TEBKIT0R1E8 

Indian  corn bushels. 

Wheat do 


Kye. 


.do. 


Oats do. 

Barley do 

Buckwheat do 

Potatoes do 

Tobacco pounds . 

H»y tons. 

Total 


P<ao 


4,  000, 000 


850,  000 


15!0, 000 

4, 675,  000 

5,200 

2, 750,  000 

540,000 


1, 000, 000 

"'iao.'ooo' 


15,500 
390,  000 


90,000 
550,000 


220,000 

"55,' 666" 


1, 575, 000 

3,  850,  000 


2, 150,  000 
850,000 


1, 750, 000 
'"266,066 


•  2 


125 


1.35 


140 
""£.'45' 


28 
18.2 


31 
25.5 


100 
""i.35 


25 
18.2 


110 
"'i'46 


B.S 


32,000 


629,629 


3,  629, 290 


4,000 

275,000 

247 

72, 368 

18,620 


7,142 


89,655 


467, 032 


553 
21, 428 


2,903 
21,568 


2,200 
'46,' 746' 


89,  392 


63,  000 
211,  538 


71, 666 
30, 357 


15,  909 
'142,' 857 
535, 327 


t,  o 


10  83 


9  50 


1  00 
1  10 


96 

is'so" 


95 
1  00 


72 
£206" 


$3,  320, 000 


9,  868,  500 


59, 129,  600 


108, 000 

3, 272,  500 

3,900 

1, 375,  00« 

367,200 


640, 000 
'i,'235i666 


7, 001, 600 


15, 500 
429,  000 


63, 000 
495,000 


211, 200 
"742,'566 


1, 956, 200 


1,  496, 250 
3,  850, 000 


1,  462, 000 
756,500 


1, 260, 000 
"2,' 400,' 666 
11,224,750 


REPORT    OF  THE    STATISTICIAN. 


99 


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102 


REPORT    OP   THE    COMMISSIONEK    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


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REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


103 


Table  shoiving  the  average  cash  value  j)er  acre  of  the  principal  crops  of  the  farm  for  the 

year  1876. 


Maine 

New  Hampalilre 

Vermont 

Maasachnsetts  . 

Khode  Island 

Connecticut 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania  ... 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina . 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 


o 

O 

Is 

<u  p. 

k 

< 

ei3  54 

14  79 

Vi  55 

19  88 

18  75 

20  12 

15  33 

18  90 

15  05 

17  26 

15  43 

10  73 

8  88 

7  49 

7  09 

8  94 

6  70 

8  77 

12  07 

Texas $13  21 

Arkansas  9  65 

Tennessee 8  70 

West  Virginia 12  47 

IvODtucky 12  19 

Ohio 12  96 

Michigan 14  46 

Indiana 10  63 

Illinois 8  10 

Wisconsin 10  93 

Minnesota 8  30 

Iowa 7  :«) 

Missouri 9  18 

Kansas 10  37 

Nebraska <  6  40 

California I  IG  29 

Oregon 14  99 

Nevada 21  88 

The  Territories 20  90 


Table  shotving  the  average  cash  value  per  acre  of  farm-products  for  the  year  1876. 


StutM. 

B 

o 
O 

i 
8 

^ 

cS 
o 

A 

1 

1 

o 
o 
o 

a 

$24  49 
33  18 
30  42 
2C  25 

26  35 
24  05 
20  41 
20  16 
19  25 
15  00 

14  21 
9  20 

7  88 
6  39 
6  60 

8  60 

6  24 

8  25 
12  04 
12  50 

9  36 

7  84 

12  69 
10  05 

13  94 

15  08 
10  20 

7  75 
13  94 
10  16 

7  50 

7  78 
10  44 

8  10 
35  31 

27  CO 

28  00 
23  75 

$18  96 
23  25 
21  02 
23  40 

"is'ss' 

19  65 
17  95 
16  50 

20  32 
15  87 

9  60 

8  76 

13  28 

8  04 

$15  54 
18  00 
17  76 
12  15 
10  80 
10  32 
9  84 
10  93 
10  36 
10  40 
10  26 

6  14 

7  39 
9  70 

811  27 
16  17 
15  54 

15  30 

16  20 
11  52 
11  97 
11  13 

10  01 

8  84 
7  31 
C  32 
7  29 

11  89 
7  88 

13  36 

9  44 
11  24 

$13  87 

21  32 
19  80 

22  50 

17  10 

23  00 

18  26 

"i8'76' 

$13  95 

12  35 

13  18 

8  45 

"i2'6o' 

10  30 

9  54 
10  06 

$63  00 
60  00 
70  00 
83  00 

65  00 
63  05 
44  00 
48  00 
42  50 

66  50 
46  72 
39  68 
44  80 
74  40 

.$160  "65' 
isi'io' 
iii'oi' 

58  80 
"i24"20' 

'"55 '20' 

48  00 

49  50 

$10  97 

11  05 

Vermont 

10  31 
16  32 

1<;  00 

18  02 

1-J  83 

19  08 

14  95 

17  70 

Maryland 

Virginia 

11  89 

7  77 

17  40 
17  27 
13  90 

19  80 

19  14 

ITlorida 

140  00 

7  99 
10  62 

53  76 
76  80 
61  20 

63  65 

44  66 

38  40 
34  32 
40  18 
43  40 

39  60 

38  40 

45  75 

39  20 
34  56 

64  00 
31  92 
52  50 
24  64 

103  75 
89  60 
96  00 
79  20 

21  77 

22  01 

Texas : 

14  04 
7  79 

7  71 

12  21 

10  00 

13  45 

13  92 

11  22 

8  64 

9  09 

7  65 
5  49 

11  03 

12  55 

8  39 

14  8-i 
11  90 
20  02 

15  20 

16  62 
8  69 

8  28 

9  32 

7  77 

8  70 

9  04 

8  66 

9  28 

8  82 

9  76 

7  42 

8  43 
8  94 
0  60 

14  44 

15  75 

17  93 
10  25 

6  86 

7  87 

7  92 

8  21 
14  13 

7  03 
5  20 

9  30 
9  25 
5  84 

5  25 

6  97 
5  81 

25  90 

19  00 
21  70 

20  40 

23  78 

163  90 
108  00 

50  40 

51  20 

47  60 

52  65 

"42'75' 
43  32 

48  00 

'"54'25' 
70  00 

15  53 

18  34 

Tennessee 

16  65 

13  26 

18  06 
15  60 
15  40 

12  00 
8  65 

14  30 

13  79 

10  80 

11  05 
10  57 

7  04 

15  18 

19  72 
22  95 
24  92 

13  61 
11  44 

'"g'is" 

9  72 

13  07 
11  98 

10  93 
9  57 

11  54 

12  06 

14  40 

18  44 

West  Virginia 

13  00 

12  81 

Ohio 

10  10 

13  00 

10  71 

9  35 

10  85 

7  00 

7  10 

Missouri 

Kansas 

Nebraska 

California 

Oregon 

Nevada 

11  50 
5  88 
4  71 

15  67 
13  77 
18  22 

16  80 

104 


REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 


A  general  aummartj  showing  the  estimated  quantities,  nuniber  of  acres,  and  aggregate  value  oj 
the  yrincipal  cro'pa  of  tlic  farm  in  1876. 


Products. 


Nnrabcr   of 
bualiela,  &c. 


Number    of 
acres. 


Vsda*. 


Indian  ecru 

Wheat 

Kye, 


Osita 

Barley , 

Buckwheat . 
Potatoes  ... 


Total. 


Tobacco pounds. 

Hay tona. 

Coi  ton i hales . 


Total. 


1, 083,  827,  500 
289, 356,  500 
20,  374,  800 
320,  884,  000 
38,  710,  500 
9,  C68,  800 
124,  827, 000 


2,  087, 649, 100 


381, 002, 000 

30,  867, 100 

4, 438,  000 


49,  033,  364 
27, 0-27, 021 

1,  468, 374 
13,  353,  903 

1,  7eC,  511 
666,441 

1,  741,  983 


$475, 491, 210 

300, 259,  300 

13, 635, 826 

112,  865, 900 

25,  735, 110 

7,021,498 

83,  861,  390 


95,  662,  602 


1, 018, 870, 23< 


540,  457 
25, 282, 797 
11,  677, 250 


28,  282,  968 
300, 901, 252 
229,  444,  600 


133, 103,  lOo 


1, 577,  498,  054 


Taile  showing  the  average  yield  and  cash  value  per  acre,  and  price  per  lushel,  pound,  or  ton 
of  farm-products  for  tlw  year  1876. 


fi 

u  u 

t4 

o 

<u 

o  o 

P< 

P. 

P< 

p, 

'=^ra- 

13 

o 

0) 

-3 

o  a 

2 

_0__; 

P 

.2  3 

Products. 

1..   O 

Products. 

P.  p. 

« 

o  p  § 

!? 

t- 

>■ 

(► 

> 

k.aS 

> 

-< 

< 

-< 

< 

< 

< 

Indian  com.. bushels. 

20. 1  + 

in  37. 0+ 

«9  69 

Buckwheat.  ..hu.shels. 

14.5    + 

m  72.  C+ 

$10  53 

WLeat do 

10.4+ 

1  03.  7+ 

10  86 

Potatoes do 

71.  e   + 

65.  5+ 

48  14 

Rye do.... 

13.8+ 

66.9+ 

9  28 

Tobacco pounds. 

705        — 

07.4+ 

52  33 

Oats do 

24. 0+ 

35.1+ 

8  44 

Hay tons. 

1.22+ 

9  74 

11  90 

Barley do 

21.9  + 

66.4+ 

14  50 

Cottou pounds . 

17S.6  + 

11 

19  C4 

KUMBEES  AND  CONDITION  OF  FARM-ANIMALS. 

The  estimates  of  numbers  of  farm-animals  show  a  small  increase  over 
the  previous  record,  except  as  to  sheep,  which  appear  to  have  suffered  a 
slight  diminution.     They  foot  uj)  as  follows : 


J.inuary, 

1877. 


January, 

1876. 


Horses 

Mules , 

ililch-cows , 

Osen  aud  other  cattle 

Sheep  

Swin© , 


10. 155,  400 
1,  443,  5C0 
11,  260,  800 
17,  950, 100 
3.5,  804,  200 
28,  077,  100 


9, 735,  300 
1,414,500 
11, 085,  400 
16,  785,  300 
35, 935,  300 
25,  726, 800 


There  is  also  a  slight  decline  in  the  price  of  every  kind  of  farm-ani- 
mals.   The  averages  for  the  entire  country  are  thus  given : 


Horses 

iiules 

ililch-cows 

Osen  and  other  cattle 

Sheep 

Swiue 


January, 

January. 

1S77. 

1876. 

eoo  08 

$64  96 

68  91 

75  33 

27  32 

28  89 

17  10 

19  04 

2  27 

2  60 

6  09 

6  80 

REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  105 

The  high  prices  of  horses  in  the  Middle  States  are  much  reduced. 
The  decliue  has  beeu  greater  in  the  South  than  in  the  West. 

The  price  of  cattle  in  Texas  has  not  materially  declined,  nor  in  Mis- 
souri, Kansas,  or  Nebraska ;  but  the  high  iirices  that  have  prevailed 
in  Iowa  and  Minnesota  have  been  somewhat  reduced.  There  is  little 
change  in  prices  in  Illinois,  but  more  in  the  States  farther  east.  A 
great  decliue  has  taken  place  in  California,  from  the  scarcity  of  feed  and 
pasturage  during  the  past  year. 

An  increase  in  numbers  of  swine  is  noticed  in  several  States ;  for  par- 
ticulars of  which  see  the  accompanying  table. 

CONDITION  OF  FARM-ANIMALS. 

Eeturus  of  the  condition  of  farm-animals  indicate  a  general  state  of 
health  and  thrift  above  average.  Feed  has  been  abundant,  except 
in  sections  where  little  or  no  precaution  is  taken  to  store  up  hay  for 
winter.  Except  among  hogs,  there  has  been  no  x)revalent  epizootic,  and 
local  diseases  reported  are  mainly  either  liugerings  of  chronic  ailments 
or  euphemisms  for  emaciation  and  death  occasioned  by  want  of  proper 
food  and  attention. 

Horses. — Horses  have  enjoyed  a  general  exemption  from  unusual 
diseases.  Mild  forms  of  catarrhal  disease,  with  occasional  cases  of  lung- 
fever,  are  reiiorted  from  northern  latitudes ;  and  from  the  South  more 
frequent  mention  of  similar  diseases  and  local  losses  from  blind-stag- 
gers— less  frequently  from  glanders  j  and  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  a  few 
cases  of  charbon. 

Cattle.-No  county  reports  a  condition  below  average  in  New  England, 
and  only  one  in  each  of  the  Middle  States.  In  the  Southern  States  the 
condition  has  been  better  than  usual  for  that  section ;  but  the  cruelty 
and  bad  economy  of  neglecting  due  provision  for  shelter  and  winter- 
feeding  are  quite  apparent.  The  old  story  is  repeated  of  exposure  and 
starvation,  resulting  in  deaths  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  in  far  greater 
losses  from  emaciation,  engendered  disease,  and  retarded  growth  in  the 
surviving.  Facts  show  that  in  many  localities  in  the  mild  and  produc- 
tive South  Atlantic  States  stock-raising  is  far  less  profitable  than  in  the 
extreme  Northern  States,  where  the  cold  of  winter  is  intense  and  cattle 
have  to  be  fed  from  the  barn  six  to  eight  months  in  the  year.  The 
obvious  reason  is  that  in  the  latter  States  due  i^rovision  is  made  to  pre- 
vent direct  losses  by  death,  and  far  greater  indirect  losses  by  emaciation, 
weakened  constitutions,  and  engendered  diseases,  and  from  exposure 
and  want.  The  return  from.  Taylor,  Georgia,  reported  that  from  these 
causes  alone,  out  of  a  herd  of  500, 150,  or  nearly  43  per  cent.,  had  died, 
and  they  were  "  still  dying."  This  is  perhaps  an  extreme  case,  but  other 
localities,  and  not  a  few,  report  results  scarcely  less  disastrous.  In  the 
Northwest  and  West  a  superior  condition  was  generally  reported.  In 
the  five  States  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  those  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
scarcely  one  in  ten  of  the  returns  have  been  unfavorable. 

Diseases. — The  only  disease  extensively  reported  is  starvation,  and 
that  is  confined  to  the  mildest  and  most  productive  portions  of  the 
country.  No  disease  of  any  kind  is  reported  from  New  England  or  New 
York.  Pleuro-pneumonia  has  prevailed  to  a  limited  extent  in  Burling- 
ton, New  Jersey,  and  Baltimore  and  Montgomery,  Maryland.  The  prev- 
alence of  abortion  and  milk-fever  was  noted  in  a  few  localities.  Black- 
leg is  reported  to  a  limited  extent  from  all  sections  of  the  country. 

A  report  from  Laurens,  Georgia,  says :  "  There  has  been  a  great  loss 
of  cattle  from  what  owners  call '  murrain  j'  but  I  think  it  is  emaciation 


108         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

from  much  exposure  aud  short  feed  during  the  cold  winter."  A  disease 
■was  reported  uuder  the  same  name,  and  perhaps  induced  by  similar 
causes,  in  Catoosa  also,  and  in  one  county  each  in  South  Carolina,  Texas, 
Tennessee,  West  Virginia,  and  Kentucky;  two  in  North  Carolina,  Ala- 
bama, Louisiana,  Missouri,  and  Nebraska  ;  three  in  Virginia,  aud  five  in 
Arkansas. 

A  disease  designated  as  " black-tongue,"  or  "sore-tongue,"  has  been 
reported  from  a  few  localities  in  Mississippi,  Georgia,  Arkansas,  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  and  Illinois.  The  return  from  Johnson,  Illinois, 
reports  that  the  disease  is  new  to  that  section,  and  gives  the  following 
particulars :  It  first  appeared  in  the  autumn  of  1870  in  several  localities 
about  the  same  time.  Its  approach  was  indicated  by  apparent  inability 
to  take  food  into  the  mouth.  This  was  soon  followed  by  swelling  of  the 
throat,  stiffness  of  the  jaws  and  limbs,  tenderness  in  the  feet,  and  rai)id 
emaciation.  A  disease,  not  named  aud  described  as  new,  fatal  in  its 
results,  showed  like  symptoms  in  Georgetown,  South  Carolina,  and 
Lewis,  Kentucky.  On  the  Pacific  coast,  the  same  or  a  similar  disease, 
"  not  understood,"  appeared  and  excited  considerable  alarm.  The  report 
from  Wasco,  Oregon,  described  it  as  first  manifesting  itself  by  a  slight 
swelling  on  the  lower  jaws,  close  up  to  the  head.  This  extends  over  the 
entire  head,  which  becomes  enormously  large.  The  affected  pine  away ; 
and  if  the  disease  is  left  to  run.  its  course,  it  terminates  fatally.  Most 
of  the  attacked  had  been  shot,  through  fear  that  the  infection  might 
prove  contagious.  The  disease  seemed  to  prefer  for  its  victims  cattle 
on  the  range  in  good  condition. 

Cases  of  charbon  were  reported  in  two  parishes  in  Louisiana. 

In  Etowah,  Alabama,  evidently  from  semi-starvation,  diseases  of  farm- 
animals  were  prevalent.  Besides  heavy  losses  from  "  bloody  murrain," 
"  hollow-horn,"  "hollow-tail,"  &c.,  very  many  milch-cows  died  from  some 
mysterious  difficulty  in  calving.  "  They  are  in  gi-eat  agony  for  from  two 
to  six  days  before  they  are  rid  of  the  calf.  Afterward  they  recuperate, 
eat,  give  no  milk,  and,  within  five  or  six  days,  die."  There  was  also 
unusual  fatality  among  milch-cows  in  Shelby,  ascribed  by  the  farmers  to 
"  hoUow-horn"  or  "  hollow- tail ;"  but  our  reporter  surmises  that  hollow- 
stomach,  with  want  of  due  protection  from  cold  and  storms,  was  the  true 
source  of  the  fatality. 

The  return  from  CaldweU,  Texas,  teUs  that,  as  a  cofisequence  of  ex- 
posure and  starvation,  aU  cattle  recently  imported  from  the  North,  and 
about  10  per  cent,  of  the  native  stock,  including  "  nearly  all  cows  that 
were  pregnant,"  died. 

An  unknown  disease,  often  resulting  fatally,  prevailed  in  the  autumn 
in  Benton  and  Montgomery,  Iowa ;  Nemaha,  Kansas,  and  four  counties 
in  Nebraska.  In  all  these  localities  it  is  attributed  to  feeding  on  smutty 
com  or  dry  corn-fodder,  or  the  excrement  of  grasshoppers  on  the  fodder. 
Our  correspondent  in  Cass,  Nebraska,  thinks  it  is  caused  by  the  too 
sudden  change  from  the  juicy  prairie-grass  to  the  dry  corn-fodder,  and 
especially  for  the  reason  that  the  disease  does  not  occur  in  cases  where 
rye  sown  among  the  corn  is  sufficiently  grown  to  be  nipped  when  the 
cattle  are  turned  in.  A  like  opinion  is  expressed  in  the  report  from 
Madison. 

Losses. — As  a  rule,  cattle  properly  protected  and  fed  have  wintered 
with  gain  rather  than  loss.  Among  those  left  to  provide  their  ovrn 
shelter  and  food  the  loss  by  death,  while  relatively  less  than  in  more 
changeable  and  severe  winters,  has  been  absolutely  great,  aud  in  the 
surviving  the  loss  of  everything  except  life  itself  has  been  enormous. 

Sheep. — Sheep  are  in  medium  condition,  having  suffered  less  than  usual 
even  in  regions  where  they  are  not  properly  fed  and  sheltered.    In  per- 


REPORT    OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  107 

tions  of  California,  owing  to  tbe  failure  of  the  usual  amount  of  rain, 
heavy  losses  have  resulted  from  lack  of  feed.  In  Kern,  there  was  no 
feed  outside  of  alfalfa-lands ;  25  per  cent,  died  of  starvation,  not  over  5 
per  cent,  of  the  lambs  had  been  saved,  and  thousands  of  sheep  had  been 
sold  at  37^  to  50  cents  per  head,  to  be  driven  to  Nevada  and  Oregon. 
In  Stanislaus  and  southward  they  were  reduced  to  the  starvation  point 
and  dying  rapidly;  had  been  sold  as  low  as  13  cents  per  head.  In  San 
Diego  one-third  in  many  flocks  had  died. 

Diseases. — No  extraordinary  diseases  have  iDrovailed.  In  all  sections, 
in  localities  where  the  necessary  means  of  prevention  and  cure  have 
been  neglected,  foot-rot  and  scab  had  been  i)erpetuated.  Grub  in  the 
head  is  noted  in  a  few  localities  in  Ohio.  In  the  Southern  States  the 
disease  called  "rot"  is  frequently  noted,  particularly  in  localities  where 
sheep  "  are  not  well  cared  for."  In  the  same  section,  next  to  exposure 
and  starvation,  "dog-slaughter"'  is  the  most  pestilent  disease,  and  the 
one  which  has  more  influence  than  ail  others  in  discouraging  sheep- 
husbandry. 

Bemedy  for  scab. — Californians  recommend,  as  the  cheapest  remedy,  and 
as  effectual  as  any,  a  dip  made  from  lime  1  part,  and  sulphur  2  parts, 
boiled  together  until  both  are  dissolved;  then  reduce  with  hot  water,  150 
parts  to  1,  making  the  temperature  of  the  dip  112°  Fahr.  They  dip 
by  swimming  the  sheep  through  a  trough  of  the  following  dimensions : 
2-1  feet  long,  8  inches  wide  at  the  bottom,  30  inches  at  the  top,  with 
an  inclined  platform  at  one  end  for  the  sheep  to  drain  upon,  the  liquid 
passing  back  into  the  trough.  A  half-barrel  of  lime  and  one  barrel  of 
sulphur  is  sufficient  for  1,500  sheep.  The  sheep  should  be  dipped 
at  shearing,  and  again  ten  days  after.  They  should  be  kept  from  the 
old  yard  and  placed  on  a  clean  range.  The  cure  will  be  permanent, 
unless  they  again  come  in  contact  with  diseased  sheep.  In  Humboldt 
about  25  per  cent,  have  the  scab.  Most  of  the  sheep  are  shorn  twice 
each  year.  After  being  ghorn,  diseased  flocks  are  dipped  in  a  strong 
decoction  of  tobacco.    One  dipping  generally  does  till  the  next  shearing. 

Losses. — The  localities  and  causes  of  the  heavier  losses  definitely 
repotted  were  as  follows:  Disease  of  the  throat:  Jackson,  Mississippi, 
25  per  cent.  Diarrhea  or  purging :  Loudoun,  Virginia,  and  Campbell, 
Tennessee,  15  per  cent.;  Lake,  Illinois,  10  per  cent.  Scab:  Kautman, 
Texas,  and  Taylor,  Iowa,  10  per  cent.  Scab  and  hunger:  Bee,  Texas, 
15  to  20  per  cent.  Rot :  Wilkes,  North  Carolina,  Union,  Georgia,  and 
Morgan,  Tennessee,  10  per  cent. ;  Monroe,  Tennessee,  30  per  cent.  Foot- 
rot  :  Some  flocks  in  San  Jacinto,  Texas,  50  per  cent.  Foot-rot  and  other 
diseases :  Licking  and  Morrow,  Ohio,  10  per  cent.  Exposure  and  hun- 
ger: Gaston,  North  Carolina,  and  Kosciusko,  Indiana,  10  per  cent.;  Clai- 
borne, Louisiana,  and  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  20  per  cent.;  Clay,  North  Car- 
olina, and  Navarro,  Texas,  25  per  cent.  Wolves :  Freeborn,  Minnesota, 
20  per  cent.  Wolves  and  dogs :  Nodaway,  Missouri,  25  per  cent.  Dogs : 
Craighead,  Arkansas,  15  per  cent.  Causes  not  known  or  not  named : 
Harnett,  North  Carolina,  and  Marion,  Kentucky,  10  per  cent.  In  flocks 
of  200  or  more,  in  Carroll,  Kentucky,  20  per  cent. 

Extraordinary  losses  of  spring  lambs  were  reported  in  Prince  George's, 
Maryland ;  Grenada,  and  Greene,  Mississippi ;  and  Monroe  and  Blount, 
Tennessee. 

Swine. — Diseases. — In  New  England,  where  hogs  are  kept  in  small 
lots,  and  usually  vveil  cared  for,  no  disease  prevailed  the  past  year.  In 
Columbia,  New  York,  about  5  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  died  of  lung-disease, 
ascribed  to  want  of  cleanliness  in  their  pens.  A  "  peculiar  disease,"  by 
which  thd  affected  suddenly  become  sore  in  the  back  and  hams,  and 


108    EErORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

lose  tlio  use  of  their  hind  legs,  prevailed  throughout  Chatauqua.  lu 
Burlington,  New  Jersey,  10  per  cent,  died  of  "  the  scours." 

Pennsylvania  constitutes  the  northeastern  border  of  a  vast  regiou 
infected  Vith  hog  diseases,  most  of  which  are  classed  under  the  name  of 
cholera.  In  this  State  7  returns  in  45  report  the  prevalence,  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  of  disease  so  named ;  Maryland,  o  in  IG ;  Virginia,  15  in 
CO ;  North  Carolina,  28  in  51 ;  South  Carolina,  8  in  17  ;  Georgia,  44  in 
CS;  Florida,  G  in  14 ;  Alabama,  20  in  30 ;  Mississippi,  18  in  33;  Louisi- 
ana, G  in  19 ;  Texas,  25  in.70 ;  Arkansas,  15  in  34 ;  Tennessee,  36  in 49 ; 
"West  Virginia,  5  in  34 ;  Kentucky,  36  in  43 ;  Ohio,  26  in  57 ;  Indiana, 
37  in  42 ;  Illinois,  47  in  61 ;  Iowa,  35  in  55 ;  Missouri,  58  in  68  j  Kansas, 
16  in  41 5  Nebraska,  11  in  30. 

The  following  are  the  principal  diseases  reported  under  other  names 
or  no  name :  A  disease  reported  in  different  localities  under  different 
names — such  as  "  nevr,"  ''  unknown,"  "  very  different  from  any  heretofore 
known,"  "  diphtheria,"  "sore-throat,"  "head  and  neck  disease,"  "mouth 
and  throat  disease,"  &c. — but  the  descriptions  of  which  imply  identity, 
is  thus  described  in  the  return  from  Lauderdale,  Alabama : 

It  is  principally  confined  to  tho  mouth,  throat,  and  lungs ;  but  often  affects  the  kid- 
neys, occasioning  copious  discharges  of  bloody  urine.  In  its  first  stages  the  mouth 
and  tongue  are  much  ulcerated,  so  that  the  hog  cannot  take  usual  food,  being  unable 
to  masticate  even  a  tender  apple.  Within  three  or  four  days  a  heavy  coughing  ensues, 
the  lungs  become  badly  ulcerated,  and  in  many  cases  entirely  consumed.  At  this  stage 
great  thirst  prevails,  and  the  hog  will  lie  around  near  or  in  the  water  until  death.  In 
some  cases  they  continue  to  live  fifteen  days  without  seeming  to  take  any  nourishment. 
In  some  localities  80  per  cent,  of  all  the  hogs  have  died  of  this  disease.  It  made  its 
appearance  here  in  July,  and  is  still  prevailing  to  a  limited  extent.  It  has  thus  far 
proved  incurable. 

In  Ohio,  Van  Wert,  the  affected  are  taken  with  a  cough,  become  stu 
pid,  refuse  to  eat,  and  have  great  difficulty  in  breathing;  "they  blow 
and  throw  up,  leave  the  herd,  linger  around,  lie  down,  and  seldom  get 
up  again."  The  time  between  the  attack  and  death  ranges  from  one  to 
fourteen  days.  In  post-mortem  examinations  the  lungs  are  found  to  be 
rotten,  and  to  emit  a  very  offensive  odor.  In  Preble,  "  some  do  not  live 
more  than  twenty-four  hours  after  the  attack,  while  others  linger  along 
for  several  days.  The  lungs  at  death  are  usually  entirely  gone."  Tho 
report  from  Iroquois,  Illinois,  states: 

We  have  had  among  swine  a  disease  new  to  us,  which  has  taken  many  hogs  of  all 
ages,  but  is  perhaps  more  prevalent  among  large  fat  hogs.  The  first  symptom  is  a 
cough ;  in  a  short  time  they  are  troubled  to  breathe,  and  three  out  of  four  die  within 
a  period  ranging  from  twenty-four  hours  to  six  days.  On  examination,  after  death, 
their  lungs  seemed  to  be  the  only  part  diseased.  In  some  cases  one  lung  will  be  entirely 
gone  and  the  other  swollen  and  hard,  of  a  blue  or  purple  color,  and  when  cut  into  a 
a  kind  of  yellow  frothy  matter  springs  out. 

This  disease,  or  a  disease  attended  with  like  symptoms  and  results, 
is  reported  as  occasioning  a  loss  of  25  per  cent,  in  Brunswick,  Virginia, 
of  90  per  cent,  in  Newberry,  South  Carolina,  of  4,000  in  Saint  Clair, 
Alabama,  and  heavy  losses  in  Lauderdale;  also  as  more  or  less  fatal, 
without  deiinite  specifications,  in  Eapides,  Louisiana;  Howard,  Ar- 
kansas ;  Van  Wert  and  Preble,  Ohio ;  Elkhart,  Indiana ;  Kock  Island, 
Grundy,  Carroll,  and  Iroquois,  Illinois;  Bichland,  Wisconsin;  Muscatine, 
Iowa;  Pemiscot  and  Clinton,  Missouri ;  and  Cass  and  Dodge,  Nebraska. 
In  Brunswick,  Virginia,  a  few  recover;  in  which  cases,  as  soon  as  con- 
valescence begins,  every  xjarticle  of  hair  comes  out,  and  the  skin  breaks 
out  all  over  in  sores." 

In  Georgia,  Union,  a  nameless  disease  prevails,  which  covers  the 
attacked  with  sores  resembling  the  eruptions  of  small-pox.    In  Laurens, 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  109 

large  losses  resulted  from  a  disease  called  "  yellow-sweat."  Its  preva- 
lence  is  attributed  to  a  lack  of  greeu  food,  since  liogs  which  run  iu  fields 
of  winter  rye  and  oats  are  not  subject  to  it. 

The  prevalence  of  "  thumps  "  is  noted  in  Columbia  and  Santa  Kosa, 
Florida;  Cumberland,  Kentucky;  Lucas,  Ohio;  Martin, Indiana;  Boone, 
Missouri;  Brown,  Kansas;  and  Pawnee,  Nebraska. 

Pneumonia,  in  Boyle,  Butler,  Scott,  Bracken,  Meade,  Spencer,  and 
Livingston,  Kentucky;  Greene,  Ohio;  Brown,  Indiana;  Perry,  Schuy- 
ler, Warren,  and  Grundy,  Illinois;  Wayne,  and  Saint  Francois,  Mis- 
souri; and  Chautauqua  and  Allen,  Kansas. 

Eed  mange,  in  Bienville,  Louisiana;  Titus,  Hamilton,  and  Wood, 
Texas;  and  Bradley,  Newton,  Sevier,  and  Ouachita,  Arkansas. 

Quinsy,  in  Decatur  and  Grant,  Indiana ;  Benton,  Grundy,  Hamilton, 
Jones,  Marion,  Mills,  Sac,  and  Webster,  Iowa;  Livingston  and  Laclede, 
Missouri ;  Smith  and  Eepublic,  Kansas;  and  Webster  and  Cass,  Nebraska. 

Diseases  resulting  from  worms,  in  Bureau,  Jackson,  Grundy,  Sanga- 
mon, Hancock,  and  Fulton,  Illinois;  Sherburne,  Wisconsin ;  Livings- 
ton, Pike,  Wayne,  Johnson,  Lincoln,  and  Stone,  Missouri ;  Johnson  and 
Lyon,  Kansas;  and  Corning  and  York,  Nebraska. 

Lung-fever  or  lung-disease,  in  Tazewell,  Macon,  Montgomery,  Carroll, 
Clark,  and  Ogle,  Illinois;  and  Benton,  Chariton,  Pettis,  and  Clinton, 
Missouri. 

In  Ohio,  the  prevalence  of  blind-staggers  among  hogs  is  reported  in 
Morrow,  and  of  black-tooth  and  scurvy  in  Lorain. 

In  October  and  November  a  strange  and  fatal  disease  prevailed  in  two 
localities  widely  separated  in  Sauk,  Wisconsin.  In  every  case  of  attack 
death  followed  within  twenty-four  hours.  The  symptoms  were,  loss  of 
appetite,  stupor,  and  purging.  In  Walworth  there  had  been  greater 
fatality  than  for  years,  the  cause  of  which  could  "not  even  be  guessed 
at."  Young  pigs  died  in  large  numbers ;  also  sows  about  the  time  of 
farrowing.  In  Wisconsin  there  was  some  fatality  among  fat  hogs  from 
an  unknown  disease,  which  deprives  them  of  the  use  of  their  legs. 

In  Sherburne,  Minnesota,  some  hogs  lost  the  use  of  their  hind  legs, 
and  pined  away  until  worthless.  These  effects  are  attributed  to  kidney- 
worms. 

In  Woodson,  Kansas,  a  disease  resembling  piles  destroyed  25  percent, 
of  the  pigs  dropped  in  cold  weather.  "The  rectum  protrudes  and 
appears  much  iutlamed;  the  pigs  become  poor  and  lank,  and  though 
they  continue  to  suck  and  eat  with  a  good  appetite,  the  disease  pro- 
gresses until  it  terminates  in  death."  Doniphan  reported  large  losses 
by  a  new  disease.  Post-mortem  examinations  showed  diseased  lungs, 
liver,  and  brain,  and,  in  some  cases,  "ugly-looking  worms  in  the  neck." 

In  Merced,  California,  a  new  disease,  mostly  limited  to  hogs  in  good 
order,  had  appeared.  The  attacked  lose  the  use  of  their  fore  legs,  drop 
on  the  breast,  and  die  within  twenty-four  hours. 

Preventives  and  remedies. — Our  correspondents  iu  different  localities 
report  various  antidotes  and  curatives  for  "cholera,"  as  they  have  for 
years,  but  certainly  no  specific  has  been  found.  It  is  possible  that  some 
gleams  of  light  may  come  from  a  publication  of  their  views. 

In  Beaufort,  North  Carolina,  the  reporter,  reporting  that  10  per  cent, 
of  the  hogs  over,  and  20  per  cent,  of  those  under,  one  year  old  have  died 
of  cholera,  so  called,  adds : 

I  keep  a  trough,  to  -wMcli  my  hogs  have  access,  "well  supplied  ■with  ashes,  salt,  and 
sulphur.  The  disease  has  been  very  fatal  among  the  hogs  of  my  ueighbors,  aud  of  tlio 
tenants  and  laborers  on  my  larm  ;  but  though  I  keep  a  large  number,  noue  have  bcou 
affected  except  seven  sucking  pigs,  all  of  which  died. 


110    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Our  correspondent  in  Wayne,  Georgia,  reports : 

Cholera  has  been  raging  ever  since  October.  In  some  neighborhoods  it  has  killed 
nearly  all;  one  man  lost  all  but  6  out  of  170 ;  another,  all  but  1  out  of  93.  All  the 
remedies  applied  have  thus  far  failed  to  cure;  but  I  believe  that  com  boiled  in  wood 
ashes  or  potash  is  a  preventive.  Once  or  twice  a  week  I  have  fed  my  hogs  on  corn  bo 
prepared,  and  while  my  neighbors'  hogs  have  died  at  a  rapid  rate,  I  liave  not  lost  a 
hog.    The  general  loss  is  estimated  at  50  per  cent. 

The  report  from  Simpson,  Kentucky,  stating  that  hogs  in  that  section 
are  generally  regarded  as  the  most  prolitable  farm-stock,  adds : 

As  what  is  known  as  cholera  is  the  prevailing  disease,  I  will  give  the  experience  of 
five  or  six  good  farmers  in  my  neighborhood.  A  few  years  since  we  were  induced  to 
believe  that  crude  petroleum  was  a  good  thing  to  promote  the  health  of  stock  of  all 
kinds,  and  especially  of  the  jng.  We  use  a  common  tin  sprinkler,  and  occasionally 
give  them  a  thorough  oiling.  When  not  threatened  with  the  disease,  once  in  two  or 
three  months  is  sufficient.  We  also  put  the  petroleum  on  corn  fed  to  them.  The  result 
is  that  for  five  years  not  one  who  has  practiced  this  has  been  troubled  with  diseased 
hogs ;  and  that,  too,  when  disease  and  death  have  surrounded  us.  These  farmers  keep 
severally  from  75  to  200  hogs.  Wo  are  thoroughly  convinced  that  petroleum  is  an 
effectual  preventive. 

A  correspondent  in  Du  Page,  Illinois,  reports  that  his  hogs,  in  common 
^vith  others  in  the  locality,  were  attacked  with  cholera  last  September. 
After  about  20  of  his  best  shoats  had  died  he  gave  the  surviving  a 
plenty  of  charcoal  in  their  slops,  and  it  operated  as  an  effectual  cure. 
This  is  confirmatory  of  the  first  of  the  following  extracts  from  Indiana 
reports : 

De  Kalb  :  The  best  remedy  is  a  mixture  of  charcoal  and  soda,  given  in  bran,  or  any 
other  way  the  hogs  can  be  induced  to  eat  it.  Decatur  :  The  only  remedy  that  has  done 
any  good  is  turpentine  in  slops.  As  a  preventive,  a  teaspoonful  is  given  to  each  hog 
twice  a  week ;  as  a  cure,  the  same  dose  daily.  Tippecanoe  :  I  had  a  pair  of  very  fine 
BOWS  affected  apparently  with  the  worst  form  of  the  disease  called  cholera.  They  were 
BO  reduced,  by  purging  that  they  could  not  stand.  They  were  cured  by  administering 
large  doses  of  soft  soap.  They  seemed  to  crave  it,  and  would  eat  it  long  after  they  refused 
corn  or  the  best  of  sweet  milk.  The  recovery  was  perfect.  This  unexpected  result 
seems  to  sustain  the  theory  of  a  neighbor,  that  worms  in  the  intestines  are  the  cause  of 
the  disease. 

Our  correspondent  in  Pope,  Illinois,  reporting  a  loss  of  30  per  cent,  in 
the  county,  says : 

My  hogs  have  not  been  affected  with  the  disease  for  years.  I  have  given  them  warm 
soap  suds  once  or  twice  per  week.  Whether  this  has  been  a  preventive  I  will  not  say; 
but  the  disease  has  prevailed  in  the  herds  of  my  neighbors. 

In  Oakland,  Michigan,  "  thumps,"  popularly  credited  with  causing  the 
death  of  10  per  cent.,  is  believed  to  be  caused  by  undue  heat  and  impure 
air  from  close  confinement  in  tight  pens.  From  Tuscola,  also,  the  report 
states :  "  Sow  after  sow  is  losing  her  entire  litter,  and  we  are  unable  to 
ascertain  the  cause ;  but  I  think  one  cause  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
a  great  many  breeding-sows  are  kept  in  close  pens,  and  so  do  not  get 
sufficient  exercise." 

The  report  from  Grundy,  Illinois,  expresses  the  opinion  that  pneumonia 
results  from  penning  hogs  in  such  a  way  that,  during  cold  nights,  they 
are  allowed  "to  pile  up  one  above  another;"  the  consequence  is  that 
those  underneath,  after  becoming  heated  and  getting  into  a  state  of 
perspiration,  rush  out  into  the  cold  air.  The  same  report  states  that  a 
mixture  of  copperas  and  sulphur,  i^ut  in  the  swill,  results  in  expelling 
worms  from  the  intestines  and  generally  improving  the  physical  condi- 
tion of  hogs.  In  Dallas,  Iowa,  the  farmers  who  allow  "  too  many  hogs 
to  sleep  together  have  suflered  the  heaviest  losses;"  and  in  Camden, 
Missouri,  "  hogs  that  have  had  clean,  roomy  pens,  pure  water,  and  sound 
grain  have  generally  escaped  disease," 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


Ill 


Losses. — The  Eastern,  Middle,  Lake,  and  Pacific  States  report  scarcely 
any  losses  beyond  those  from  ordinary  casualties.  The  exceptions  to 
this  are  in  Maryland,  where  a  loss  of  15  per  cent,  in  Montgomery  and 
10  in  Charles  and  Worcester  is  attributed  to  cholera.  In  the  interior 
belt,  embracing  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri,  and  in  the 
States  bordering  the  Gulf,  the  losses  are  very  heavy,  involving  a  large 
portion  of  the  entire  area.  For  the  most  part  losses  are  not  specified  in 
returns  which  report  no  disease  or  special  cause,  and  therefore  the  per- 
centage chietiy  represents  extraordinary  losses  ;  that  is,  losses  from  dis- 
ease, starvation,  and  ill  treatment.  Taking  the  numbers  and  average 
values  returned  for  the  1st  of  January,  1877,  as  the  basis  of  calculation, 
the  percentage,  numbers,  and  values  of  the  losses,  during  the  year  end- 
ing April  1,  in  the  several  States  within  the  area  named,  as  indicated 
by  unusually  full  returns,  are  as  follows: 


states. 

Per 

cent. 

Number. 

Yalua. 

States. 

c^nt.   ^«°^^«^- 

Value. 

Virginia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

4 

10 
10 
10 
20 
24 
18 
14 
12 
16 
10 

24, 296 

73,  550 

23,  410 

148, 310 

33,320 

190,  464 

214,  074 

33,  964 

137,  340 

160,  048 

174, 064 

ein,275  68 
308,  910  00 
118,753  80 
532,  432  90 
90,  630  40 
660,  910  08 
783,  510  84 
127,  025  36 
565,  840  80 
571,  371  36 
750, 215  84 

West  Virginia 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

4             10, 828 

21  333,522 
7      1     122, 899 

18.  6  1     441,  750 

22  1     605, 000 
13  6  1     ■'''^  'i-'> 

$51,  324  72 

1,  821,  030  12 
930, 345  43 

2,  893,  402  50 
4, 840,  000  00 
3, 235,  265  55 
4, 185,  600  00 

398,  946  24 
73,  451  40 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Iowa 

l^Iissouri 

Kansas 

Mississippi 

Lioaisiaiia 

30 

14 

6 

763,  000 
50,  372 
10,230 

Texas 

Total. 

Tennessee 

4, 004, 236 

23,  050,  303  02 

112         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


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REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


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114        REPOET  OF  THE  COMMISSIONEK    OP  AGRICULTURE. 


COTTON  INVESTIGATION. 

The  cotton  crop  deserredly  clairas  thes  attention  of  the  industrial 
world,  Dct  because  it  represents  more  money-value  than  auy  other  agri- 
cultural product,  for  corn  and  hay  each  exceed  it,  and  wheat  equals  it:  but 
because  it  is  the  largest  export  product,  the  largest  crop  of  the  South, 
and  one  that  must  ever  exeicise  an  important  influence  upon  the  indus- 
try of  that  section.  Meat-production  also  largely  surpasses  it  in  value, 
and  the  surplus  of  meat-production  exported  comes  next  to  the  figures 
of  cotton  exports;  and  when  rotation  and  rational  culture  shall  rule  in 
the  agriculture  of  the  future,  and  home  manufacture  shall  restrict  expor- 
tation of  raw  material,  the  meat  exports  of  the  cotton  States  alone 
may  equal  the  foreign  shipments  of  the  coveted  fiber.  Meat  and  bread- 
stuffs  together  surpass  cotton  in  value  of  exports. 

There  is  no  portion  of  the  world  occupied  by  civilized  nations,  and 
probably  no  equal  extent  of  the  earth's  surface,  so  peculiarly  suited  to 
cotton -culture  as  the  States  of  the  Gulf  coast.  There  are  large  areas 
with  the  requisite  soil  and  the  high  temperature  required,  but  with  these 
essentials  the  necessary  degree  of  humidity  is  rarely  combined  in  so 
complete  equilibrium.  It  constitutes  an  advantage  which  virtually  gives 
the  monopoly  of  cotton-production  to  the  United  States.  The  policy  of 
Great  Britain  has  ever  been  to  obtain  a  controlling  proportion  of  raw 
material  for  her  mantifacturers  from  her  own  colonies,  and  to  this  end 
her  Cotton  Supply  Association  has  searched  the  world  over  for  cotton- 
fields  that  would  make  her  independent  of  thin  country.  Thi;-;  is  a  nat- 
ural and  laudable  ambition,  a  means  of  self-protection,  and  the  highest 
measure  of  " protection "  she  could  institute;  foi  while  she  commends 
free  trade  to  other  nations,  she  finds  in  it  the  highest  form  of  protection, 
precise!}^  as  she  built  up  her  manufacturing  system  by  restrictive  duties 
up  to  a  period  when  the  opposite  policy  tended  to  secure  a  continuance 
of  the  superiority  thus  wisely  gained.  When  debarred  from  our  cotton- 
fields  by  civil  war,  the  receipts  from  India  were  increasing  under  the 
stimulus  of  this  self-protecting  effort ;  yet  with  a  cotton  famine  in  Man- 
chester, and  starvation  threatening  the  spinners,  the  increase  from  369,- 
000,000  pounds  in  1861  to  506,000,000  in  1864  was  less  than  the  advance 
from  1857  to  1861.  In  the  very  first  year  of  peace  in  this  country  these 
imports  declined  one-eighth,  though  they  rallied  in  1866  to  615,000,000, 
the  highest  figures  ever  attained,  and  rapidly  declined  afterward  to  less 
than  half  that  quantity. 

In  1858  and  1860  the  receipts  from  America  constituted  four-fifths  of 
the  British  imports.  In  1863  they  amounted  to  a  fraction  of  1  per  cent. ; 
in  1864,  li  per  cent.,  and  in  1862  but  2^  per  cent.  Starting  at  37  per  cent. 
in  1866,  iu  1876  the  proportion  reached  62  per  cent.,  and  the  proportion 
of  India  cotton  had  fallen  to  18^  per  cent. 

The  price,  as  an  index  of  quality,  tells  the  story  of  India's  inability  to 
compete  with  the  United  States.  The  average  value  per  pound,  in  i)cnce, 
of  British  imports,  is  thus  given  : 


1872.    1873.  1874.     1875.    1876. 


Cotton  of  tbo  United  States 9.9 

Cotton  of  India i. 7. 


9.1 
6.4 


7.7 
5.7 


6.4 
5.1 


American  seed  and  American  planters  have  in  vain  been  introduced 
into  India;  the  fiber  inevitably  deteriorates,  becomes  short,  dry,  harsh, 
and  brittle,  with  a  low  rate  of  yield. 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  115 

With  an  assured  market,  constantly  enlarging  with  the  augmenting 
requirements  of  extending  civilization,  the  American  cultivator  is  by 
no  means  uniformly  happy.  Protesting  that  the  demand  could  never 
be  supplied  under  existing  demoralization  of  labor,  he  has  seen  the 
price  decline  37  per  cent.'by  an  increased  product  in  a  single  year  of  38 
per  cent.  Declaring  that  3,000,000  bales  could  never  again  be  produced, 
4,500,000  appear  before  his  wonder  at  the  rapid  recuperation  has  grown 
old.  He  has  learned,  if  an  apt  scholar,  that  10,000,000  can  be  attained 
within  ten  years,  if  such  a  quantity  shall  be  needed  for  the  world's  con- 
sumption. He  should  know  that,  when  restorative  culture  shall  take 
the  place  of  exhaustive  cropping  so  long  in  vogue,  such  a  crop  can 
easily  be  had  upon  an  area  not  greatly  larger  than  that  now  cultivated. 

As  no  one  can  doubt  the  ability  of  this  country  to  supply  all  that  may 
be  needed  for  a  period  running  far  into  the  future,  the  important  point 
of  profitable  culture  is  to  be  settled.  For  ten  years  past  it  has  been  the 
constant  endeavor  of  this  Department  to  aid  the  thinking,  progressive 
cultivators  of  cotton  in  their  endeavor  to  break  up  the  spoliating  prac- 
tice of  exclusive  and  continuous  growing  of  "  white  crops,"  of  corn  and 
cotton.  Not  that  cotton  in  itself  is  necessarily  an  exhausting  crop,  if  its 
stalk  and  seed  are  returned  to  the  soil;  but  in  a  climate  with  sunlight 
so  intense,  with  the  clean  culture  essential  to  the  growth  of  cotton, 
there  is  waste  by  the  decomposition  of  organic  matters  sufficient  in  a 
single  season  to  feed  several  crops.  Pease  in  light  soils,  red  clover  in 
clays,  or  lucerne  in  deep,  rich,  well-drained  lands,  would  supply  essential 
parts  of  a  rotation  that  would  give  a  wealth  of  animal  products  and  a 
nearly  doubled  yield  of  cotton,  derived  from  animal  manures,  the  green 
manuring  of  vegetable  decomposition,  and  the  saving  of  much  of  the 
serious  waste  of  valuable  humus  in  continuous  clean  culture. 

THE  RECENT  INVESTiaATION. 

Few  are  aware  of  the  rapidity  of  the  recuperation  in  cotton  produc- 
tion since  the  prostration  of  the  war  period.  It  is  not  generally  known 
that  the  aggregate  product  since  1865  exceeds  that  of  a  similar  period 
prior  to  1861.  If  we  include  the  crop  of  1876,  the  excess  of  its  produc- 
tion in  the  period  of  twelve  years,  from  1849  to  1860  inclusive,  over  the 
former  period,  is  about  2,000,000  bales. 

Leaving  out  the  large  crop  of  last  year,  the  statistics  of  which  are  not 
yet  complete,  similar  periods  of  eleven  years  make  a  comparison  also 
favoring  the  production  of  the  later.  The  aggregate  of  the  crop  move- 
ment of  the  former  is  36,169,117  bales,  or  15,869,170,015  pounds,  averag- 
ing 3,288,101  bales  per  annum,  or  1,442,652,419  pounds.  A  similar  state- 
ment for  1865  to  1875,  inclusive,  reads,  36,331,582  bales,  or  15,939,344,833 
pounds,  averaging  3,303,871  bales  per  annum,  or  1,449,031,348  pounds. 
An  average  increase  of  nearly  15,000  per  annum.  The  great  crop  of 
1859  was  but  2  per  cent,  larger  than  that  of  1875.  Three  crops  since 
the  war  are  each  larger  than  any  prior  to  it,  with  the  above  single  excep- 
tion 5  these  are,  in  order  of  size,  1875, 1870, 1873.  The  crop  of  1872  was 
larger  than  that  of  1858,  and  every  crop  preceding  the  latter  is  sur- 
passed by  every  crop  of  the  seven  past  years,  with  one  exception,  1871. 
This  is  a  remarkable  result,  which  is  a  surprise  to  planters  them'selves, 
and  an  indication  of  what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  future  when  the 
cotton  area  shall  be  an  essential  part  of  a  rotation,  and  fertilizers  shall 
be  not  the  least  important  product  of  the  plantation,  and  two  bales  are 
made  to  grow  where  one  grew  before,  as  can  easily  be  accomplished  oa 
many  acres  of  present  slovenly  cultivation. 


Hi 


REPOBT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


The  details  of  production  during  the  two  periods  named  are  thus 
given,  the  pownds  per  bale  being  the  average  net  weight  of  Liverpool 
receipts,  which  include  a  large  portion  of  each  crop : 


Tears. 


1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 

1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


Bales. 


Weight 
per 
bale. 


355.  257 
015, 029 
262,  882 
900,  027 
847,  339 
527,  845 
930,  519 
113,  962 
ail,  481 
669,  770 
656, 006 


36,169,117 


2, 193,  P87 
2,  019, 774 
2,  593,  993 

2,  439,  039 
3, 154,  946 
4, 352,  317 
2, 974,  351 
3, 930,  508 
4,  no,  388 

3,  832, 991 

4,  669,  288 


416 
4^8 
4-28 
430 
434 
4-20 
4-14 
412 
447 
4  45 
477 


441 
444 
443 
437 
434 
438 
439 
440 
439 
439 
436 


36, 331,  582 


Pound*. 


979,  786,  913 
290,432,412 
396,513,496 
259,911,610 
235,745,126 
481,  694,  900 
305, 146,  430 
376,  371,  204 
721,  612,  007 
078,  047,  6.50 
743,  914,  862 


15, 869, 176,  615 


967, 548, 
896, 779, 
1, 149, 138, 
1,065,860, 
1,  369,  246, 
1,906,314, 
1,  30.5,  740, 
1,  729,  423, 
1,  830,  800, 
1, 682,  683, 
2, 035,  809, 


207 
656 
899 
043 
564 
S46 
09() 
520 
332 
049 
568 


15, 939,  344,  833 


Kine  years  ago  an  investigation  was  undertaken  that  showed  about 
four-fifths  of  the  arable  culture  of  the  cotton  States  to  be  cotton  and 
corn,  of  which  cotton  occupied  the  larger  area,  in  the  proportion  of  44  to 
38.  This  may  not  have  been  precisely  accurate,  but  it  properly  repre- 
sented cotton  as  occupying  the  larger  area.  It  was  also  shown  that 
wages  were  less  than  in  1860,  and  labor  less  efficient  j  that  a  small  pro- 
portion of  laborers  took  money  wages,  the  prevalent  practice  being  what 
is  usually  known  as  the  "  share  system,"  a  partnership  in  which  labor 
wrought  without  direction  and  capital  was  advanced  without  security. 
There  was  some  dispositicm  of  freedmen  to  secure  land,  but  little  success 
in  creating  the  means  of  payment.  As  a  matter  of  course,  there  was  a 
general  reduction  in  the  size  of  farm-holdings. 

For  the  purpose  of  comparison  with  the  report  of  1868,  (see  last  arti- 
cle in  the  annual  volume  of  1867,)  circulars  were  issued  to  county  corre- 
spondents in  January,  1877,  and  information  sought  upon  the  following 
points,  viz : 

1.  The  numbei'  of  bales  produced  in  the  county  in  1876. 

2.  Number  of  acres  of  cotton  cultivated. 

3.  Eatio  of  increase  or  decrease  of  acreage  since  1875. 

4.  Percentage  of  area,  respectively,  in  cotton,  corn,  and  other  crops, 
(the  latter  taken  collectively.) 

6.  Fertilizers,  proportion  of  area  fertilized,  kinds  used,  rate  of  applica- 
tion, and  prices. 

G.  Changes  in  modes  of  culture  or  implements  used. 

7.  Tendency  as  to  size  of  i)lantation3. 

8.  Prices  of  labor. 

9.  Proportion  hired  for  cash,  renting,  or  working  on  shares. 

10.  Proportion  cultivated,  respectively,  by  black  and  white  labor. 

11.  Percentage  of  negro  cultivators  wtio  own  the  land  they  cultivate. 

12.  Cost  of  producing  cotton  in  1876. 

13.  Average  price  in  home  markets. 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  117 

14.  Examples  of  large  yields  and  best  farms. 

15.  Varieties  of  seed  preferred. 

16.  Tendency  as  to  production  of  home  supplies. 

Answers  were  received  with  estimates  covering  about  half  the  entire 
area  in  cotton,  each  State  having  from  three-eighths  to  five-eighths  of  its 
field  of  production  represented.  They  indicate  great  progress  since  the 
first  investigation  was  made,  showing  that  the  labor  of  the  freedman  is 
steadier  and  more  efficient,  a  larger  proportion  of  white  labor  is  repre- 
sented in  the  crop,  and  a  larger  production  is  obtained  per  hand.  Farms 
continue  to  decrease  in  size.  The  use  of  home-made  composts  is  in- 
creasing. There  is  greater  economy  of  the  fertilizing  resources  of  cot- 
ton-seed ;  a  larger  proportion  of  corn  to  cotton ;  more  interest  in  im- 
proved implements ;  a  larger  proportion  of  home  supplies  of  meat ;  and 
a  disposition  among  advanced  cultivators  to  adopt  a  rotation,  and  to  give 
to  domestic  animals  a  higher  place  in  the  farm  economy.  Not  that  these 
reforms  are  far  advanced  or  equally  essayed.  Where  white  labor  is  in- 
creasing  exists  the  strongest  tendency  toward  the  use  of  labor-saving 
implements.  In  many  of  these  points  little  more  than  a  promising  be- 
ginning has  been  made. 

THE  COTTON  AREA. 

The  first  four  questions  were  intended  mainly  to  aid  in  a  more  accu- 
rate understanding  of  the  area  actually  cultivated  in  cotton,  and  in- 
cidentally to  show  the  local  changes  in  cotton-growing  and  local  dif- 
ferences in  fertility  of  soil. 

The  acreage  of  cotton  has  never  been  given  in  the  census.  Areas  ot 
special  culture  have  never  been  comprehended  in  the  census  schedules, 
nor  the  aggregate  area  in  cultivation;  the  only  returns  made  being  the 
amount  of  land  in  farms  and  the  proportion  in  "  improved"  land,  i.  e., 
cultivated  and  fallow  lands  and  permanent  pasture. 

The  first  estimates  of  acreage  published  were  issued  by  this  Depart- 
ment. They  were  deduced  from  State  averages  of  local  estimates  of 
yield  per  acre,  knowing  that  direct  estimates  of  the  rate  ef  production 
are  invariably  too  high ;  not  in  every  individual  case,  but  in  averages. 
The  returns  of  yield  were  closely  scanned  and  modified  where  errors 
could  be  shown ;  but  the  result  was  somewhat  too  high,  and  the  deduced 
area  producing  the  given  crop  was  therefore  somewhat  too  small.  These 
estimates  were  published  for  years,  with  annual  modifications,  by  the 
commercial  press,  the  yearly  comi^arisons  favoring  the  producer,  the 
crop  increasing,  but  the  acreage  apparently  remaining  nearly  the  same 
for  a  period  of  years,  with  some  annual  fluctuation.  To  these  two 
causes  are  due  a  misconception  of  the  real  extent  of  the  cotton-field  that 
is  much  to  be  regretted.  So  apparent  was  this  error,  that,  as  early  as 
1874,  the  publication  of  cotton  acreage  estimates  ceased  ia  these  reports, 
and  every  opportunity  for  gaining  data  for  correction  was  used.  A  multi- 
plicity of  other  statistical  work  demanded  attention.  No  general  system- 
atic investigation  was  undertaken  till  1875,  when  the  difficult  task  was 
essayed,  and  in  the  monthly  report  for  June  the  following  important 
but  inconclusive  results  were  reported : 

We  have  obtained  an  actual  census,  wherever  it  was  possible,  for  a  given  district, 
whether  a  large  or  a  small  portion  of  the  county,  both  of  bales  produced  and  the  num- 
ber of  acres  upon  which  they  were  grown.  Our  correspondents  were  urged  to  avoid 
estimates  and  give  only  ascertained  facts.  So  a  census  of  a  few  farms  would  be  taken 
here,  a  neighborhood  there,  and  occasionally  a  larger  district.  The  local  officers  were 
in  some  instances  enlisted  i<n  the  work.  The  results  are  not  complete,  and  are  not 
deemed  quite  sufficient  for  an  authoritative  estimate  which  can  be  relied  on  in  the 
future  as  a  perfectly  accurate  b£isis  of  comparison  ;  yet  tliey  are  too  important  to  be 


118         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

withheia,  and  will  be  received  by  a  fair-minded  public  as  the  best  kno-wn  data  for  an 
approximate  est-iuiatc  of  the  real  area  in  cotton. 

In  the  foUovviui^  statement  the  number  of  connticH  are  given  in  which  .sncli  enumer- 
ations were  made,  either  for  their  total  or  partial  area,  respectively,  with  the  number 
of  bales  produced  on  the  acreage  given  in  1H74  : 


States. 


North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 
Georgia 


12 
9 

41 
Florida 

Alabama j      13 

Mississippi 12 

Louiaiana 6 

38 


Coun- 
ties. 


Texas 

Arkansas . . 
Tennessee . 


Tttal. 


Bales. 


70, 
84, 

199, 
17, 
62, 

105, 
50. 

139, 
49, 
25, 


811,198 


Acres. 


202,  412 
271,  477 
707,  187 

67,  751 
245,  094 
308,  060 
124,  016 
404.  005 
140,  690 

83,934 


Acres 

to  th« 

bale. 


2,  554, 626 


9.87 
3.21 
3.54 
3.86 
3.92 
2.92 
2.19 
2.89 
2.84 
3.27 


3.15 


This  makes  the  average  in  over  40  per  cent,  of  the  cotton-breadth  of  Georgia  3.54 
acres  per  bale,  while  the  official  report  of  the  State  of  Georgia  makes  the  number  3^ 
acres;  results  almost  exactly  alike,  as  in  the  reports  of  the  area  of  the  present  crop. 

Without  perfecting  these  estimates,  it  is  evident  that  the  true  acreage  of  1874  can- 
not fall  very  mnch  short  of  three  times  as  many  acres  as  were  produced  of  bales  in 
1874,  or  at  least  11,000.00ft  acres,  possibly  a  figure  a  little  larger.  Tbiu  corresponds 
with  the  mass  of  facts  brought  to  our  observation  annually  for  two  years  past. 

The  results  of  recent  iuyestigations  render  it  certain  that  3.15  acres  to 
the  bale  may  be  considered  a  liberal  estimate  even  for  so  poor  a  season  as 
1874.  The  areas  reported  in  the  above  table  are  evidently  rather  better 
than  the  average  of  each  State,  but  atill  very  near  the  rate  of  yield  for 
that  year.  The  yield  of  1875  was  the  largest  per  acre,  as  well  as  the 
largest  in  aggregate  quantity,  since  the  war.  It  was  but  2  per  cent, 
less  than  the  largest  crop  ever  produced,  that  of  1859.  Its  marked 
superiority  was  due  to  the  length  of  the  season,  killiog  frosts  having 
been  delayed,  in  more  southern  districts,  to  the  first  week  in  December; 
an  almost  unprecedented  date.  The  past  season  was  also  very  favorable, 
but  shorter,  with  some  decrease  in  the  yield  per  acre. 

The  following  table  of  estimates  of  the  acreage  and  rate  of  yield  of  the 
crop  of  1876  is  presented  as  a  result  ot  our  recent  investigation  in  har- 
mony with  those  of  the  past  three  seasons : 


states. 

Bales. 

Acres 
per 
bale. 

Acres. 

210,  000 
310,  000 
505,  000 

50,  000 
533,  000 
700,  000 
560,  000 
690,  000 
515, 000 
260,  000 

45,  000 

2.9 
3.05 
3 

3.3 
3.25 
2.6 
2.  25 
2.  I.' 

2.6 

fi09,  009 

945,  .500 

1,515,000 

165,  000 

1,732.250 

1,  976, 000 

I,  260,  000 

Texas                                                                   .  • 

1,  483.  500 

1, 1:1:1,000 

741,000 

117,000 

Total                    ..         - - 

4,  438,  000 

2.63 

11,  677, 250 

The  figures  representing  rate  of  yield  approximate  a  fair  representa- 
tion of  the  differences  of  tbe  fertility  of  the  present  cotton-lands  of  the 
several  States,  except  that  Alabama  has  an  exceptionally  low  rate,  69 
repreacutiug  conditiou  of  her  crop  in  October,  the  general  average  being 


REPORT   OP   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


119 


80.  There  is  much  worn  land  in  this  State,  but  the  central  canebrake 
district  is  scarcely  surpassed  as  a  cotton-field.  Mississippi  is  credited 
with  a  rate  of  yield  for  1876  almost  identical  with  the  general  average. 
In  1860  this  State  produced  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  entire  crop;  in  1876 
its  proportion  is  one-sixth,  grown  on  one-sixth  of  the  total  acreage  ; 
and  this  area,  in  natural  fertility,  represents  fairly  the  average  fertility 
of  the  aggregate,  being  made  up  in  part  of  the  very  fertile  bottoms  of 
the  Mississippi  and  Yazoo,  and  the  rotten  limestone  soils  of  the  counties 
of  Warren  and  Hinds,  together  with  the  less  productive  uplands  of  the 
southern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  State. 

The  wonderfully  productive  alluvion  of  the  Eed  and  Ouachita  Eivera, 
and  the  never-failing  richnes?5  of  the  Arkansas  bottoms,  give  to  the 
present  area  cultivated  in  Louisiana  and  Arkansas  a  high  rate  of  yield ; 
and  the  selected  virgin  soils  of  Texas  are  of  equal  productiveness.  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  have  more  of  partially  exhausted  soil,  of  lower 
natural  fertility,  which,  without  fertilization  and  good  culture,  would 
no^  average  a  fourth  of  a  bale  to  the  acre.  Under  present  management 
they  average  nearly  a  third  of  a  bale.  The  North  Carolina  returns  of 
yield  for  the  past  ten  years  have  been  quite  uniformly  higher  than 
those  of  the  other  Atlantic  States.* 

The  comparative  in^portance  of  the  several  States  in  cotton-production 
seems  not  to  be  well  understood.  The  commerciardistributlon  by  cotton 
ports  leaves  in  the  obscure  background  the  view  of  production  by  States. 
The  progress  of  this  industry,  like  that  of  most  others  in  this  country, 
is  westward.  In  1849  Alabama  stood  in  the  front  rank,  with  22.8  per 
cent,  of  the  crop,  and  Georgia  ranked  next,  with  Mississippi  following 
closely.  Scarcely  an  eighth  of  the  crop  was  produced  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

In  18G9  about  three-tenths  of  the  product  came  from  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi. North  Carolina  had  declined  from  2.9  to  2.7  per  cent.,  South 
Carolina  had  fallen  from  12  to  6.4,  and  Georgia  from  10.8  to  13.  Louis- 
iana had  advanced  from  7.2  to  14.4,  and  Arkansas  from  2.2  to  6.8.  At 
the  present  time  more  than  three-eighths  of  the  crop  ic  grown  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  Texas  making  rapid  strides,  evidently  destined  in  1877 
to  lead  the  column  of  cotton  States.  Some  have  hastily  assumed  that 
Texas  already  equals  Mississippi  in  production,  and  that  Arkansas  and 
Louisiana  stand  on  nearly  the  same  level ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
the  difference  between  18.7  and  8.2  (in  Mississippi  and  Arkansas)  has 
been  annihilated  in  seven  years.  The  following  statement  gives  the 
percentages  of  the  crop  produced  by  each  State,  as  deduced  from  the 
cen?!us,  with  the  estimated  proportion  in  1870: 


st&u>». 

1849. 

1859. 

1869. 

1876. 

States. 

1849. 

1859. 

1869. 

1876. 

North  Carolina 

2.9 
12 
19.  S 

l.Ol 
23.8 

2.7 
6.4 

13 
1.24 

18.3 

4.8 
7.4 

15.7 
1.3 

14 

4.7 
7.0 

11.4 
1.13 

12 

Mississippi 

19.5 

7.2 
2.3 
2.2 
7.8 

22.3 
14.4 
8 

fi.8 
5.5 

18.7 
11.6 
11.6 

8.2 
6 

17.1 

South  Carolina 

12  5 

Georgia 

Texas 

15.5 

11.3 

5.  S 

While  the  rate  of  yield  is  sustained  in  tlio  East  by  fertilization,  it  is 
still  kept  up  in  the  West  by  opening  fresh  land.    Un  the  whole,  it  is  evi- 

*  Our  Beaufort  correspondent  says :  "  The  number  of  acres  in  cotton  in  1876  was 
12,000.  The  average  product  is  one-half  bale  to  the  acre.  One-half  of  all  the  land 
planted  averages  tiiree-fonrths  of  a  bale.  That  which  fell  under  one-half  bale  consti- 
tuted but  a  small  part  of  the  area  planted.  I  have  a  personal  knowledge  of  more  than 
twenty  farms,  and  only  one  of  them  fell  under  one-half  bale  ;  most  of  them  produced 
from  two-thirds  to  three-fourtha  of  a  bale  per  acre,  and  the  season  was  de«idedly 
unfavorable.    One-half  bale  per  acre  gives  12,000  acres  planted." 


120 


REPORT    OF    THE    CO&miSSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


dent  that  the  yield  per  acre  is  larger  than  iu  18G0,  the  tendency  of  fer- 
tilization, reduction  of  size  of  farms,  and  increase  of  white  labor  being 
toward  increase  of  yield.  Yet  the  difference  is  not  great.  In  Missis- 
sippi, in  1860,  the  area  iu  cultivation  exceeded  that  of  last  year  by  more 
than  a  half  million  acres.  The  entire  area  in  cotton  iu  1860  was  cer- 
tainly not  less  than  13,000,000  acres. 

ACREAGE  IN  CORN  AND  COTTON. 

A  comparison  of  the  relative  areas  in  cotton,  corn,  aiid  other  products 
of  agriculture  betokens  a  gradual  change  for  the  better  in  the  extension 
of  the  area  in  corn,  wheat,  oats,  clover,  pease,  as  well  as  in  fruits  and 
vegetables,  for  home  use  and  shipment  to  northern  markets.  The  dif- 
ference is  noticed  in  all  sections  by  our  correspondents. 

When  we  consider  the  adaptation  of  this  section  to  a  range  of  produc- 
tion including  all  the  growths,  cereal,  textile,  the  fodder-plants,  and  fruits 
found  in  the  temperate  zone,  together  with  a  great  variety  of  sub-trop- 
ical fruits  and  fibers,  the  proportion  of  cultivated  area  iu  cotton  is  sur- 
prising. 

It  is  the  more  so,  as  wo  remember  that  one-half  the  cotton  is  grown 
in  a  little  more  than  a  tenth  of  the  total  number  of  counties  of  this  belt; 
that  93  of  759  counties  in  1870  produced  no  cotton  whatever ;  and  that 
227  others  from  less  than  a  thousand  bales  down  to  a  single  one.  Corn,  on 
the  contrary,  is  grown  everywhere  as  a  prominent  crop.  There  are  23 
counties  in  Tennessee  that  produce  no  cotton,  and  4  of  the  85  yield  four- 
tenths  of  the  crop.  In  North  Carolina  a  large  portion  of  the  area  is  not 
adapted  to  cotton ;  not  a  bale  was  returned  in  1870  from  20  counties,  and 
its  distribution  in  the  tide-water  region  is  very  unequal.  The  unequal 
distribution  of  cotton  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  map,  (frontispiece,) 
on  which  the  counties  i)roduciug  not  less  than  10,000  bales  are  marked, 
only  79  in  number,  yet  aggregating  48  per  cent,  of  the  entire  crop.  The 
following  is  a  condensed  exhibit  of  this  inequality : 


Per  cent. 
Iu  North  Carolina  2  couutica  yield. .     18. 3  ; 


Per  cent. 
G8  counties  yield 81.7 


In  South  Carolina  5  counties  yield..     4G.  7  ;  2G  counties  yield 53.3 


1 19  counties  yield 74. 

51  counties  yield 42.  4 


In  Georgia  7  counties  yield 25. 

In  Alabama  14  counties  yield 57.  (» 

In  Mississippi  20  counties  j'ield 07.8;  43  counties  yield 33.2 

In  Louisiaua  14  counties  yield 07,3;  37  counties  yield 32.7 

In  Texas  7  counties  yield 23.1;  98  counties  yield 71.9 

In  Arkansas  6  counties  yield 34     ;  54  counties  yield GO 

In  Tennessee  4  counties  yield 40.2;  58  counties  yield 39.8 

The  list  of  counties  is  as  foUovv^s : 


state  and  county. 

Bales.     1 

NOKTH  CAEOLINA. 

i 
1*,  361  1 

lialUax 

Jl.Tltj  ' 

Total 

30,  077 

btatw 

144,  935 

1H. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

13,924 

24,  yio 

34,  51)1 

17,  5ri3 

Fairtield 

14,  024 

Total 

105,  002 

State  

224,  500 

Percent 

40.  7 

Statd  and  county. 


Bales. 


GKOEGIA. 

■Barke 

14,  290 

Dougherty 

14,  034 
10,  179 

10,434 

13,  64.S 

12,  823 

11,  338 

Total   

8C,  741 

473, 934 

25.5 

AUaiAlIA. 

17,  Oil 

17,  973 

Dallas       

24,  819 

Hale  

18,573 

Lee 

11, 591 

REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


121 


state  and  coiiaty. 


A  LABAM  A— Continued, 

Lowndes 

Macon 

Madison 

Miirengo 

ilontgomery 

Perry 

Russell 

Sumter 

"Wilcox 

Total 

Stato ; . 

Percent 

UTSSISKIPPl. 

Adama - 

Bolivar 

Carroll 

C  laiborne 

Coahoma 

Copi  ah 

De'Soto 

Hinds 

Holmes 

Issaquena 

Jefferson 

Lowndes 

MadisoiL. 

Marshall 

Noxubee ., 

Panola 

Warren 

Washington 

Wilkinson 

Yazoo 

Total 

Stat«  

Per  cent 

LOUISIAHX. 

Avoyello* 

Bossier 

Caddo  

Carroll 

Claiborne 

Concordia 

De  Soto 


Bal.'s. 


18,  SG9 
11,872 
1-2,  IHO 
23,  fil4 
25,  517 
13,  449 
20.  796 
11,646 
20,  0=i5 


•247, 504 
4-29,  482 


20, 140 
15,  571 
14, 135 
14,776 
11,456 
15,663 
24, 118 
27,  394 
19, 027 

15,  821 
13,719 

16,  073 
19,269 
18,  379 
15,  473 
15,  764 
32, 175 
35,  902 
12,  430 
26,  047 


383,  332 
564,  938 


67.8 


10, 129 
13, 506 
26, 387 
20,  384 

14,  900 
26,  712 

15,  809 


State  and  county. 


LcuiBlANA— Continued 

East  Feliciana 

Madison 

Morehouse 

Natchitoches 

Ouachita 

Saint  Landry 

Tensas 

Total 

Stat*  

Per  cent 

TEXA8. 

Austin 

r.alls 

Fayette 

Grimes 

Ensk 

Travis 

Washington 

Total 

St»t« 

P«r  Mat 

AKKAN8A8. 

Arkanaaa 

Chicot 

Hempstead 

Jefferson 

Phillips 

Pulaski.. 

Total 

Stat«  

Perosnt 

TKNNXSSSi:. 

Fayette 

Haywood 

Shelby 

Tipton 

Total 

Stat»  

Per  cent 


Bales. 


10,  2.')2 
17, 189 
11,154 
15, 671 
14, 239 
14, 305 
25,  371 


236, 018 
350,  832 


11, 967 
14, 126 
10,  653 
10,025 
12,  752 
16, 769 
S2, 452 


98,  744 
350,  628 


28.1 


12,315 
10,  187 
10,  664 
18,  390 
18,  002 
14,  691 


84,  449 
247,  968 


34.0 


20, 131 
10,510 
32,  434 
10,  052 


73, 127 
181,  842 


40.2 


In  view  of  these  limitatious  of  cotton-culture,  and  tlie  present  tend- 
ency to  increase  of  other  products,  the  fact  that  more  than  one-third  of 
the  cultivated  area  of  ten  States  is  annually  planted  in  cotton,  as  shown  by 
results  of  the  investigation,  is  a  remarkable  one  in  the  history  of  the  cult- 
ure of  the  "  industrial "  j)lauts.  Corn  is  credited  with  ratker  more  than 
four-tenths  of  the  acreage,  and  other  crops,  together,  with  one-fourth. 
The  distribution  is  by  the  following  percentages : 


Statai. 

Cotton. 

Corn. 

Other 
crops. 

19 
35 

35 
26 
37 

50 

35 
47 
15 

46 
44 

48 
41 
44 
34 
30 
40 
37 
45 

35 

21 

21 

Florida ............. 

33 

19 

16 

18 

Texas 

A  r  kansas 

16 

40 

122         REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 

The  States  in  whicli  cotton  most  asserts  supremacy  are  Louisiana,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Arkansas ;  those  in  n  hich  corn  is  most  prominent,  Tennessee, 
North  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Aiabiima.  Misceilaneous  products  claim 
comparatively  more  attention  in  Tennessee,  North  Carolina;,  and  Flor- 
ida. Of  the  a,rea  in  "  improved  "  land,  only  about  one-fourth  is  annually 
cultivated.  In  1870  the  reported  area  "  improved"  was  138,635,313  acres. 
The  present  area  actually  cultivated  is  estimated  at  about  thirty-four 
million  acres,  of  which  cotton  has  nearly  twelve  millions  and  corn  over 
fourteen  millions.  The  nearest  percentages,  discarding  fractions,  are : 
corn,  41  j  cotton,  34;  other  crops,  25.  This  indicates  an  advance  in  nine 
years,  in  miscellaneous  products,  from  18  per  centum  to  25. 

FERTILIZERS. 

The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  for  cotton  is  a  practice  obtaining 
since  the  war,  and  confined  mainly  to  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  worn  and 
partially  exhausted  lands  of  the  older  States  responded  to  special  fer- 
tilization in  a  gratifying  increase  of  product;  and  as  the  wages  of  labor 
ruled  high,  and  farm  supplies  were  dear,  it  was  an  object  to  make  a 
heavy  cash  outlay  for  these  aids  to  production,  especially  while  prices  of 
cotton  continued  high.  Thus  the  expenditure  for  guanos  and  bone 
phosphates  and  superphosphates  increased,  the  prices  of  cotton  de- 
clined, and  the  outlay  became  a  burden  upon  industry,  often  a  partial 
loss  of  the  investment  by  injudicious  or  excessive  application. 

Nine  years  ago,  in  canvassing  this  subject,  this  department  depre- 
cated the  injudiciov.s  and  excessive  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  most  of 
which  in  those  days  cost  far  more  than  a  fair  estimate  of  their  actual 
cash  value,  based  upon  the  coiiimereial  prices  of  their  essential  constit- 
uents. The  local  resources  for  fertilization  were  briefly  pointed  out,  and 
shown  to  be  abundant,  accessible,  and  inexpensive.  Among  the  sugges- 
tions presented  were  tha  following : 

Every  fanner  should  rely  mainly  upon  his  stock  for  iiiannres ;  hogs  should  be  fat- 
tened upon  field-pease ;  cattle  and  horses  should  be  penned  at  night  in  deeply-littered 
yards.  Accretions  to  the  manure-pile  may  be  made  from  a  great  variety  of  eourcea, 
including  all  decaying  vegetable  and  animal  matter,  waste  and  wash  from  the  kitchen, 
muck  from  the  swamps,  and  pine  straw  or  leaves  from  the  forest. 

There  are  many  special  fertilizers  in  this  section  ample  for  a  perpetual  supply  of  all 
possible  drain  upon  the  resources  of  the  soil.  The  coast-line  from  Virginia  to  Texas, 
including  all  the  sounds,  inlets,  bays,  and  estuaries,  has  an  aggregate  extent  of  thou- 
sands of  miles,  and  every  mile  can  furnish  abundant  stores  of  lish  and  sea-weed  for 
manuring  adjacent  fields.  Oyster-shell  lime  is  also  plenty  and  cheap  in  the  tide-water 
regions. 

No  mineral  manure  is  more  abundant  than  marl,  which  is  found  in  the  whole  tide- 
water section  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  in  Texas.  It  under- 
lies wide  belts  at  various  depths,  often  very  near  tlio  e«  .jface;  it  is  in  many  localitiea 
easily  obtained  in  large  quantities  ;  and  its  value,  tliongh  variable,  is  undoubted  for 
application  for  soils  needing  lime.  Gypsum  can  be  obtained  from  native  bedt-  at  no 
great  distance  from  any  locality  in  the  south.  Lime  is  abund.aut  in  the  mountain  val- 
leys from  Virginia  to  Northern  Alabama;  and  the  "rotten-limestone"  formations  of 
Alabama  and  Mississippi  are  unsurpassed  for  fertility. 

All  these  home  resources  should  be  used  in  bringing  up  the  average  cotton  yield 
from  190  to  GGO  pounds  per  acre,  and  obtaining  from  half  of  the  present  acreage  all  of 
the  fiber  needed,  leaving  free  a  sufficient  area  to  produce  the  bread,  the  fruits,  ih*  veg- 
etables, the  beef  and  mutton  necessary  for  the  home  population,  and  a  surplus  of  the 
lighter  products  for  exx)ortation. 

The  progress  made  since  1868  m  utilizing  many  of  these  resources 
has  been  considerable,  in  some  sections  very  noticeable.  The  commis- 
sioner of  agriculture  of  Georgia  has  been  empowered  by  the  State  with 
the  inspection  of  chemical  fertilizers,  and  the  prohibition  of  the  sale  of 
worthless  and  fraudulent  brands,  which  has  had  the  effect  to  increase 


REPORT   OP   THE   STATISTICIAN.  123 

the  intrinsic  value  16  per  cent,  while  the  cost  per  ton  has  been  dimin- 
ished 7  per  cent.  He  reported  the  inspection  of  48,648  tons  in  the  sea- 
son of  1874,  and  56,596  in  1375,  costing  $2,481,048  and  $2,640,203. 
The  publication  of  these  analyses  and  results  of  experiments,  especially 
v.ith  composts,  had  the  effect  to  arouse  caution  against  fraud,  and  to 
stimulate  the  exercise  of  judicious  discrimination  in  the  selection  and 
skill  in  the  composting  and  use  of  them.  So  positive  has  been  this 
progress,  that  nearly  half  of  the  fertilizers  in  1875  were  so  composted  aa 
to  yield  for  every  ton  four  tons  of  compost,  deemed  to  be  of  equal  value 
with  the  uncomposted  fertilizer,  adding  twofold  to  the  volume  and 
value  of  every  ton  of  commercial  fertilizers  inspected  by  the  State. 

The  formula  for  a  compost  extensively  used  on  cotton  contains  750 
pounds  each  of  stable-manure  and  of  green  cottonseed,  with  500  pounds 
of  acid  phosphate  or  dissolved  bone.  Alternate  layers  of  the  stable- 
manure  and  seed,  three  or  four  inches  thick,  are  each  sprinkled  with  the 
phosphate  after  thorough  moistening  with  water.  When  fermentation 
has  destroyed  the  vitally  of  the  seed,  in  three  to  six  weeks,  the  layers 
are  cut  through  vertically,  and  the  whole  mass  well  pulverized  "and 
mixed,  and  left  for  further  fermentation.  Satisfactory  results  are  ob- 
tained by  the  application  of  200  pounds  in  the  opening  furrow  and  100 
in  the  seed-drill.  Some  make  a  heavier  application  by  sowing  400  pounds 
and  applying  100  in  the  drill.  If  the  ammonia  of  the  manure  has  been 
evaporated  by  exposure,  60  pounds  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  40  of 
muriate  of  potash  are  used,  with  650  pounds  each  of  seed  and  stable- 
manure  and  600  of  phosphate.  The  cost,  aside  from  home  materials 
and  labor,  is  from  $7.50  to  $10  per  ton. 

The  estimate  of  proportion  of  cultivated  area  fertilized  was  not  uni- 
formly given,  and  may  therefore  only  roughly  approximate  the  truth. 
So  far  as  they  could  be  consolidated,  the  average's  were  00  per  cent,  for 
South  Carolina,  42  for  Georgia,  and  35  for  North  Carolina.  If  returns 
from  every  county  had  been  received,  it  is  probable  the  difference  be- 
tween the  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  estimates  might  be  less.  While 
some  commercial  fertilizers  are  applied  in  Florida  and  from  the  Georgia 
line  to  the  Mississippi,  it  is  true  tlia?  the  field  for  their  sale  at  present 
is  mainly  included  in.  the  three  States  named.  The  percentage  of  area 
fertilized,  as  averaged,  is  10  in  Florida,  12  in  Alabama,  and  15  in  Mis- 
sissippi ;  and  a  large  element  of  this  small  proportion  is  cotton-seed  or 
composts.  The  proportion  is  scarcely  appreciable  in  Louisiana  and 
Texas,  and  in  Arkansas  and  in  Tennessee  experiments  in  fertilizing 
are  on  too  limited  a  scale  to  make  a  percentage.  Our  correspondent  in 
Fayette,  Texas,  reports  no  fertilizers  used,  but  expresses  the  opinion  that 
manure  would  double  the  crops  on  uplands,  while  the  bottoms  may  be 
rich  enough  without  manure. 

The  practice  of  fallowing  or  "resting "  the  land  is  a  practical  protest 
against  the  waste  of  continuous  clean  culture.  The  growth  of  grass 
and  weeds  shades  and  protects  the  surface,  appropriates  the  ammonia 
of  the  atmosphere  when  plowed  under  for  a  crop,  and  restores  to  the  soil 
its  supply  of  vegetable  matter  wasted  under  the  direct  rays  of  a  burning 
sun.    Our  correspondent  in  Chickasaw,  Mississippi,  says: 

The  cheapest  and.only  practicable  way  of  fertilizing  large  farms  is  to  rest  a  portion  of 
it  one  or  two  years,  then  turn  under  weeds,  grass,  and  all  vegetation  while  green.  It 
greatly  improves  it,  and  costs  but  little  for  a  farmer  cultivating  1,200  acres.  To  attempt 
to  fertilize  much  of  it  would  take  all  his  crop.  Doing  it  fifty  acres  at  a  time,  he  would 
die  of  old  age  before  he  could  get  round. 

It  is  beginning  to  be  realized  that  it  does  not  pay  to  cultivate  the  up- 
lands of  any  portion  of  the  South,  unless  in  marl  and  limestone  sections, 


124         KEPOET    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 

without  fertilizing  systematically ;  and  some  Lave  learned  that  such 
soils  may  be  kept  actually  improving  by  the  use  of  cheap  and  accessi- 
ble home  resources  of  fertilization.  Our  correspondent  in  Geneva,  Ala- 
bama, reports,  "  In  1870,  planted  20  acres  cotton  in  pine-land,  without 
fertilizing,  and  made  three  bales  ;  1876  he  planted  three  acres  and  ap- 
plied the  manure  of  tvro  cows,  marc,  and  colt  for  three  months,  and  made 
2,970  pounds  seed-cotton." 

The  tendency  of  farm  practice  is  judicious  and  sensible  in  the  direction 
of  a  greater  use  of  fertilizers,  greater  discrimination  in  their  selection, 
and  superior  wisdom  in  the  mode  and  extent  of  application.  In  this 
they  are  following  the  teachings  of  this  Department,  which  are  found  to 
coincide  with  the  results  of  extended  and  varied  experience  during  the 
past  ten  years.  While  not  discarding  the  use  of  commercial  products, 
cultivators  are  learning  to  use  them  to  supplement  their  domestic  or 
native  supplies,  with  due  reference  to  the  manifest  defects  of  the  soil  to 
which  their  application  is  made,  and  generally  in  judicious  combination 
with  domestic  mannres.  The  following  extracts  from  correspondence 
will  give  details  of  this  practice  in  all  the  States: 

North  Carolina. — Anson :  Guauo  and  the  phosphatea  are  used.  Beaufort :  Home- 
made manures  are  extensively  used  on  all  plantations  and  farms ;  commercial  are 
applied  on  one-half.  Tha  kinds  most  used  are  the  ammouiated  dissolved  bones,  about 
200  pounds  per  acre.  The  amount  used  has  greatly  decreased  in  the  last  two  years. 
Caldwell:  No  commercial  fertilizers  used  except  on  the  tobacco-crop.  Camden:  Home- 
made fertilizers  generally ;  cost  from  )$15  to  $25  per  ton.  Cataioha  :  100  pounds  per  acre 
on  cotton  and  wheat ;  commercial  fertilizers  in  a  limited  quantity.  Choiuan :  Very 
little  except  home-made  and  lime ;  cost  $10  per  ton.  Some  guano  iisod,  about  200 
pounds  per  acre,  costing  $50  per  ton.  Columhus :  Home-made  fertilizers  aro  used  on 
aU  plantations,  about  25  cart-loads  per  acre;  commercial,  200  pounds  per  acre,  cost  $60 
per  ton.  Cumberland:  150 pounds  per  acre,  costing iJiSO  per  ton.  Duplin  :  Amvaoni&ted. 
Buperphosphates,  150  to  200  pounds  per  aero  when  used  alone,  75  to  100  pounds  when  used 
in  connection  with  home-made  manures.  Acid  phosphates  are  growiug  in  favor,  used 
in  the  eame  quantity.  A  mixture  consisting  of  250  pounds  of  tine  bone  dust,  250  pounds 
of  land-plaster,  60  pounds  sulphate  of  ammonia,  40  pounds  nitrate  of  soda,  100  i>ound3 
of  salt,  mixed  with  enough  rich  earth  to  make  a  ton,  costing  about  ^15,  is  largely  used 
for  cotton,  300  pounds  per  acre,  with  results  equal  to  the  costly  superphosphates. 
Ammouiated  superphosphate  costs  from  $40  to  $50  per  ton  cash,  and  from  $50  to  $60, 
or  400  to  450  pounds  cotton,  on  crop  time.  Edgecombe :  A  compost  of  marl,  lime,  cot- 
ton-seed, stable-manure,  and  earth  is  largely  used,  200  to  750  bushels  to  the  acre. 
Commercial  fertilizers  are  applied;  200  pounds  per  acre.  FranhVm:  Superiihosphates 
used ;  an  average  of  160  pounds  per  acre.  Gates ;  200  pounds  per  aero  of  manipulated 
guano  ;  cost  $45  per  ton.  Gaston :  Home-made  is  used  on  most  farms,  at  a  cost  of  $2  per 
aero.  Commercial  used  on  cotton-lands  ;  cost  $3  per  acre.  Greene :  Almost  every  kind 
used ;  about  200  pounds  per  acre ;  prices  average  $50  per  ton.  Guilford :  The  greatest 
part  of  the  manure  used  is  a  compost  made  in  the  barn-yard.  The  difl'erent  kinds  of 
commercial  fertilizers  are  applied  to  some  extent,  about  100  pounds  per  acre ;  prices 
from  $50  to  $75  per  ton.  Harnett :  For  cotton,  100  pounds  of  guauo  are  used  to  the  acre ; 
cost  $50  per  ton.  The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  decreasing,  and  farmers  are  rely- 
ing more  on  home-made  fertilizers.  Hefrtford:  Vai'ious  kinds;  125  pounds  per  acre. 
Hijde :  Composts  of  various  kinds  used.  Iredell:  All  the  different  kinds  of  commercial 
and  domestio  used ;  150  to  200  pounds  per  acre  in  the  row.  Without  some  fertilizer 
cotton  does  not  pay.  Jones :  Cotton-seed  is  used,  from  20  to  60  bushels  per  acre,  cost- 
iug  10  cents  per  bushel.  Lenoir :  Several  years  ago  fertilizers  were  i^urchased  in  large 
quautities;  last  year  farmers  used  but  little;  they  find  that  it  does  not  pay;  about 
one-tenth  use  200  pounds  per  acre  ; '  cost  $50.  Lincoln :  150  tons  used  last  year  in  this 
county ;  150  pounds  per  acre.  Acid  phosphate  is  composted  with  cotton-seed  and  stable- 
manure.  From  GOO  to  700  pounds  ■pov  acre  of  this  compost  is  applied.  Moore :  Some  used 
on  cotton.  Nash  :  350  pounds  per  acre  of  a  mixture  of  100  pounds  Paruviau  guano,  100 
pounds  of  dissolved  bone,  100  pounds  salt,  and  50  pounds  of  plaster.  It  is  a  good  manure 
for  cotton  or  corn  ;  cost  $(33  per  ton.  Orange  :  Guano  and  phosphates  used,  from  100  to  200 
pounds  per  acre  ;  cost  $55  per  ton.  Fasquotanlc :  Home-made  manures  almost  exclusively 
used.  Person :  13arn-yard  and  commercial  used  on  the  tobacco-crop ;  200  pounds  per  acre 
is  applied;  cost  $60  per  ton.  Perquimans :  A  number  of  kinds  used;  about  200  pounds 
per  acre;  does  not  i)ay.  Pitt:  Home-made  manures  are  generally  depended  upon. 
Rowan:  Home-made  are  found  to  be  tbe  best  and  cheapest.  Rutherford:  All  kinds 
have  been  used ;  about  200  pounds  per  acre ;  cost  $50  per  ton.     Tyrrd :  On  the  largest 


REPORT   OF   THF    STATISTICIAN.  125 

number  of  plantations  a  home-made  compost  is  nsed.  A  few  apply  gnano,  ^00  pountla 
per  acre;  cost  $50  per  ton.  Wake:  Granfjce  fertilizer  and  acid  phosphate,  200  pounds 
per  acre :  coat  from  $34  to  $40  per  ton.  Warren :  Various  kinds  used ;  200  pounds  per 
acre.  Way7ie  :  A  small  part  of  the  farmers  use  ,£;uano  ;  cost  $D0  por^ton  cash ;  $55  on 
time,  or  a  450-pound  bale  of  cotton.  Wilson :  All  kinds  ;  about  200  pounds  per  acre, 
average  cost  $55  per  ton.     Yadkin :  None,  except  stable-manure  made  on  the  place. 

South  Carolina. — Barniuell :  From  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre  of  phosphates  (chiefly 
prepared  in  the  State)  are  used ;  cost  from  $A0  to  $55  per  ton.  Beaufort :  From  150  to 
200  pounds  per  aero  of  guano  or  phosphates  applied ;  price  from  $40  to  $60  per  ton. 
Chester :  A  dozen  dilforeut  qualities  of  fertilizers  used,  at  an  average  cost  of  $56  per  ton. 
Clarendon :  Fertilizers  ara  generally  used ;  150  to  300  pounds  per  acre ;  prices  from  $50 
to  $75  per  ton.  Colleton:  200  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizers  per  acre  ;  cost  $45  per 
ton  cash,  $65  on  time.  Edgefield :  Fertilizers  are  used  at"  the  rate  of  100  pounds  per 
acre ;  average  cost  $60  per  ton.  Fairfield :  100  pounds  of  superphosphate  are  applied  to 
the  acre ;  price  from  $35  to  $60  per  ton.  Georgetown :  A  compost  made  of  forest  debris, 
cow-pen  and  stable  manure  is  chiefly  used.  Greenville:  On  cotton-lands,  from  100  to 
200  pounds  per  acre  applied ;  some  farmers  use  a  compost  of  cotton-seed,  stable-manure, 
and  woods'  earth.  Horry ;  Fertilizers  are  used ;  200  pounds  per  acre.  Laurens :  100 
pounds  per  aero  of  Charleston  phosphates ;  cost  $45  per  ton.  They  are  so  much  adul- 
terated, that  farmers  are  rejecting  them,  and  using  more  home-made  fertilizers.  Lex- 
ington :  100  pounds  per  acre  of  phosphate ;  price  per  ton  from  $30  to  $60.  Marion : 
Guano  and  acid  phosphate  are  the  most  popular ;  125  pounds  per  acre  applied ;  cost, 
guano  $75  per  ton,  phosphate  $33.  Martborough :  Various  kinds  of  fertilizers  applied; 
about  200  pounds  per  acre ;  price  from  $50  to  $60  per  ton.  Oraiigeburgh :  All  kinds  used ; 
150  pounds  average  per  acre ;  |GD  to  $60  per  ton.  SjMrtaniiirgh :  From  100  to  250 
pounds  of  fertilizer  to  the  acre ;  $35  to  $65  per  ton.  Union :  Phosphate  used ;  200 
pounds  per  acre  ;  cost  $35  to  $55  per  ton. 

Georgia. — Banks:  Bone  and  super  phosphate,  about  100  pounds  per  acre,  costing 
$75  per  ton.  Bartow :  Principally  acid  phosphate  composted  with  cotton-seed  and 
barn-yard  manure,  from  200  to  §00  pounds  per  acre;  cost  from  $12  to  $15  per  ton. 
Bibb:  100  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizers  to  the  acre ;  price,  400  pounds  of  lint-cotton 
per  ton  and  $3  per  ton  freight.  Brooks :  All  kinds  used ;  cost  $50  per  ton.  Butts: 
20  different  brands  used ;  120  pounds  per  acre ;  price  from  $60  to  $70  per  ton,  on  time, 
with  cotton  option.  Calhoun:  A  compost  of  chemical  and  home-made  manures  most 
popular ;  cost  about  $20  per  ton.  Commercial  fertilizers  are  used ;  150  to  200  pounds 
per  aero.  Campbell :  100  pounds  per  acre  of  phosphates  and  superphosphates  ;  cost, 
cash,  from  $35  to  $50,  on  time,  $45  to  $70.  Catoosa :  150  to  300  pounds  per  acre  of  fer- 
tilizers applied,  costing  from  ^5  to  $65  per  ton.  Carroll :  Nearly  all  kinds  used,  100 
to  300  pounds  per  acre  ;  price  from  $60  to  $80  per  ton.  Black's  compound  is  likely  to 
supersede  all  other  fertilizers;  cost  $6  per  ton  and  labor  of  preparing.  Clayton: 
From  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre  used ;  price  $30  to  $50  per  ton.  Clay :  Extensively 
used,  and  very  expensive.  Cobb :  About  200  pounds  per  acre  on  nearly  all  cotton-lands ; 
average  cost  $50  per  ton.  Coffee:  llome-mado  fertilizers  are  almost  exclusively  used. 
Columbia :  All  kinds  used,  at  the  rate  of  200  pounds  per  acre,  at  a  cost  of  $5  per  acre. 
Dawson:  70  per  cent,  of  the  farmers  use  home-made  fertilizers.  Dooly:  200  pounds  per 
acre,  costing  from  $50  to  $80  per  ton.  Early :  All  kinds  used ;  cost  from  $40  to  $60  per 
ton,  or  from  400  to  430  pounds  of  lint-cotton.  Elbert:  From  100  to  250  pounds  per 
acre,  costing  from  $60  to  $80  per  ton.  Emanuel :  150  to  200  pounds  applied  per  acre ; 
price  $60  per  ton  cash,  or  §70  credit,  with  cotton  option  at  15  cents  per  pound.  Fayette  : 
Superphosphates  are  used,  100  pounds  per  acre ;  cost  $50  per  ton.  Floyd :  Nearly  all 
kinds  used,  principally  on  cotton,  250  pounds  to  the  acre.  Forsyth :  150  pounds  per 
acre.  Franklin:  Extensively  used.  Gordon:  150  pounds  per  acre.  Gioinnettc:  150 
pounds  per  acte,  costing  from  $20  to  $60  per  ton.  Habersham :  Crops  will  not  pay  un- 
less fertilizers  are  used.  Harris :  A  mixture  of  guano,  phosphate,  bone,  and  plaster  is 
used ;  150  to  250  pounds  per  acre.  A  cheap  compost  of  phosphate,  bone,  and  cotton  is 
used  by  many.  Heard :  From  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre ;  cost  $50  per  ton  cash,  $70 
on  time.  Jaclcson :  200  to  400  pounds  per  acre  of  home-made  fertilizer  and  100  to 
200  commercial.  Liberty :  Used  by  a  fev.^  farmers  on  tobacco-crop ;  cost  from  $50  to 
$75  per  ton.  Lincoln :  A  compost  of  guano,  phosphate,  and  cotton-seed  is  most  popu- 
lar; 150  pounds  per  acre ;  cost  from  $55  to  $65.  Macon:  100  to  300  pounds  per  acre; 
price  $35  to  $00.  Madison:  All  use  an  average  of  150  pounds  per  acre,  at  a  cost 
of  $4.50  per  acre.  Marion :  Used  to  a  limited  extent ;  150  pounds  per  acre ;  price 
$60  per  ton.  Meriwether:  100  pounds  per  acre;  cost  from  $55  to  $60  per  ton. 
Milton:  Sui}orphosi)hate  and  home-made  manures  are  used;  150  pounds  per  acre  of 
j)hosphate  and  500  pounds  of  domestic.  Mitchell :  Dissolved  bone  and  guano.  Mor- 
gan :  Extensively  used ;  150  to  200  pounds  per  acre  of  commercial  fertilizers  and  from 
200  to  300  pounds  of  compost.  Murray:  150  to  200  pounds  per  acre.  Muscogee:  150  to 
200  pounds  per  acre.  Oglethorpe:  Largely  used;  90  per  cent,  of  it  on  the  cotton  crop; 
150  pounds  per  acre.  Pike  :  About  75  pounds  per  acre  for  cotton  and  40  to  50  pounds 
for  corn.  Schley:  All  kinds  used.    Stewart:  125  pounds  per  aero.  Talbot:  Special fer- 


126    REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

tilizers  are  used,  costing  $60  per  ton,  paying  in  cotton  at  15  cents  per  ponnd.  Taylor : 
100  pounds  used  to  the  acre,  at  an  average  cost  of  about  425  pounds  of  lint-cotton  per 
ton.  Thomas:  150  to  200  pounds  per  acre.  Terrell:  45  different  kinds  used,  at  an 
average  of  100  pounds  to  the  acre.  Wasliington :  From  100  to  300  pounds  per  acre. 
Walton  :  150  to  200  pounds  per  acre ;  price  from  §40  to  $70  per  ton,  payable  in  cotton 
at  15  cents  per  pound.  Wilkes :  Various  kinds  used ;  cost  of  guano  from  $40  to  $60  per 
ton,  and  from  $20  to  $35  for  composting  fertilizers.  Wilcox :  100  to  200  hundred 
pounds  of  guano  per  acre,  costing  from  $50  to  $65  per  ton.  Whitfield :  Various  kinds, 
at  an  average.     White :  Stable-manure  generally  used. 

Florida. — Clay:  All  use  compost.  Gadsden:  Commercial  fertilizers  have  been 
nearly  abandoned  on  account  of  adulteration,  and  increased  attention  paid  to  the 
production  of  domestic  manures.  EiUsioroitgh  :  Farmers  are  beginning  to  look  to  the 
barn-yard  for  fertilizers.  Jaclcson  :  200  pounds  applied  to  the  acre ;  cost  $55  per  ton. 
Madison :  Cotton-seed  and  stable-manure ;  from  .30  to  50  bushels  of  cotton-seed  per  acre, 
worth  from  $8  to  $10  per  ton.  Sumter :  Swamp-muck  chiefly.  Santa  Rosa :  Fertil- 
izers are  used  to  a  greater  extent  than  formerly ;  cotton-seod  meal,  in  combination 
with  mineral  salts,  is  the  most  valuable ;  from  100  to  300  pounds  to  the  acre ;  cost 
$45  per  ton. 

AxABAitfA. — Bibb:  100  pounds  per  acre.  Bullock;  The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers 
almost  entirely  abandoned.  Cotton-seed  and  home-made  manures  are  generally  used. 
From  50  to  100  bushels  of  cotton-seed  applied  to  the  acre  ;  worth  10  cents  per  bushel. 
Butter  :  About  200  pounds  per  acre ;  cost  $55  per  ton.  Calhoun  :  Both  commercial  and 
home-made  are  used,  at  a  cost  of  $2  to  $8  per  acre.  Many  farmers  purchase  chemioala 
and  make  their  own  fertilizers,  at  a  cost  of  $20  per  ton.  Clay  :  The  various  kinds  UBed. 
Coffe*  :  But  little  except  stable-manure  and  litter  of  cow-lots.  Conecuh  :  Cotton-seed  is 
used  to  some  extent ;  15  to  25  bushels  per  aero  ;  price  12^  cents  per  bushel.  Crenshaw : 
On  a  few  farms ;  from  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre ;  cost  from  $60  to  $70  per  ton.  De 
Kalb :  Commercial  fertilizers  are  used,  at  a  cost  of  $6  to  $S  per  acre ;  price  from  $50 
to  $75  per  ton.  Elviore :  They  use  150  pounds  per  acre  ;  price  $55  per  ton.  Etowah  : 
166  pounds  per  acre;  cost  $60  to  $75  per  ton.  Geneva:  Home-made  fertilizers  chiefly 
used.  Straw  and  leaves,  after  being  tramped  up,  are  applied  in  the  drill  for  cotton 
and  in  the  hill  for  corn.  Most  farmers  plant  less  and  manure  more  than  formerly 
Hale :  Cotton-seed  and  barn-yard  manure.  Ecnnj :  An  average  of  125  pounds  per 
acre.  Jeffersan;  Home-made  fertilizers  much  used.  They  have  paid  from  50  to  100 
per  cent,  this  year  by  bringing  the  crop  forward  from  ten  to  fifteen  days  earlier.  Lau- 
derdale: Every  farmer  is  making  all  the  home-made  manures  possible.  Marion:  Barn- 
yard manures,  20  bushels  per  acre ;  price  10  cents  per  bushel.  Morgan ;  Very  few 
except  horn©  fertilizers  used,  at  the  small  cost  of  $5  per  ton.  Pike  :  Three-fourths  used 
are  home-made  fertilizers.  Russell :  200  pounds  per  acre.  Sheliy  :  Barn-yard  manures 
used  on  one-fifth  of  the  farms.  Guano  is  used  on  about  one-twelfth  of  the  farms — 180 
pounds  to  the  acre ;  cost  $60  per  ton.  Saint  Clair :  All  kinds  used  ;  many  farmers  pre- 
pare a  compost  of  barn-yard  manure,  litter,  and  cotton-seed.  300  pounds  of  guano 
is  usually  applied  to  the  acre ;  price  $60  per  ton  ;  paid  for  with  cotton  at  15  cents  per 
pound.    Sumter  :  200  pounds  per  acre ;  price  $55  per  ton. 

Mississippi. — Adams:  Cotton-seed  and  barn-yard  are  the  only  fertilizers  used ;  cost 
65  cents  per  acre.  Alcorn :  Barn-yard  manure  almost  exclusively  used,  and  all  utilized. 
Amite :  Chiefly  home  fertilizers  used ;  cotton-seed,  40  bushels  per  acre ;  barn-yard,  60 
to  80  bushels  per  acre.  Carroll :  The  only  fertilizer  used  is  cotton-seed  on  corn-land. 
Choctaw  :  Cotton-seed  and  bara-yard  manure ;  10  bushels  of  cotton-seed  per  acre;  worth 
10  cents  per  bushel.  Copiah :  A  very  few  use  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre  of  Stern's 
phosphate,  bone,  &c.  Covington :  Home-made  compost  of  straw,  leaves,  ashes,  and 
barn-yard  manure  is  the  only  fertilizer  used.  Franklin :  Cotton-seed  the  only  fertilizer 
used;  20  bushels  applied  to  the  acre.  Grenada:  Cotton-seed  and  stabre-manure  used 
on  nearly  all  farms  ;  no  commercial.  HarrUion  :  Cotton-seed  meal  is  used  as  a  fertil- 
izer for  corn  ;  cost  $30  per  ton.  Lawrence :  Cotton-seed  chiefly ;  worth  from  10  to  15 
cents  per  bushel.  Lincoln  :  None  except  what  are  n'ade  on  the  farm.  Lowndes :  Com- 
mercial fertilizers  have  been  used,  hut  results  have  been  unsatisfactory.  Madison: 
Cotton.-seed  only.  Marion :  About  500  pounds  per  acre  of  superphosphate  ;  cost  $20 
per  ton.  Nervton :  Dissolved  bones  used  ;  lOO  pounds  per  acre  ;  price  $60  per  ton.  Ne- 
taoha.:  Barn-yard  manures  only.  Ferry:  To  a  small  extent;  500  pounds  per  acre 
of  cotton-seed  meal  is  applied,  costing  from  $30  to  $35  per  ton.  Small  farmers  save  all 
their  stable  and  barn-yard  manure  and  apply  it  in  about  the  same  quantity  per  acre. 
Winston:  None  used  except  stable-mannrc  and  cottou-eeed  ;  30  to  40  bushels  ■  1  <  ntton- 
eeed  to  the  acre  worth  12i  beuss  per  bushel. 

Louisiana.— But  few  counties  report  the  use  of  any  fertilizers,  and  those  on  1\  such 
as  are  found  on  the  plantation.  Bossier :  One-thiid  of  the  farmers  use  cotton-seed,  60 
bushels,  worth  ircm  8  to  10  cents  per  bushel ;  manures  one  acre  of  corn  in  the  hill. 
Cameron :  They  are  beginning  to  spread,  the  cotton-seed  on  tiie  land  they  cultivate ; 
formerly  it  was  left  to  rot  at  the  gin  or  burned  for  fuel.  Union :  On  plantations  where 
cotton  is  grown,  from  20  to  25  bushels  of  cotton-seed  per  acre  is  generally  applied. 


REPORT    OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  127 

Texas. — Anderson  :  Barn-yard  and  cotton-seed.  Austin :  Baru-yard  and  such  as  is 
gathered  on  the  range.  Burnet :  Sheep-raiaers  use  the  manure  from  their  sheep-pens 
and  stables :  12  loads  per  acre  applied.  Chambeis :  Barn-yard  manure  and  decayed 
vegetation.  Cherokee :  From  20  to  60  bushels  of  cotton-seed  per  acre ;  worth  from  6  to  10 
cents  per  bushel;  some  farmers  haul  out  lot-manure,  10  to  12  loads  per  aero.  Colo- 
rado: In  a  few  instances  cow-penning  is  practiced  by  the  Germans.  Smith:  Cotton- 
seed is  used,  20  bushels  per  acre.  Titus :  In  some  instances  farmers  carry  out  barn- 
yard manure,  (when  it  is  in  the  way  ;)  a  few  make  compost. 

Arkansas. — Arkansas:  Some  cotton-seed  and  stable-manure.  Boone:  Barn-yard 
manure  only.  Craighead :  Barn-yard  ;  no  other.  Crittenden  :  Sometimes  cotton-seed  is 
used,  bnt  without  system.  Cross  :  What  is  gathered  about  the  stable  and  yard.  Dal- 
las :  Cotton-seed  is  usually  put  on  corn.  Ashes  and  stable-manure  are  hauled  out  to 
the  field.  Izard  :  A  part  of  the  barn-yard  manure  is  used,  but  the  largest  part  lies  as  a 
nuisance  or  is  swept  away  by  freshets.  Johnson  :  Such  as  are  gathered  from  the  lots 
and  stables.  Marion :  Not  over  half  a  ton  of  commercial  fertilizers  used  in  the 
county.  Stable-manure  is  used  more  or  less  upon  nearly  every  farm.  Prairie  :  Barn- 
yard and  cotton-seed  are  used  by  a  few  farmers.  Sevier :  A  few  use  barn-yard  manure. 
Van  Buren  :  Stable  is  used  to  a  limited  extent. 

Tennessee. — Bradley :  Fifty  per  cent,  more  barn-yard  used  at  this  time  than  ever 
before ;  value  $1  per  two-horse  load.  Bedford :  Plaster  is  used  on  clover.  A  very  few 
ufeo  phosphate ;  cost  $20  per  ton.  Turning  under  green  crops  of  clover,  w^eds,  «fcc.,  la 
practiced.  Barn-yard  manure  is  the  chief  fertilizer  used.  Cannon :  Clover  and  barn- 
yard manure  are  the  principal  reliance.  De  Kalh  :  Domestic  manures  are  used  by 
about  half  the  farmers.  Dickson  :  No  fertilizers  used  except  barn-yard  manure,  and 
that  only  on  gardens  or  small  lots.  Gibso7i :  For  old  ground  clovering  is  the  principal 
fertilizer  used,  but  the  barn-yard  furnishes  the  chief  source  for  fertilizing  the  soil. 
Hardeman  :  A  little  stable-manure  and  cotton-seed  used,  Henderson  ■•  Mostly  stable- 
manure,  worth  $2  ])ev  ton.  Guano  is  used  to  a  limited  extent  with  remunerative  re- 
sults. Lauderdale :  A  small  amount  of  cotton-seed  and  stable-manure.  Lawrence : 
Stable-manure  is  the  only  kind  used.  Lincoln  :  Clover  and  barn-yard  manure  are  the 
chief  fertilizers  used.  Maury:  Used  on  nearly  all  plantations,  principally  clover 
and  baru-yard  manure,  which  are  considered  the  cheapest  and  best.  Land-plaster  ia 
used  to  a  considerable  extent  on  clover,  especially  on  thin  land  ;  from  50  to  75  pounds 
per  acre  is  applied.  About  the  same  amount  per  acre  has  been  used  on  cotton  with 
signal  success.  Madison :  Planters  depend  upon  clover ;  generally  all  the  stable- 
manui'e  is  wasted.  Smith :  Most  farmers  use  some  stable-manure ;  there  is  some  land- 
plaster  used ;  from  50  to  200  pounds  per  acre.  Sumner  :  Some  stable-manure  used  on 
the  poorest  part  of  our  land.  Stock  is  not  stabled  much,  and  the  amount  of  manure  is 
email.     Warren  :  Small  quantities  of  barn-yard  manur©  used. 

CHANGJJS  IN  MODES  OP  CULTURE. 

There  is  little  evidence  of  change  in  modes  of  culture.  The  old  prac- 
tice is  founded  on  generations  of  experience  and  investigation.  If 
radical  change  were  desirable,  it  could  not  easily  be  made  successful  by 
i>:  groes  trained  to  the  former  routine.  Yet  there  is  indicated  a  change 
in  the  closer  copying  of  model  practice,  and  especially  in  a  more  gen- 
eral use  of  improved  implements.  If  the  old  forms  of  implements  are 
retained,  there  is  marker,  improvement  in  grace  of  outline  and  perfec- 
tion of  liuish,  as  well  as  in  economy  of  material  and  power.  Such  im- 
l)rovemeuts  are  more  general  on  the  Atlantic  coast  and  in  Texas  than 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Two-thirds  of  the  returns  of  the  Carolinas 
indicate  such  improvement,  and  thirty-eight  of  the  fifty-seven  counties 
represented  in  Texas.  Half  of  the  Georgia  returns  indicate  such 
changes ;  some  are  silent  on  the  sabject,  and  nearly  one-fourth  report 
no  material  change.  In  Alabama  nearly  two-thirds  report  noticeable 
change,  and  more  than  half  in  Tennessee  and  Arkansas.  Louisiana  is 
most  conservative  on  this  point,  indicating  very  little  change,  and  in 
Mississippi  less  than  one-third  report  changes. 

The  use  of  double  plows  and  sulky-cultivators  is  extending  upon  the 
large  plantations  of  Texas.  Cotton-planterp  are  c&.uiug  into  use. 
Wherever  white  labor  is  predominant,  labor-saving  implements  are  com- 
ing into  general  use.     "  The  negro  is  not  apt  in  the  use  of  improved  imple- 


128         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

ments,"  is  asserted  in  substance  by  many.  Oar  correspondent  in  Con- 
cordia, Louisiana,  says :  "  The  negroes  were  so  well  drilled  in  the  ways 
of  working  cotton  before  the  war  that  they  are  mere  machines,  and  it 
would  be  impossible  to  change  much,  if  a  change  was  desirable.  The 
difiQculty  of  gathering  the  crops  now  made  with  the  plow  and  hoe 
makes  improved  la'bor-saviog  implements  of  no  use.  Furnish  a  cotton- 
picking  machine,  and  improved  implements  will  follow." 

"  The  old  iron  turning-plow,  made  by  the  awkward  country  black- 
smith, has  been  replaced"  in  all  progressive  sections  by  the  various  im- 
provement.T  of  popular  manufacturers,  largely  made  in  the  South  and 
to  some  extent  in  the  North  and  West. 

Inc  ulture,  improvements  mainly  consist  in  greater  thoroughness  of 
preparation,  deeper  plowing  prior  to  planting,  with  more  frequent  and 
very  shallow  cultivation  afterward.  Subsoiling  is  more  in  vogue.  Our 
correspondent  in  Shelby,  Alabama,  says :  "  In  preparation  of  lands, 
subsoiling  is  practiced  by  15  per  cent,  of  the  farmers.  In  cultivation, 
side-harrows  are  used  by  about  30 per  cent.;  the  remaining  farmers  pre- 
pare and  plant  as  their  '  daddies '  did  forty  years  ago." 

DECREASE  IN  SIZE  OF  FARMS. 

The  average  siz?6  of  farms  in  the  cotton  States  in  the  past  three 
decenninal  periods  is  thus  reported,  together  with  total  number : 


states. 

Number. 

Average  size : 

acres. 

1870. 

1860. 

18S0. 

1870. 

1860._ 

1850. 

95,  565 

51,889 

,   69, 956 

10,241 

67,  382 

68,  023 
1   28, 481 

61, 125 
49,424 
118, 141 

75, 203 
33, 171 

62,  003 
6,.5CS 
55, 128 
42,  840 
17,  328 
42,  891 
39,  O04 
62,  308 

56, 963 
29,  907 
51,759 
4,304 
41,964 
33,  9G0 
13,  422 
12, 198 
17,  758 
72,  733 

212 

233 
338 
232 
222 
193 
247 
301 
ir)4 
166 

316 

488 
430 
441 
346 
370 
5ofi 
591 
245 
251 

369 

541 

411 

371 

289 

309 

372 

942 

146 

2G1 

From  1850  to  1860  the  average  increased  in  Florida,  Alabama,  Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana,  and  Arkansas.  In  the  succeeding  ten  years  none 
of  the  States  appear  to  have  enlarged  their  average.  The  tendency  has 
always  been  to  reduction,  except  during  the  early  years  of  the  period 
of  extension  in  cotton-growing,  when  cultivators  were  providing,  by 
purchase  of  large  tracts  of  cheap  lands,  for  the  system  of  spoliation 
which  followed,  involving  the  clearing  annually  of  new  lands  to  replace 
exhausted  and  abandoned  fields. 

On  investigation  of  the  comparative  reduction  of  the  different  classes 
of  farms,  arranged  as  to  size,  the  curious  fact  is  found  that  in  the  case 
of  each  one  of  the  ten  States  the  number  of  farms  of  each  class  above 
100  acres  is  decreased,  and  of  every  class  below  100  acres  is  increased. 
The  average  decrease  of  large  farms  in  all  is  22  per  cent.,  and  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  farms  less  than  100  acres  in  size  is  55  per  cent. 

The  largest  ratios  of  increase  are  found  in  South  Carolina  and  Louisi- 
ana, respectively  121  and  120  per  cent.  Florida  gives  74  per  cent.  5 
Tennessee,  66 ;  Mississippi,  G5 ;  Texas,  55  j.  ilforth  Carolina,  41  j  Alabama, 
39 ;  Arkansas,  33 ;  Georgia,  27. 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


129 


The  decrease  of  farms  of  1,000  acres  or  more  was  from  3,034  to  1,572; 
of  farms  of  500  to  1,000,  12,187  to  0,537 ;  of  100  to  500, 113,025  to  92,910, 
distributed  as  follows : 


states. 


Alabama 

Arkaniiiis 

I'lorida 

Geor;iia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 
South  Carolina, 

Tenucssoo 

Texas 


1 

100  acres. 

500  I 

.cres. 

1,000 

1370. 

1800. 

1870. 

1800. 

1870. 

11,719 

I.";,  4:>:> 

1, 119 

2,016 

300 

3,4f5o 

4,231 

133 

307 

33 

1,570 

1,  4.32 

175 

211 

72 

17,  400 

18,821 

1,  .'iOO 

2,093 

419 

3,753 

4,  95r> 

O.")0 

1,161 

143 

8,938 

11,'108 

853 

1,8GS 

233 

13,  819 

19,  220 

839 

1,184 

116 

7,112 

1 1,  309 

405 

1,359 

129 

IP,  80C 

21, 003 

412 

921 

50 

6,268 

6,831 

305 

468 

72 

096 

69 

77 

902 

371 

481 

311 

483 

158 

87 


The  iucrease  of  small  farms  is  thus  indicated 


Stntcs. 


Alabama . . 
Arkansas.. 

Florida 

Goorcia 

Louisiana.. 
Mieaiesippi 


<M          1 

Farma  below  100 

o    .1 

acres. 

«  «; 

1870. 

1860. 

g-5 

54, 208 

38,  961 

39 

45, 793 

34, 397 

33 

8,  424 

4,848 

74 

50,  541 

39, 588 

27 

23,  936 

10,841 

120 

57,  999 

35, 083 

65 

States. 


Farms  below  100 
acres. 


North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Total.... 


78,  741 
44, 183 
98,  873 
54,  4S0 


517, 178 


1860. 


51,  488 
19,  961 
59, 386 
35,  505 


333,  058 


44 
121 

66 
53 


55 


The  number  of  farms  of  3  to  10  acres  was  enormously  increased  in 
South  Carolina,  from  352  to  10,286 ;  the  increase  in  Mississippi  was  from 
563  to  11,003;  Louisiana  from  620  to  3,010;  in  several  others  the  ratio  is 
less,  about  1  to  3. 

The  reduction  in  average  size  still  continues.  Reports  from  North 
Carolina  indicate  a  decreasing  average,  ranging  from  20  to  50  per 
cent,  decrease  in  the  several  counties.  Nearly  all  counties  in  South 
Carolina  and  three-fourths  of  those  in  Georgia  return  decreased  size. 
In  Florida  there  is  an  increase  in  about  one-third  and  a  decrease  in  two- 
thirds  of  the  counties  reported.  There  are  few  exceptions  to  the  rule  of 
decrease  in  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana.  It  is  not  quite  so 
marked  in  Arkansas,  and  in  Texas  and  Tennessee  indications  of  decrease 
are  given  in  only  about  half  the  returns.  It  is  stated  of  Be  Soto,  Mis- 
sissippi, that  "  there  are  five  times  as  many  farms  as  existed  before 
the  war."'  Many  of  the  large  plantations  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  are 
growing  up  in  broom-sedge.  In  Dallas,  Arkansas,  "  there  are  four  acres 
in  sedge  to  one  cultivated  "  on  certain  plantations.  In  some  instances,  as 
in  Conecuh,  Alabama,  an  apparent  increase  of  several  hundred  per  cent, 
in  the  number  of  farms  comes  from  the  renting  on  shares  to  squads  of 
laborers,  and  not  from  a  permanent  division  of  farms.  In  Alcorn,  Mis- 
sissippi, farms  in  1860  ranged  from  160  to  2,000  acres,  where  one  of  the 
latter  size  is  now  rare,  it  being  "  common  to  see  Jarms  of  40,  60,  and  100 
acres,  though  there  are  a  few  of  640  acres."  In  Ferry,  Mississippi,  they 
are  smaller  by  50  per  cent.,  and  *'  some  of  the  best  have  gone  to  waste, 
9a 


130    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

grown  up  with  briers  and  broom-sedge."  Our  Duplin  (North  Carolina) 
correspondent  says :  "  Counting  tenants  as  farmers  and  land  worked  by 
them  as  farms,  the  farms  would  average,  perhaps,  not  more  than  one- 
third  of  size  iu  iSGO.  Taking  plantations  by  the  owners,  they  would 
average  about  three-fourths  of  size  in  1860;  jjerhaps  more." 

Our  correspondent  in  Concordia,  Louisiana,  tiring  of  answering  so 
mauy  questions,  propounds  the  following : 

Why  is  it  that,  -with  thousands  of  acres  uncultivated  in  almost  every  neighborhood, 
more  especially  iu  Mississippi  and  other  high-land  States,  we  still  raise  as  much  cotton 
as  we  did  before  the  war?  I  am  unable  to  account  for  it,  and  have  never  questioned 
one  yet  who  could  answer  it. 

The  answer  is  not  difficult.  1.  The  main  reason  is  a  change  of  location. 
A  considerable  exteut  of  new  land  is  cultivated  in  Texas.  Numerous 
small  patches  are  cultivated  on  small  farms,  in  nearly  all  the  States, 
where  little  was  formerly  grown.  2.  The  yield  per  acre  is  somewhat 
greater.  As  the  size  of  farms  decreases  the  yield  of  cotton  increases, 
as  is  shown  conclusively  in  another  chapter.  3.  Another  cause  of  in- 
crease of  yield  is  the  general  use  of  fertilizers  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and 
greater  economy  in  the  manurial  use  of  cotton-seed  in  other  sections. 

Ten  years  ago,  in  communications  to  this  Department,  the  most  posi- 
tive prophecies  of  failure  were  predicted,  and  elaborate  statistical 
"proof"  was  adduced  that  the  cotton-crop  of  the  United  States  could 
never  be  brought  up  to  3,000,000  bales;  but  in  1869  that  limit  was 
passed,  and  the  very  next  year  exceeded  it  by  a  million  and  a  quarter 
bales. 

LABOR. 

Prices. — The  extraordinary  price  of  cotton  in  1866  caused  a  feverish 
excitement  in  cotton-planting,  and  induced  the  offer  of  higher  wages  than 
were  warranted  by  the  condition  of  land  and  labor.  The  crop  of  1865  had 
averaged  at  the  ports  of  shipment  43  cents  per  pound.  When  that  of 
1866  yielded  30,  a  fall  that  had  been  expected  by  intelligent  observers, 
there  was  still  a  lively  competition  for  labor  to  be  expended  on  the  crop 
of  1867,  and  higher  prices  were  obtained  than  were  warranted  by  the 
efficiency  of  labor  and  prospect  of  stability  of  price.  When  the  price 
of  that  crop  fell  below  20  cents  failure  and  panic  resulted,  and  the  rates 
for  labor  fell  heavily,  as  seen  in  the  accompanying  table.  Since  that 
date  the  efficiency  of  labor  has  gradually  increased,  production  has 
greatly  enlarged,  and  though  cotton  has  declined  iu  value,  wages  have 
advanced  iu  most  of  the  States  from  that  period  of  lowest  depression. 
The  results  of  our  investigation  are  given  in  connection  with  the  figures 
reported  in  1868  for  that  and  the  previous  year.  The  figures  for  1860  were 
reported  at  the  same  time,  and,  therefore,  their  complete  accuracy  may 
be  open  to  question,  though  they  were  given  upon  consultation  with  the 
most  reliable  of  the  old  planters. 

This  table  gives  the  price  per  annum  with  rations,  which  consist  of  3 
to  3^  pounds  of  bacon  per  week  for  each  hand,  (in  some  instances  4 
Ijounds,)  and  a  peck  of  corn-meal,  and  usually  occasional  supplies  of 
molasses,  sweet-potatoes,  and  other  extras,  and  the  use  of  a  "  cabin," 
very  rarely  with  a  small  allotment  of  land  for  a  garden.  In  1860,  be- 
sides rations,  an  allowance  of  clothing  was  generally  included  iu  the 
contract.  The  column  for  "men"  means  "full  hands,"  the  women  are 
becoming  scarce  in  the  fields,  and  the  "youth"  are  comparatively  few 
and  unreliable.  The  "  full  hand  "  is  necessarily  the  standard  of  value, 
and  the  figures  in  this  column  are  therefore  more  instructive,  and  are 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


131 


probably  more  accurate,  because  it  is  easier  to  average  the  wages  of 
this  principal  class. 


ISUO. 

1867. 

1868. 

1876. 

states. 

3 

a 

o 

r^ 

a 

o 

i- 

I* 

1 

i 

1 

S 

a 
o 

a 

o 

o 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

$110 
103 
124 
139 
i:!8 
HiU 
171 
ItjC 
170 
121 

f49 

5;") 

7o 

80 

89 

100 

120 

109 

108 

63 

$J0 
43 
f.7 
C5 

m 

71 
72 

eo 

80 
CO 

§104 
100 
125 
139 
117 
149 
l.'iO 
139 
158 
136 

$45 
55 
65 
85 
71 
93 

104 
84 
94 
67 

$47 
43 
46 
52 
52 
61 
65 
67 
78 
65 

189 
93 
83 
97 
87 
90 
104 
130 
115 
109 

$41 
52 
55 
50 
50 
66 
75 
72 
75 
51 

$39 
42 
47 
44 
40 
40 
60 
65 
67 
45 

$105 
101 
102 
110 
107 
124 
136 
144 
148 
120 

$55 
54 
57 
68 
61 
70 
82 
90 
92 
60 

$4G 
41 
42 

50 

44 

52 

Louisiana 

55 
66 

72 

Tenneasee  — 

54 

Labor  contracts. — The  contracts  for  labor  are  of  three  kiuds:  for 
money-wages  by  the  month  or  year,  for  a  share  of  the  crop,  and  for  spe- 
cific rent  in  money  or  products.  The  first  has  been  practiced  to  a  lim- 
ited extent  by  the  best  and  most  prosperous  planters,  and  many  more 
who  assume  it  to  be  impracticable  under  existing  circumstances  deem  it 
the  best  for  planter  and  laborer  if  they  could  harmoniously  agree  to 
adopt  it.  The  share  system  has  been  most  in  vogue,  for  two  prominent 
reasons,  the  laborers  greatly  affected  a  quasi  proprietorship,  and  the 
owners  of  land  were  inexperienced  in  managing  free  labor  and  disin- 
clined to  have  anything  personally  to  do  with  it.  Between  them,  the 
plan  hit  upon  was  the  best  possible  to  destroy  fertility  and  profit  and 
demoralize  labor. 

The  share-allowance  to  labor  varies  in  different  situations  and  circum- 
stances. In  North  Carolina  three-fourths  of  the  proprietors  allow  one- 
half,  everything  being  furnished  except  rations ;  others  four-tenths,  one- 
third,  and  one-fourth  in  a  few  instances.  One-half,  one-third,  and  in 
some  instances  three-eighths  are  reported  in  South  Carolina,  the  former 
rate  predominating.  Four-fifths  of  the  counties  of  Georgia  report  one- 
half  for  labor  subsistiiig  itself.  In  some  cases  one-third  is  given,  or  one- 
fourth,  with  100  pounds  of  meat  to  each  laborer.  There  is  much  minor 
variation  of  the  terms  of  the  contract.  In  Alabama  and  the  States  far- 
ther west,  essentially  the  same  allowance  is  madcj  if  rations  are  fur- 
nished, one-fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one-third  of  the  corn  is  usually 
allowed.  If  the  laud  is  rented  without  implements  or  stock,  one-fourth 
to  one-third  is  demanded,  usually  one-fourth  of  cotton  and  one-third  of 
corn.  Much  the  larger  proportion  of  farms  are  occupied  on  the  share 
system,  nearly  all  in  JMississippi  by  sharers  and  renters,  and  a  very 
large  proportion  in  Louisiana,  about  two-thirds  in  Georgia,  South  Car- 
olina, Arkansas,  and  Tennessee.  Florida  and  Alabama  report  the  pay- 
ment of  wages  in  larger  proportion  than  the  other  States.  So  far  as  is 
reported,  the  wages  system  is  deemed  best,  though  it  may  not  be  found 
practicable,  because  laborers  prefer  not  to  hire  for  money,  and  the  plant- 
ers have  not  the  money  to  pay  promptly.  It  is  almost  universally  ac- 
knowledged that,  in  view  of  the  greater  yield  and  superior  condition  of 
the  land,  the  wages  system  is  preferable. 

The  testimony  is  general  to  a  gradual  increase  in  efficiency  of  freed- 
men's  labor.  Still  the  disposition  exists  to  congregate  in  towns,  on  the 
part  of  many,  and  eke  out  a  precarious  living  by  transient  jobsj  and 


132    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

the  women  and  yoiitli  arc  too  much  incliued  to  decline  field-labor  even 
when  there  is  no  other  proiitable  calling  to  occupy  their  time. 

There  is  a  better  understanding  between  land-owners  and  freedmeu. 
The  one  is  more  williug  to  be  advised,  the  other  to  give  needed  direction 
to  labor.  Many  farmers  have  been  nearly  ruined  by  neglect  to  exercise 
wholesome  supervision  of  the  farm  economy,  and  waste  and  improvidence 
of  share-laborers.  Some  have  benefited  themselves  and  laborers  by  a 
judicious  control.  Oar  correspondent  in  Chickasaw^,  Mississippi,  gives 
his  own  experience  as  follows : 

The  man  wlio  has  the  best  tact  in  managing  free  negroes  is  the  best  farmer.  He 
can  get  labor  wlien  otlisrs  cannot.  The  writer  has  freedmeu,  not  his  old  slaves  either, 
who  have  lived  seven  and  eight  years  with  him.  He  biijs  their  shoes,  clothing,  pro- 
visions, and  all  necessary  supplies  for  cash  or  short  time — and  his  credit  is  nearly 
equal  to  cash — charges  them  to  his  hands,  adding  in  moderate  interest.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  each  one  has  money  coming  to  him,  and  is  satisfied,  and  wants  to  remain, 
while  scores  apply,  more  than  he  wants  or  needs.  I  never  wrong  them  oat  of  one 
cent  in  settlement.  Having  thirty  negro  families  on  my  j)lace,  and  no  help,  I  am  com- 
pelled to  trust  them  some.  I  find  but  little  trouble  in  controlling  them,  except  in 
politics,  and  that  I  never  attempt.  A  number  of  them  have  money  to  loan,  but  prefer 
remaining  with  me  to  buying  land  and  going  elsewhere  from  under  my  management 
and  advice,  while  I  have  made  $10,000  in  clear  cash  in  the  last  seven  years,  laid  out 
in  land  and  mules. 

The  following  notes  are  given  from  correspondence  to  show  the  vari- 
ety in  terms  of  contract : 

North  Carolina. — Cohivibus  :  Ovrners  furnish  team ;  laborers  find  their  own  board. 
Caldivell :  Landlord  furnishing  everything  except  laborers'  board  ;  the  tenant  receives 
one-third,  of  the  crop  of  corn  and  one-half  the  crop  of  cotton.  Gaston:  A  majority  of 
owners  furnish  land  and  teams,  and  receive  67  per  cent,  of  the  crop.  Greene :  I  think 
tbat  50  per  cent,  work  as  follows :  Owner  furnishes  team  and  feed  for  team,  and  all  nec- 
essary implements  ;  the  laborer  furnishes  board  for  himself;  owner  getting  60  per  cent, 
of  the  crop.  Edgeconibe :  The  laborer  boards  himself;  the  landlord  furnishes  everything 
else,  and  gives  the  laborer  40  per  cent,  of  lint-cotton  and  33  per  cent  of  other  crops. 
Harnett :  Share-contracts  are  decreasing.  G-uilford  :  When  laborer  boards  himself,  he 
gets  one-half  of  the  crop ;  when  boarded  by  landlord,  one-third.  Iredell :  Owners 
bear  all  expenses ;  laborers  board  themselves,  and  receive  one-third  of  all  the  grain, 
and  onie-half  of  the  cotton  and  tobacco,  and  furnished  with  house,  fire-wood,  and 
garden.  Duplin :  Owner  furnishes  team,  implements,  and  pays  same  proportion  for 
fertilizers  as  he  gets  of  crop  ;  laborer  furnishes  his  own  rations,  and  receives  from  40 
to  50  per  cent,  of  crop.  Camden :  Share-contracts  for  cotton  only ;  when  land  and 
team  are  furnished,  the  laborer  has  33  per  cent,  of  the  crop.  Ilowan :  The  land  takes 
one-third  stock  and  feeding  the  same,  and  tools  and  rent  one-third ;  manual  labor  one- 
third.  Tijrrcl:  The  land-owner  furnishes  and  feeds  the  team  and  furnishes  the  im- 
plements ;  the  laborer  cultivates  and  gathers  in  the  crops,  and  they  share  alike.  Wil- 
son :  One-thu-d  and  one-fourth  of  cotton  and  corn ;  laborer  furnishes  himself. 

South  Carolina. — Barmoell :  One-third  of  the  crops  without  rations,  or  one-fourth 
with  rations.  Chester :  800  pounds  of  lint-cotton  to  the  horse.  Edfjejield :  Gives  800 
pounds  lint-cotton  for  a  one-horse  farm.  Georgetown:  A  large  proportion  of  planters 
work  on  the  three  day  system ;  which  is  three-days  for  the  proprietor  and  three  days 
for  the  laborer. 

Georgia. — BanJcs  :  One-third  to  one-fourth  to  landlord.  Ealxr  :  Laborer  gets  one-half 
of  all  he  can  make,  landlord  furnishing  everything  necessary  to  make  the  crop  except 
board  for  laborers.  Jiartoiv  :  Landlord  furnishes  and  feeds  the  stock ;  the  laborer  gets 
one-half.  Bibb  :  Some  give  one-third  of  the  crop  for  labor.  Others  give  the  laborer 
one-half  of  the  crops,  the  laborer  boarding  himself,  and  dividing  expenses.  Catoosa : 
One-third  of  produce  to  landholder.  Columbia :  The  laborers  usually  put  their  labor 
against  the  land  and  stock,  and  divide  the  expenses.  Dawson  :  40  per  cent,  work  on 
shares,  landlord  to  furnish  land  alone  for  one-tliird  of  production  ;  40  per  cent,  of  labor 
is  done  by  the  land-owners.  Doolg  :  The  owner  furnishing  everything,  and  the  laborer 
finding  his  own  board,  receives  one-third  of  the  corn  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton. 
Early  :  An  average  of  sliare-contracts  is  one-third  of  all  crops  housed  and  100  pounds 
of  meat  to  laborer.  Elbert :  Laborer  finds  himself  and  does  tlie  work,  landlord  finds 
the  stock  and  feed,  pays  contingent  expenses,  and  divides  the  crop  equally.  Forsyth  : 
The  landlord  furnishes  stock  and  tools  and  houses;  produce  divided  equally.  Harris . 
Laborer  gets  one-half  of  the  corn  and  one-third  of  the  cotton,  the  employer  furnishing 
everything  but  the  labor  and  board.  Milton:  Owner  furnishes  stock,tools,  feed  for 
Btoek,  and  seeds  for  planting,  and  gives  the  tenant  one-half,  after  paying  for  fertilizers. 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  133 

MuscoQce :  Planter  givca  one-tljinl  to  the  laborer,  who  finds  his  owu  hoard;  some- 
times ho  feeds  tho  laborer  and  gives  one  fourth  of  the  crop.  Oijlethorpe  :  Some  laborers 
get  one-half  and  feed  themselves  ;  some  work  for  one-third  and  feed  themselves;  some, 
for  one-fourth  and  rations.  Taliaferro  :  Contracts  range  variously  from  one-fourtb 
to  one-half,  according  to  i^roportion  of  expenses  which  the  laborer  bears.  Wilcox : 
Tenants  keep  up  the  place  and  give  the  owner  onc-fonrth  of  the  crop  housed,  except 
potatoes,  cane,  and  all  garden-products,  whicb  are  all  kept  by  the  tenant.  Wilkes  : 
Contracts  are  varied ;  some  one-third,  some  one-half,  and  some  one-fourth  deducted  for 
rent,  and  then  divided.  In  all  these  cases  the  laborers  feed  themselves.  Twiggs :  La- 
borer gets  one-half  corn  and  other  products,  except  cotton,  of  which  the  laborer  gets 
one-third  ;  some  contract  to  work  four  days  for  their  emj)loyer  and  two  for  themselves. 
Thomas:  Contracts  are  one-third  of  the  provision-crop  and  cue-half  the  cotton,  owner 
paying  all  expenses,  except  rations  for  hands. 

Florida. — Clay  :  Tho  owner  takes  one-fourth  of  the  cotton  ;  all  other  crops,  one- 
third.  Columhia  :  If  the  laborer  is  found  rations,  he  gets  33^-  per  cent,  of  the  crop ; 
if  he  finds  himself,  he  gets  50  per  cent.  Gadsden  :  The  usual  share  is  one-half  the  crop, 
the  proprietor  furnishing  team ,  and  the  laborer  boarding  himself.  Jackson :  The  laborer 
generally  gets  one-fourth  of  the  crop  and  rations.  Madison :  From  one-sixth  to  one- 
fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one-sixth  to  one-third  of  corn.  Some  furnish  team  and  one- 
half  feed  and  give  one-half  of  all  crops.  La  Fayette :  All  labor  is  done  for  cash.  Leon : 
Some  contracts  are  one-fourth  to  ouc-third,  and  rations ;  others,  one-h?.lf  the  crop,  and 
laborers  furnish  rations.  Orange :  All  cash.  Satvannee  :  Laborers  get  one-third  when 
found,  and  one-half  when  they  find  their  own  rations.  Taylor  :  Laborers  receive  one- 
half  of  the  crop,  doing  the  work  and  boardiug  themselves,  the  owner  furnishing  the 
team  and  feed,  seed,  and  implements. 

Alabama. — Geneva :  But  few  contract  tho  same.  When  the  laborer  feeds  himself, 
and  does  all  the  work,  growing  and  gathering  the  crop,  he  gets  one-half;  if  he  finds 
his  own  team  and  implements,  he  gets  three-fourths  of  the  corn  and  fodder  and  one- 
third  of  the  cotton.  LTenry  :  The  laborer  shares  one-third  to  one-half  tho  proceeds,  he 
furnishing  his  own  rations.  Jackson :  Owner  furnishes  team  and  feed,  and  pays  one- 
half  of  the  expense  of  repairing  tools,  and  takes  one-half  the  crop.  Madison :  Owner 
furnishing  land,  fuel,  quarters,  team,  and  paying  all  necessary  expenses ;  the  laborer, 
finding  his  own  rations,  gets  one-half  the  crop ;  when  boarded,  one-third ;  when  owner 
furnishes  only  land,  fuel,  and  quarters,  the  laborer  gets  two-thirds  of  the  corn  and 
three-fourths  of  the  cotton.  Busscll :  White  laborers  generally  work  for  half  of  every- 
thing they  raise  and  find  their  rations;  colored  laborers  generally  have  everything 
furnished,  except  their  clothing,  and  get  what  land  they  can  cultivate  in  1^  days  in 
each  week,  commencing  Friday  at  12  noon.  Slielhy  :  Sixty  per  cent,  of  laborers  board 
themselves,  owners  furnish  everything  else,  and  divide  the  crop  equally ;  15  per  cent, 
labor  as  above,  and  get  only  one-third  of  the  crop ;  those  that  are  hoarded  by  the  em- 
ployer receive  one-fourth  of  the  crop.  Sumter :  Laborers  get  one-half  of  what  they 
make,  expenses  being  equally  divided.  Winston :  Owner  receives  one-third  when 
laborer  furnishes  stock,  feed,  and  implements,  and  one-half  when  these  are  furnished 
by  owner.  Baldwin :  When  tenant  furnishes  everything  but  land,  the  owner  gets  one- 
Iburth  of  gross  proceeds.  When  landlord  furnishes  stock  and  advances  to  make  the  crop 
with,  he  takes  one-half  and  repays  himself  for  the  advances,  including  interest.  But' 
Icr:  Contracts  generally  provide'that  the  owner  furnish  stock  and  pay  all  expenses  of 
the  farm,  and  the  laborer  finds  his  own  rations,  and  the  crop  is  divided  equally.  La- 
borer gets  one-fourth  of  the  crop  when  owner  finds  rations.  Calhoun :  Owner  furnish- 
ing stock  and  tools,  the  laborer  gets  one-third  of  the  crops;  when  laborer  furnishes 
everything,  ho  gets  two-thirds  of  the  corn  and  small  grain  and  three-fourths  of  the  cot- 
ton. Coffee:  Laborers  feed  themselves  and  get  one-half  the  crop;  owners  furnish 
teams  and  feed  and  implements.  CrensJiaiv :  Owner  furnishing  team  and  feed  gets  one- 
half  the  crop  ;  when  tenants  furnish  themselves,  tho  owner  gets  one-fourth  of  the  cot- 
ton and  one-third  of  the  corn.  De  Kalb  :  Owner  furnishes  stock,  and  gets  one-half  the 
grain  and  one-third  of  the  cotton  ;  when  tenant  furnishes  himself,  the  owner  gets  one- 
third  of  the  grain  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton.  Elmore :  Laborers  who  furnish  their 
own  rations  geb  one-half  of  tho  crop ;  when  rations  are  furnished,  tho  laborer  gets  on& 
third  of  the  corn  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton.  Etowah  :  Laborer  gets  two-thirds  of  the 
corn  and  other  grain  and  three-fourths  of  the  cotton  when  he  furnishes  team  and  im- 
l)lements,  and  one-half  when  they  are  furnished  with  implement.s. 

Mississippi. — Adams  :  In  nearly  every  instance  the  owner  is  compelled  to -lease  his 
land  for  ono  bale  of  cotton  for  .a  man  and  one-half  bale  for  a  woman.  Perry :  Labor- 
ers receive  one-third  when  found  rations  and  one-half  when  they  find  their  own. 
dlccrn  :  One-third  of  the  corn  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton  goes  to  the  landlord  where 
the  laborer  furnishes  his  own  rations,  team,  and  feed.  Lincoln:  Eighty  per  cent,  of 
laborers  work  on  shares  for  half  the  crop,  feeding  themselves,  and  employer  furnishing 
everything  else.  Lowndes :  One-half  the  cotton,  one-third  of  the  corn  and  other  crops, 
the  laborer  paying  for  his  supply  of  meat  advanced.  Madison :  Owner  famishing 
team  and  feed,  implements,  and  other  things  necessary;  the  laborer  finds  his  own 


134    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

board  and  gets  one-half  tbo  products.  Marion  :  Employer  famishes  teams  and 
implomcnts  and  gets  half  the  crop ;  when  he  furnishes  land  aloue,  he  gets  one- 
fourth.  Ra7ilin:  The  laborer  subsists  himself  and  keeps  np  the  status  of  land  as 
to  feiice.^,  ditches,  &c.  The  owner  furnishes  all  the  teams,  implements,  &c.,  and  the 
crop  is  equally  divided.  Washington  :  The  proprietor  puts  the  place  in  order,  furnishes 
everything,  the  laborer  having  the  garden  and  house-rent  free,  and  gets  one-half  of  all 
be  produces. 

Louisiana. — Bienville:  Share-coutracts  are  one-half ;  laborer  to  board  himself.  Bos- 
sier: One-half  the  produce  for  the  laborer,  he  finding  his  own  I'ations.  Caddo:  La- 
borers furuiahlug  everything  but  land  get  three-fourths  ;  when  they  feed  themselveSj 
only  oue-half ;  everything  found  them  by  the  proprietor,  one-third.  Claiborne :  Laborer 
gets  one-third  whcu  rations  are  furaished,  and  when  furnished  by  himself  one-half. 
Concordia  :  Wlien  iaborer  feeds  himself,  he  gets  one-half  the  crop  ;  planter  furnishing 
everything,  laborer  gets  one-third  ;  some  contract  to  pay  so  many  pounds  of  lint-cotton 
for  the  use  of  a  giveu  number  of  acres  of  land.  Franklin  :  Proprietor  gives  one-third 
of  the  crop  and  furnishes  the  laborer  with  tools ;  or  one-half,  furnishing  everything 
except  rations.  Iberia :  Crop  divided  equally,  the  owner  furnishing  team  and  half  the 
feed ;  laborers  feed  themselves  and  pay  half  the  expenses,  such  as  blacksmith's  bill, 
&c.  La  Fayette:  Crops  worked  entirely  by  share-contracts.  Laborers  feed  themselves 
and  receive  one-half  of  all  the  crop.  Rapides  ;  Three-fourths  to  laborer  when  he  fur- 
nishes everything  but  houses  and  laud.  Terre  Bonne :  When  laborer  furnishes  everything, 
he  gets  three-fourths.  Union  :  Laborer  receives  one-half  of  the  crop  and  supplies  him- 
self; the  planter  furnishing  team  and  implements.  Vo-million :  Laborer  gets  two- 
thirds  when  he  finds  his  rations  and  furnishes  team  and  implements,  and  one-third 
when  owner  furnishes  all. 

Texas. — Anderson:  Landlord  furnishing  teams,  &c.,' gets  one-half;  when  these  are 
furnished  by  laborer,  landlord  gets  one-fourth  of  the  cotton ;  one-third  of  the  corn  and 
other  crops.  Austin:  Laborer  furnishing  his  board,  team,  and  tools  gets  three-fourths 
of  the  cotton  ;  two-thirds  of  the  corn.  Laborer  boarding  himself,  without  furnishing 
team,  &c.,  gets  one-half  of  tlie  crop  ;  when  all  are  furnished  by  owner,  he  gets  one- 
fourth  of  the  cotton,  one-third  of  the  corn.  Bexar :  Ninety  per  cent,  get  cash ;  when 
the  owner  contracts  to  furnish  team,  implements,  and  seed,  ho  gets  oue-half.  If  tenant 
furnishes  everything,  he  pays  one-third  of  the  crop  made.  Brazos :  When  laborers  feed 
themselves,  share  oue-half;  when  fed  by  iilanter,  one-third  and  one-fourth.  Burleson : 
Owner  furnishing  team  and  feed,  share  one-half.  If  tenants  furnish  these,  they  get 
three-fourths  of  the  cotton;  two-thirds  of  all  other  corps.  Cherokee:  Planter  to  fur- 
nish team,  tools,  and  feed  for  team,  and  take  one-half  the  crop  ;  renter  boarding  him- 
self. Laborer  finding  team,  «fcc.,  he  gets  two-thirds  of  the  corn,  three-fourths  of  the 
cotton.  Colorado :  Planter  furnishes  team,  implements,  and  feed  for  team,  and  takes 
one-half  the  crop  ;  when  laud  alone  is  furnished  by  owner,  he  gets  one-third  of  the  corn 
and  oue-fourth  of  the  cotton.  Dallas :  Laborer  being  at  all  the  expense,  gets  three- 
fourths  of  the  cotton  and  one-third  the  corn.  Denton :  The  tenant  gives  one-fourth  of 
the  cotton,  one-third  other  crops.  Falls  :  When  laborer  furnishes  and  feeds  team  and 
finds  implements,  ho  gets  two-thirds  the  corn  and  three-fourths  of  the  cotton.  When 
these  are  furnished  by  landlord  and  laborer  finds  his  own  board,  he  gets  oue-half. 
Fayette  :  The  landlord  furnishes  teams  and  implements,  and  gets  one-half  the  crop  ;  or 
the  laborer  may  furaish  himself  with  these,  and  get  two-thirds  of  the  corn  and  three- 
fourths  of  the  cotton  ;  each  one  paying  the  expense  of  ginning  and  baling  on  his  share  of 
cotton.  Fort  Bend  :  Laborers  board  themselves,  owner  furnishing  everything  else,  and 
divide  equally.  Galveston  :  Planter  furnishing  team  and  implements,  laborers  furnish- 
ing their  own  board  and  feed  for  teams,  and  divide  the  crop  equally.  Hamilton  :  One- 
third  and  one-fourth  of  crops  to  the  owner.  Hardin  :  Landlord  finds  team  and  imple- 
ments, and  has  one-half  the  crop  ;  when  the  owner  finds  only  land,  he  gets  one-third  of 
the  corn  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton.  Hunt :  Whcu  owner  furnishes  teams  and  im- 
plements, the  crop  is  divided  equally  ;  when  this  is  not  done,  the  landlord  receives  one- 
third  of  the  corn,  &c.,  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton.  Houston :  Laborer  furnishing  team, 
board,  &c.,  the  proprietor  gets  one-third  of  the  corn  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton.  Mc- 
Lennan: Owner  furnishing  land  and  house,  (which  is  the  usual  way,)  receives  one- 
fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one-third  of  the  grain.  FarJcer :  All  cash.  Husk :  A  great 
majority  of  contracts  provide  that  the  planters  furnish  everything  and  take  one-half 
the  crops.  Titus  :  Landlord  furnishing  tools,  team  and  feed  for  team,  gets  one-half  of 
all  the  crop.  Travis  :  Fifty-five  per  cent,  of  laborers  furnish  team  and  tools,  and  re- 
ceive three-fourths  of  the  cotton  and  two-thirds  of  all  other  croi>s.  Williamson :  Ten- 
ants share  three-fourths  of  the  cotton  and  two-thirds  of  all  other  crops. 

Arkansas. — Crawford:  When  owner  furnishes  teams,  seed,  and  feed  for  team,  he  takes 
one-half  the  crop  ;  when  furnished  by  the  laborer,  he  gets  threo-fonrths  of  the  cotton 
and  two-thirds  of  all  other  crops.  Conway  :  One-fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one-third 
of  other  crops  to  the  landlord.  Crittenden  :  Owner  furnishes  everything  but  labor,  and 
the  crop  is  divided  equally.  Cross  :  Owner  receives  one-fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one- 
third  of  other  crops.    Dallas :   The  owner  furnishing  house,  fuel,  and  garden,  gets 


EEPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  135 

one-fonrth  of  tbe  crop,  and  when  he  furnishes  team  in  addition  he  gets  one-half  of 
crop.  Independence :  Usually  the  owner  gets  one-third  of  the  crop,  the  laborers  fur- 
nishing themselves,  or  one-half  when  owner  furnishes  team,  implements,  and  feed  for 
team.  Jefferson  :  Laborer  gets  one- third  of  the  cotton  and  one-fourth  of  other  crops, 
landlord  furnishing  everything  except  board.  A  great  many  hire  lands,  paying  from 
60  to  100  pouuds  liut-cotton  per  acre.  Johnson:  The  principal  contracts  now  are,  the 
owner  furnishes  the  land  only,  and  gets  one-fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one-third  of 
other  crops.  Prairie:  When  laborer  furnishes  everything  but  land,  he  gets  three- 
fourths  of  the  cottou  and  two-thirds  of  other  crops ;  when  landlord  furnishes  team  and 
implements,  one-half.  Saint  Francis :  Landlord  furnishing  team,  fuel,  and  tools,  gets 
one-half;  when  they  are  furnislied  by  laborer,  he  gets  one-third  of  the  cotton  and  one- 
fourth  of  the  corn.  Woodruff:  Owner  furnishing  teams,  tools,  &c.,  he  gets  one-half; 
laborers  furnishing  the  same  receive  three-fourths  of  the  crop. 

Tenxessee. — Bedford:  Landlord  furnishing  stock,  tools,  »&c.,  he  gets  two-thirds 
of  the  crop;  when  tenant  furnishes  the  same,  he  gets  two-thirds.  Bradley:  Owner 
finding  everything  gets  three-fourths  of  crop ;  laborer  finding  everything,  owner  re- 
ceives one-third.  Cannon:  Landlord  furnishing  everything  gets  two-thirds  of  the 
crop.  Decatur:  Landlord  finds  everything  and  gets  one-half.  j)tc7isoji ;  Landlord  fur- 
nishes stock,  implements,  and  feeds  stock,  gives  laborer  one-half.  On  very  productive 
land  the  laborer  gets  but  40  per  cent,  of  crop.  Gibson :  Laborer  receives  one-half  the 
crop  ;  employer  finding  stock,  implements,  and  feed  for  stock,  laborer  boarding  him- 
self; he  is  required  to  repair  fences,  get  up  the  fire- wood,  and  for  all  work  beyond  this 
he  is  allowed  additional  compensation.  Hardeman  :  Planter  furnishing  ration*,  team, 
feed  for  team,  and  tools,  gets  one-half  the  crop  ;  when  the  tenant  furnishes  the  same, 
he  gets  two-thirds  of  the  crop.  Henderson :  Owner  furnishing  everything  except 
board  receives  one-half  the  crop,  or  rents  for  one-third  of  the  corn  and  one-fonrth  of 
the  cotton.  Lincoln:  Owner  furnishing  everything  gets  one-half;  tenant  furnishing 
the  same  gets  two-thirds.  McNairy :  Laborer  furnishing  himself  entirely,  gets  two- 
thirds  of  the  corn  and  three-fourths  of  the  cotton.  Sevier ;  Laborer  hires  a  place,  he 
gets  two-thirds ;  on  bottom-lands,  one-half. 

Rations. — The  amount  and  cost  of  rations  are  variously  indicated  in 
the  following  extracts  from  correspondence : 

North  Carolina. — Hertford  :  Eations  worth  about  $5  per  month.  Jones :  Value  of 
rations,  80  cents  per  week.  Orange :  Amount  of  rations  per  hand  for  the  year,  15  bushels 
of  corn  and  225  pounds  of  bacon.  Person  :  Eations  for  the  year,  15  bushels  of  corn 
and  300  pounds  of  pork.  Yadkin  :  Eations  for  one  year,  150  pounds  bacon,  12  bushels 
of  corn,  with  garden  vegetables.    Value  from  |30  to  $40. 

Georgia. — Panics  :  Amount  of  rations  for  the  year,  200  pounds  bacon,  13  bushels  of 
meal.  Cobb  :  Eations  cost  per  year  from  $40  to  $50.  Dooly :  Eations  per  month,  14 
pounds  bacon,  1  bushel  of  meal,  and  1  gallon  of  sirup.  Elbert:  Eations  per  month,  1 
bushel  of  meal,  12  pouuds  bacon,  with  milk  and  vegetables.  Gwinnett:  Eations  esti- 
mated at  18J  cents  per  day.  Jackson  :  Each  hand  receives  12  pounds  of  bacon,  1 
bushel  meal,  and  1  gallon  molasses  per  month.  Macon :  Eations,  150  pounds  bacon 
and  12  bushels  meal  per  year.  Pike  :  Value  of  rations  about  $50  a  year.  Washington : 
Eations  per  month,  15  pounds  of  meat,  1  bushel  of  meal,  a  gallon  of  molasses,  pint  of 
vinegar,  1  pound  of  tobacco,  and  pepper  and  salt.  Whitfield  :  Value  of  rations  per  man, 
$60  per  year  ;  not  quite  so  much  for  women  and  youths. 

Florida. — Orange:  Eations  valued  at  $40  i)er  man  per  year.  Sumter-:  Price  of  ra- 
tions per  day,  18i  cents.  Suuannee  :  Eations  for  year,  25  bushels  of  corn,  150  pounds 
of  pork,  and  5  gallons  of  sirup.     Value,  $35. 

Alabama. — Calhoun:  Eations  worth  from  $3  to  $4  per  month.  Crenshaw:  Eations 
for  the  year,  150  pounds  bacon,  12  bushels  meal.  Geneva  :  Hands  that  work  for  wages 
are  fed  from  the  kitchen,  and  eat  what  the  employer  does.  Jackson:  Np  rations 
furnished  for  use  of  hands. 

Mississippi. — Amite  :  Amount  of  rations  for  each  laborer  is  $35.  Chickasaw  :  Eations 
for  one  hand  for  year,  12  bushels  corn,  worth  25  to  35  cents  per  bushel,  150  pounds  side 
meat.  They  generally  have  milk  and  vegetables  part  of  the  year.  Lowndes:  Eations, 
200  pouuds  of  meat,  10  cents  per  pound,  12  bushels  of  meal,  35  cents  per  bushel.  Ok- 
tibbeha :  Amount  of  rations,  200  pounds  meat,  13  bushels  of  meal  for  the  year.  Wash- 
ington :  Eations  cost  $4  per  month.  Amount  of  rations,  16  pounds  of  bacon,  IJ  bushels 
of  meal,  or  cquivaleut  in  flour,  salt,  and  sometimes  sugar  and  coffee.  Wayne  :  Amount 
of  i-ations  per  year,  12  bushek  of  corn,  200  pounds  bacon,  vegetables,  «fcc. 

Louisiana. — Caddo:  Value  of  rations,  $40.  Catahoula:  Amount  of  rations  for  year, 
13  bushels  of  meal,  1  barrel  of  pork,  6|  gallons  molasses.  Claiborne :  Value  of  rations 
for  year,  from  $50  to  $75.  Union :  Amount  of  rations  per  month,  20  pounds  bacon,  1 
bushel  corn-meal,  one-half  gallon  molasses. 

Texas. — Collin  :  Hands  generally  board  with  the  family.  McLennan :  Hands  usu- 
ally eat  from  the  same  kitchen  as  the  employer.  San  Saba :  Hands  board  with  the 
family.     Uvalde :  Rations  worth  $75  per  annum. 


136    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Tennessek. — Henderson :  Eatious  for  year,  15  bushels  corn,  G  bushels  •wheat,  300 
pounds  pork,  cofteo,  sugar,  &c.  Lawrence:  Rations  Avorth  at  least  $50  per  annum. 
Alaury  :  Rations  per  mouth,  20  pounds  bacon,  1  bushel  meal.  Madison  :  Rations,  200 
pounds  bacon,  12  bushels  meal. 

WHITE  LABOR  IN  COTTON-GROWING. 

It  was  formerly  an  opinion  that  obtained  quite  generally,  away  from 
the  cotton-fields,  that  the  climate  was  a  bar  to  any  extensive  use  of 
white  labor  in  this  industry.  It  is  now  as  generally  acknowledged  that 
labor  in  the  open  air  is  practicable  in  all  portions  of  the  South,  except, 
perhaps,  in  the  rice-fields  and  other  malarious  localities.  At  least  nine- 
tenths  of  the  area  of  the  cotton  States  consists  of  dry  and  salubrious 
uplands. 

There  has  also  been  some  cotton  cultivated  and  gathered  by  white 
labor.  There  is  perhaps  no  accurate  data  to  show  the  exact  proportion. 
It  was  always  small,  however.  While  labor  was  mainly  compulsory 
and  servile,  there  could  be  no  material  increase  in  the  proportion 
accredited  to  the  whites ;  the  incentives  of  high  prices  and  accumulated 
savings  were  apparently  powerless  in  opposition  to  the  pride  of  race  and 
the  power  of  caste.  Some  writers  have  assumed,  x)rior  to  the  change  of 
the  labor  system,  one-sixth  as  the  proi^ortion  of  white  laborers  in  the 
cotton -fields. 

The  proportion  has  been  increasing  for  the  last  ten  years,  until  now 
there  are  two  States,  according  to  the  reports  of  our  correspondents,  in 
which  the  larger  part  of  the  product  is  grown  by  whites.  Returns  from 
more  than  half  the  cotton  area  of  Texas  make  the  proportion  of  cotton 
grown  by  white  labor  five-eighths ;  and  data  representing  three-eighths 
of  the  Arkansas  area  establish  the  proportion  of  six-tenths.  In  every 
State  there  is  a  large  increase  of  white-labor  production.  While  the 
percentage  for  each  State  might  be  nearer  to  perfect  accuracy  if  the 
information  covered  every  acre  of  the  cotton  area,  the  actual  canvassing 
of  about  half  the  field,  ranging  in  each  State  from' three-eighths  to  five- 
eighths  of  its  area,  furnishes  the  best  attainable  means  of  estimating  the 
proportion  of  the  cotton-crop  grown  by  whites.  On  this  basis  the  pro- 
portions are,  CO  per  cent,  by  black  labor,  40  per  cent,  by  white.  The 
proportions,  by  States,  are  as  follows : 


States. 

Black. 

White. 

North  Carolina 

65 
68 
60 
7-2 
59 
68 
77 
38 
40 
59 

35 

South  CaroliDU, 

33 

Georgia 

34 

riorida .       . 

28 

Alabama 

41 

Mississippi 

3-2 

Loiiisiaiia .          .      ..              .       . 

23 

Texaa 

G-2 

Arkansas .  .   . 

60 

Teunesseo 

41 

The  proportion  of  white  cultivators  will  not  decrease.  As  population 
increases,  the  white  element  will  be  stronger  in  numbers ;  and  a  larger 
proportion  of  the  cotton  will  be  grown  by  small  proprietors,  while  the 
African  element  will  drift  into  menial  service  in  towns  and  in  manufact- 
uring and  mining  enterprises,  and  many  who  aspire  to  occupancy  of 
land  will  earn  only  a  precarious  existence.  Doubtless  there  will  be 
others  of  more  stable  and  persistent  character  who  will  acquire  a  com- 
fortable competency.    However,  large  the  class  may  ultimately  become, 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  137 

the  accretion  by  immigratiou  will  give  a  coustantly-iucreasiug  prepon- 
derauce  to  the  wliite  element.  As  the  negro  may  be  deemed,  in  a  rude 
sense,  a  skilled  laborer  in  tbe  cotton-field,  bis  services  should  be  retained 
there  by  a  wise  and  generous  policy  on  the  part  of  land-proprietors,  and 
the  value  of  his  labor  should  be  increased  by  augmenting  his  comforts, 
inspiring  a  desire  for  accumulation,  and  improving  his  mental  and 
moral  status.  He  may  be  made  a  useful  co-laborer  in  industrial 
advancement ;  or,  neglected  and  antagonized,  he  may  become  an  outcast 
and  a  nuisance. 

FREEDMEN  LAKD-OWNERS. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  the  freedman 
has  sought  to  provide  himself  with  a  home  of  his  own.  He  is  more 
inclined  to  seek  a  lot  and  house  in  a  town  or  village  than  to  settle  upon 
a  farm.  He  is  of  course  debarred  by  his  poverty,  as  a  rule,  from  assum- 
ing proprietorship  of  land.  There  is  public  laud,  at  a  low  price,  but 
not  in  the  vicinity  of  towns  or  in  the  fertile  cotton  districts.  So  far  as 
reported,  the  proportion  of  freedmen  occupying  their  own  land  is  4  per 
cent,  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama ;  between  4  and  5  in  North  Carolina 
and  Georgia;  5  in  South  Carolina  and  Texas;  between  5  and  6  in  Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana,  and  Arkansas ;  and  8  in  Florida.  The  average,  if  it 
fairly  represents  the  unreported  i^ortion  of  the  cotton  area,  indicates 
that  nineteen  out  of  twenty  have  no  homes.  In  some  counties  not  one 
in  a  hundred  owns  land.  Our  correspondent  in  Dooly  County,  Georgia, 
says:  "Having  been  census-taker  in  1870,  and  tax-receiver,  I  am  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  every  section  of  the  county,  and  there  are  but 
five  land-owners  in  the  county  out  of  a  voting  population  of  558."  In 
Catoosa,  Georgia,  only  one  in  eighty  owns  land.  In  Beaufort,  jSTorth 
Carolina,  one-third  own  the  tracts  on  which  they  live,  but  cultivate 
land  of  others.  Our  correspondent  in  Bibb,  Georgia,  says :  "  There  are 
3,000  negro  adults  in  Bibb  County ;  1,600  live  in  the  city  of  Macon,  1,400 
outside  of  the  city.  Of  those  living  in  the  city,  114  own  property  valued 
at  $95,000.  Of  those  living  outside,  250  live  in  the  suburbs,  who  are 
principally  mechanics  and  laborers,  and  make  a  living  by  working  either 
in  town  or  country,  but  greatly  prefer  to  take  their  chances  to  get  work 
in  town.  Necessity  alone  drives  them  in  the  country  during  the  busy 
season,  (cotton-picking  time,  &c.)  These  parties  own  small  places  con- 
taining from  two  to  four  acres,  and  as  a  general  rule  have  tolerably  good 
houses.  Their  property  aggregates  $100,000.  One  hundred  men  own 
and  cultivate  in  the  county  2,500  acres,  valued  at  $30,000.  The  farms 
range  in  size  from  5  to  50  acres.  About  8  per  cent,  of  the  freedmen  in 
the  county  own  laud."  Our  Chickasaw,  Mississippi,  correspondent 
says  :  "Not  3  per  cent,  of  the  uegro  laborers  own  the  land  they  culti- 
vate; many  more  have  bought  and  made  partial  i)ayments,  and  may  or 
may  not  pay  all.  A  much  larger  number  rent  land,  say  15  per  cent.; 
they  own  the  mules  or  horses  that  work  it,  and  cultivate  with  negro 
labor,  and  frequently  do  well.  Quite  a  number  get  broke  the  first  and 
second  years.    Those  who  work  on  shares  do  best." 

COST  AND  PRICE. 

It  is  not  practicable  to  obtain  the  exact  cost  of  production,  for  the 
reason  that  few  cultivators  keep  systematic  accounts.  It  is  perhaps 
easier  to  approximate  the  real  cost  of  cotton  than  of  other  products  of 
agriculture;  being  a  prominent  specialty,  sometimes  monopolizing  the 
resources  of  cultivation,  it  is  less  complicated  than  mixed  farming. 


138    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  price  obtaiiied  is  that  at  home  markets,  making  the  aggregate  value 
less  than  the  commercial  value  of  cotton  at  shipping  ports.  Our  corre- 
spondents have  promptly  responded  to  this  part  of  the  circular,  and 
their  returns  (in  districts  with  similar  conditions)  have  been  remarkably 
uniform,  but  of  course  less  so  as  to  cost  than  as  to  price.  The  State 
averages  are  as  follows,  in  cents  and  fractions  per  pound,  of  upland 
cotton : 

Cost.  P)*icc 

North  Carolina $0  09.3  $0  09.8 

South  Carolina 9.4  9.7 

Georgia 9,3  9.8 

Florida 8.7  9,2 

Alabama 9.9  10.1 

Mississippi 9.8  10.2 

Louisiana 9.7  10.2 

Texas 8  9,1 

Arkansas 9  9.9 

Tennessee 9  9,8 

This  gives  to  Texas  the  largest  proportion  of  profit,  or  11  mills  per 
pound;  Arkansas,  9;  Tennessee,  8;  the  others  2  to  5;  the  average 
slightly  exceeding  half  a  cent,  being  $2.00  per  average  bale;  making  the 
net  profit  to  the  cultivators  $11,500,000  in  round  numbers,  in  an  aggre- 
gate of  about  205,000,000.  This  is  within  a  fraction  of  6  per  cent,  of  the 
gross  receipts,  and,  if  assumed  to  be  substantially  correct,  is  too  small  a 
margin  for  a  good  season.  It  illustrates  the  necessity  of  increased 
returns.  How  shall  they  be  obtained?  By  increasing  the  yield  and 
diminishing  the  cost  of  supplies.  Both  ends  are  reached  by  a  single 
operation :  the  adoption  of  a  restorative  rotation,  which  involves  animal 
production  and  green  manuring,  a  cheapening  of  fertilizers  and  supplies 
for  man  and  beast,  a  partial  protection  of  the  soil  from  washing  and 
waste,  a  large  yield  at  a  small  cost,  and  increase  of  fertility  instead  of 
exhaustion. 

Alabama  reported  during  the  past  season  the  lowest  averages  of  con- 
dition, resulting  in  the  lowest  yield  per  acre.  It  now  returns  the 
smallest  margin  of  profit,  only  two  mills  per  pound.  In  South  Carolina, 
where  low  condition  also  prevailed,  the  net  profit  made  is  but  three 
mills. 

Some  correspondents  make  the  cost  per  pound  to  those  who  pay  high 
rates  of  interest  upon  indebtedness  for  high-priced  supplies  twice  as 
much  as  to  those  who  produce  their  own  supplies.  In  every  State  the 
cultivator  who  buys  least  saves  most,  according  to  universal  testimony. 
Those  who  make  cotton  a  surplus  product  are  getting  rich;  in  a  sense, 
the  crop  becomes  all  i^rofit. 

So  great  is  the  waste  attendant  upon  large  operations  on  a  credit  basis, 
and  involved  in  the  prevalent  irresponsible  management  under  the  share 
system,  that  the  counties  with  large  plantations  and  heavy  aggregate 
production  generally  give  the  smallest  net  profit.  In  Mississippi  the 
cost  per  j)ound  in  several  such  counties  averages  more  than  the  price 
received.  A  few  large  counties  in  Arkansas  make  the  cost  2  cents 
greater  than  the  price.  The  principal  districts  in  North  Carolina  aver- 
age 10  cents  for  cost  and  the  same  for  price.  The  districts  of  heaviest 
production  in  Texas  only  make  an  average  of  2  to  3  mills  net  profit, 
while  the  average  of  the  State  exceeds  1  cent.  In  Louisiana,  the  dis- 
tricts of  heavy  })roduction  make  a  better  showing,  yet  here  there  are 
some  of  the  largest  that  return  cost  higher  than  price. 

Here  is  convincing  proof  of  two  things :  the  superior  economy  of  small 


REPORT   OF    THE   STATISTICIAN.  189 

holdiugs,  and  the  wastefulness  of  the  share  system,  especially  with  large 
gangs  of  hands. 

INSTANCES  OF  LARGE  YIELDS. 

"With  cotton,  as  with  all  other  products,  instances  can  be  given  of 
yields  threefold  greater  than  the  average.  With  12  bushels  as  the 
general  average  i'or  wheat,  every  State  can  furnish  examples  of  30  to 
40  busliels;  so,  while  nearly  three  acres  are  required  to  produce  Qi 
bale  of  cotton,  if  results  arc  averaged,  the  individua^l  yields  may  vary 
from  100  pounds  of  lint  per  acre  to  500,  with  extremes  even  higher  and 
lower  than  these  figures.  It  is  a  disparity  having  many  causes,  among 
which  are  diflerent  degrees  of  natural  fertility,  the  use  of  fertilizers, 
modes  of  culture,  degree  of  attention  bestowed  upon  the  crop  at  all 
stages  of  growth,  meteorological  casualties,  and  insect  depredations. 
No  amount  of  skill  can  secure  equality  of  results  in  all  cases,  or  like 
results  by  individuals  in  the  operations  of  a  series  of  years ;  yet  the  best 
cultivators  suffer  a  smaller  i^roportion  of  loss  from  every  cause  of  depre- 
ciated yield  than  the  average  cultivator.  Examples  might  be  cited 
showing  these  differences  to  constitute  the  margin  between  success  and 
failure,  and  to  furnish  the  most  powerful  stimulus  to  persistent  effort 
and  increase  of  skill. 

An  extraordinary  result  upon  pine-wood  land,  with  high  fertilization, 
is  reported  from  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina :  "Mr.  Michael  Edger- 
ton,  on  five  acres,  average  low  grounds  pine- wood  land,  surface  dark 
loam,  with  clay  subsoil,  raised  15,100  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  He  put  in 
drills  400  pounds  Navassa  guano  to  the  acre,  and  broadcasted  75  loads 
of  barn-yard  manure  to  the  acre."  The  barn-yard  manure  he  estimates 
at  one-third  of  the  value  of  horse-manure.  This  is  90G  pounds  of  lint 
per  acre,  at  30  pounds  per  100,  which  is  a  low  yield  of  lint  for  such 
cotton ;  1,000  pounds  per  acre  would  probably  be  the  outcome,  or  two 
large  bales. 

In  response  to  inquiries  for  the  largest  known  local  yields,  with  a 
statement  of  the  area,  soil,  and  mode  of  culture,  facts  illustrating  the 
above-mentioned  views  are  given,  which  are  here  presented.  They  show 
that,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  the  largest  rates  of  yield  are  made  upon 
very  small  areas,  usually  10  to  20,  and  often  1  to  5  acres.  In  one 
instance,  in  Dallas  County^  Texas,  700  bales  are  reported  from  700  acres; 
in  Bossier  Parish,  Louisiana,  600  bales  from  480  acres,  and  in  Union 250 
from  200;  in  Murray,  Georgia,  400  pounds  of  lint  per  acre  on  100  acres; 
and  in  Nash,  North  Carolina,  300  pounds  per  acre  on  200  acres.  These 
are  marked  and  rare  exceptions.  A  bale  per  acre  on  a  very  few  acres  is 
frequently  reported  from  every  State.  In  Hyde,  North  Carolina,  two 
bales  per  acre  are  reported  on  two  acres.  A  boy  in  Texas  grew  six 
bales  on  four  acres.  In  North  Carolina,  25  bales  were  reported  on  25 
acres.  In  most  of  the  States  there  is  no  instance  given  of  a  bale  per 
acre  on  a  large  plantation.  In  many  counties  the  best  results  on  large 
farms  scarcely  exceed  half  a  bale,  and  in  some  it  is  denied  that  there  is 
a  farm  that  has  averaged  a  third  of  a  bale  the  past  year.  An  exami- 
nation in  detail  of  the  reports  of  best  results  will  indicate  the  variety  of 
instances  of  high  production. 

Virginia. — While  very  few  counties  iu  Virginia  grow  cotton,  there 
are  cases  of  large  yields.  Mr.  R.  M.  Griswold,  of  Binnnddie,  made  60 
bales  on  100  acres  uf  light  gray  soil,  fertilized.  It  is  cultivated  in  the 
usual  way,  with  three  hoeings  and  five  plowings. 

Mr.  William  H.  Jarrall,  of  Sussex,  made  15  bales  on  12  acres,  with  farm- 


140    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

yard  manure  and  a  small  amount  of  commercial  fertilizers.  It  cost  less 
than  8  cents  per  pound. 

XoRTH  Carolina.— The  largest  yield  noticed  is  20  bales  oa  25  acres 
in  Columhus  County. 

On  gray  cliincapiu  soil,  in  Gaston,  in  several  cases,  a  bale  per  acre 
has  been  made  by  high  manuring. 

In  Greene,  42  acres  manured  with  a  home-made  compost,  at  a  cost  of 
$3.50  per  acre,  produced  42,000  pounds  seed-cotton.  Cultivation,  $0.50 j 
profit,  $20. 

A  five-acre  field,  with  clay  subsoil,  in  Ilarnelt,  averaged  750  pounds 
of  lint,  giving  50  per  cent,  profit. 

In  Guilford,  best  yield  200  pounds. 

Our  correspondent  in  Hyde  reports,  from  2  acres  of  black  loam, 
stirred  with  plow  every  five  days,  a  yield  of  2  bales  per  acre. 

The  best  average  jn  Iredell  is  1,000  pounds  seed  per  acre  on  16J  acres 
of  loam  fertilized,  cultivated  with  a  sweep  and  hand  hoe. 

A  farm  in  Lenoir,  with  100  acres  in  cotton,  made  80  bales  of  500  pounds 
at  a  cost  of  $1,600.    Cotton  sales,  83,926. 

In  Lincoln,  a  small  patch  has  produced  1,500  pounds  seed  per  acre, 
planted  in  rows  3  feet  apart,  highly  fertilized,  and  kept  clean  throughout 
tbe  season. 

A  bale  per  acre  has  been  obtained  in  MecMetiburgh. 

A  neighbor  of  our  Hertford  correspondent  made  25  bales  of  475  pounds 
each  from  20  acres;  an  average  of  593  pounds  per  acre.  A  compost  of 
guano  and  cotton-seed  with  loam  was  used. 

In  the  gray  soil  of  the  pine-lands  of  Pitt,  several  small  farms  have 
averaged  a  bale  per  acre.  These  are  the  farms  that  produce  needed 
home  supplies. 

The  sandy  loams  of  Moore,  subsoiled  and  well  fertilized,  often  pro- 
duce a  bale  per  acre,  at  25  to  35  per  cent,  profit. 

A  large  farm  in  JVas/i  averaged  300  pounds  on  200  acres ;  a  yellow 
sandy  loam,  with  clay  subsoil,  fertilized  with  150  pounds  Peruvian  guano. 

The  best  crop  in  Orange  was,  on  gray  sandy  soil,  22  bales  for  35  acres. 

Nearly  a  bale  per  acre  on  100  acres  was  made  in  Pasquotanic ;  300 
pounds  deemed  a  good  result  on  the  best  farms. 

On  the  farm  of  Capt.  J.  J.  Davis,  our  Franldin  correspondent,  a  col- 
ored man,  with  good  ordinary  culture,  on  a  tract  of  gray  surface  and  red 
subsoil,  got  17  bales  of  425  pounds  on  16  acres,  and,  with  32  bushels  of 
corn  and  other  products,  cleared  $450. 

The  largest  yield  in  Duplin  is  40  bales  of  500  pounds  on  45  acres ; 
soil,  a  stiff  loam ;  fertilizers,  200  pounds  acid  phosphate ;  15  bushels 
cotton-seed  per  acre. 

In  Cumberland,  14  bales  on  15  acres  produced  a  profit  of  $500. 

In  Catatcba,  a  crop  of  250  pounds  per  acre  is  reported ;  fertilized  with 
a  bag  of  bone  dust  costing  $6. 

One  bale  per  acre  is  the  largest  yield  in  Choioan. 

Mr.  Thomas  H.  Blount,  of  Beaufort,  on  a  loam  with  clay  subsoil,  got 
54  bales  of  400  pounds  on  52  acres  at  a  cost  of  8^  cents  per  pound  j 
deep  preparatory  culture,  with  shallow  cultivation. 

One  bale  per  acre  is  the  best  result  in  Camden. 

Two-thirds  of  a  bale  per  acre  is  occasionally  obtained  in  Warren. 

In  Wayne,  an  average  of  450  pounds  has  been  obtained  by  Messrs.  J. 
T.  Pearson,  Michael  Egerton,  and  Joseph  Parks. 

In  Perquimans,  a  crop  of  30  bales  averaged  850  pounds  seed-cotton 
per  acre,  and  a  profit  of  $5. 

South  Carolina. — Barmvdl  reports  250  pounds  per  acre  on  150  acres, 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  141 

saudy  loam  vritU  clay  subsoil ;  more  heavily  manured  and  tlioroughly 
cultivated  than  usual.    No  profit  in  187G. 

In  the  red  soil  of  Chester,  500  pounds  lint  per  acre  were  made  at  a 
clear  profit  of  40  per  cent. 

On  125  acres  in  Colleton,  50  bales  were  made  on  sandy  laud,  and  sold 
for  11  cents  per  pound. 

Small  areas  in  Fairfield  produced  300  pounds  lint  per  acre. 

In  Georgetoicn,  two-.thirds  of  a  bale  per  acre  on  20  acres. 

One  acre  in  Horry  yielded  1,347  pounds  lint.  The  seed  planted  was 
the  "  Cheatham." 

In  Marion,  10  bales  were  grown  on  4  acres  by  a  man  who  does  his  own 
work  and  makes  his  own  supplies.  Cost  of  fertilizers  used,  $40  per 
acre. 

Our  correspondent  in  Marlborough,  Mr.  T.  C.  Weatherby,  made  5G 
bales  of  450  pounds  on  47  acres  li^dit  saudy  loam  on  stiff  red  clay  sub- 
soil. 

In  Kcichcmj,  a  planter  produced  400  pounds  lint  per  acre  on  gray 
sandy  soil,  manured  principally  with  acid  phosphate,  stable,  and  com- 
post manure.  Profit,  33  per  cent.  His  negro-croppers  got  106  bales 
from  120  acres.    Profits  of  the  farm,  $2,500. 

Georgia. — The  best  product  in  BrooJcs,  on  hummock-land,  broken 
deeply,  with  shallow  cultivation,  is  a  half-bale  to  the  acre. 

In  Catnphell,  the  yearly  application  of  home-made  manure  produces 
1,400  i)ounds  seed-cotton,  or  about  one  bale  per  acre. 

Mr.  J.  Eice,  in  Calhoun,  obtained  35  bales  from  65  acres,  fertilized  by 
chemicals  and  cotton-seed. 

A  freed  man  in  Catoosa  got  4=52  pounds  from  an  acre,  fertilized  with 
300  pounds  of  guano,  at  a  cost  for  production  of  5  cents  per  pound. 

In  Cobb,  the  best  farms  average  250  pounds  per  acre,  though  highly 
fertilized  patches  make  a  bale  per  acre. 

Five  acres  of  pine-land  in  Decatur,  with  stable-manure  and  200  pounds 
per  acre  of  Logan's  compound,  averaged  500  pounds  per  acre  of  lint. 

Thirty  acres  in  Early,  with  the  aid  of  3  tons  of  guano  and  200  bushels 
of  cotton-seed,  yielded  9,000  pounds  of  cotton.    . 

In  Elbert,  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  50  acres  of  gray 
sandy  loam,  after  subsoiling  and  thorough  preparation. 

Two  farmers  in  Emanuel  got  S  bales  from  8  acres  with  200  pounds 
per  acre  of  a  compost  containing  Bradley's  superphosphate  of  lime. 

A  farmer  in  Floyd,  on  Coosa  Eiver  bottoms,  realized  70,000  pounds  from 
200  acres,  or  350  pounds  per  acre. 

A  neighbor  of  our  Forsyth  correspondent  has  a  farm  of  820  acres, 
produced  35  bales  from  80  acres  of  "  mulatto  "  land,  and  realized  $600 
profit  on  his  farm  operations. 

The  crop  of  Mr.  J.  M.  Ambrose,  of  Gwinnett,  averages  300  pounds 
per  acre. 

Mr.  Eeubcn  M.  Mobley  is  said  to  have  made  the  best  crop  in  Karris— ~ 
o.bout  a  half-bale  per  acre — with  150  pounds  of  compost  made  of  raw  bone, 
plaster,  cotton-seed,  and  stable-manure. 

The  best  result  in  Heard  is  800  pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

The  best  yield  in  Hoiiston  is  250  i^ounds  lint. 

In  JacKSon,  half  a  bale  is  the  best  average. 

Our  Liberty  correspondent  refers  to  estimates  by  "  grangers  "  in  his 
county,  for  farms  of  10  to  20  acres,  of  500  to  600  pounds  of  ginned  cot- 
ton per  acre,  when  the  land  is  highly  manured. 

In  Lincoln,  the  best  average  for  a  farm  is  half  a  bale,  though  a  few 
patches  of  1  to  4  acres,  highly  fertilized,  have  yielded  a  bale  per  acre. 


142  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

A  two-horse  farm  in  Macon  yielded  22  bales  of  480  pounds  from  5Q 
acres,  or  very  nearly  190  pounds  per  acre.  Gross  proceeds,  $1,050,  with 
food  for  stock  and  food  for  a  family  of  seven  persons ;  expenses  for  fer- 
tilizers and  labor,  6G50. 

In  the  red  lands  of  3Iadison,  somewhat  reduced  in  fertility,  800  pounds 
seed  (210  lint)  is  an  average  yield  of  best  farms. 

Our  Marion  correspondent,  Mr.  Kemp,  claims,  for  an  acre  cultivated 
by  Mr.  B.  T.  Peacock,  with  fertilizers  costing  $10,  2,700  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton. 

A  farm  of  90  acres  (two  mules)  in  Meriicether  yielding  a  net  profit  of 
$500,  with  a  product  of  35  bales  of  cotton  and  200  bushels  of  corn. 

The  farm  said  to  be  the  best  equipped  and  most  profitable  in  Bihh 
County  is  that  of  Messrs.  A.  J.  Lane  and  J.  G.  Evans,  having  500  acres 
in  cultivation,  with  equal  areas  of  corn  and  cotton  and  50  acres  in  small 
grain  and  ''  truck  patches."  The  soil  is  a  red  loam,  its  natural  growth 
black-jack  and  pine ;  and  its  mode  of  culture  is  the  "  Dickson  plan." 
The  annual  product  is  150  to  175  bales  of  cotton  and  3,000  to  4,000 
bushels  of  corn. 

A  rather  uncommon  result  in  Milton  is  a  product  of  1,900  pounds  seed 
cotton  per  acre,  on  a  light,  gray  soil,  in  stubble  deeply  turned  under  in 
January,  with  200  pounds  superphosphate  in  bedding.  This  gave  $30 
per  acre. 

In  Mitchell,  the  best  iiverages  are  400  pounds  of  lint  per  acre,  5,000  to 
each  mule,  and  a  net  profit  of  $5r)er  acre. 

Col.  David  S.  Johnston,  of  Morgan,  gets  400  pounds  per  acre,  at  a  cost 
of  7  cents,  (sold  at  10,)  making  a  profit  of  $12  per  acre.  His  land  is  sandy 
clay,  originally  growing  oak  and  hickory,  fertilized  with  450  pounds 
compost  horse-manure  with  50  x)Ounds  acid  phosphate  and  300  of  cotton- 
seed. 

A  farmer  in  Murray  gets  400  pounds  per  acre  on  100  acres  of  black 
sandy  loam,  but  cannot  tell  what  profit  he  makes. 

The  greatest  yield  in  Fike  was  12  bales  on  18  acres,  graj'  surface  with 
mulatto  subsoil,  fertilized  with  100  pounds  compost  per  acre. 

Mr.  Lucius  Humber,  of  iSteicart,  got  84  bales  from  120  acres  creek- 
bottoms,  with  six  mules,  at  a  cost  of  6  cents  per  pound,  with  an  aggre- 
gate profit  of  $1,680. 

In  Talbot,  the  best  yields  are  250  pounds  per  acre. 

In  Taliaferro,  the  best  yield  reported  is  105  bales  on  300  acres.  Profit, 
$450.  Mr.  Aretus  Turner,  from  50  acres  of  ordinary  upland,  got  13,390 
Ijounds,  and  a  profit  of  25  per  cent. 

In  Jefferson,  70  bales  on  140  acres,  fertilized,  with  common  culture. 

In  Wilcox,  340  pounds  per  acre  on  20  acres. 

The  largest  yield  in  Whitfield  is  1,500  pounds  seed  per  acre,  without 
fertilizers. 

From  45  acres  in  Walton  40  bales  were  obtained. 

Small  lots  in  Thomas  have  yielded  a  bale  per  acre,  at  great  expense 
for  fertilizers  and  cultivation.    Similar  results  are  returned  from  Terrell. 

With  three  plows,  52  bales  were  produced  on  75  acres  of  pine-land  in 
Baker  by  the  Dickson  mode. 

Florida. — In  Clay  County,  4  bales  to  8  acres  is  the  largest  yield  on 
sandy  soil  with  clay  subsoil. 

In  Gadsden,  instances  are  reported'of  500  pounds  of  lint  per  acre  with 
liberal  home-lnade  manure  and  ordinary  culture. 

In  Hernando,  Mr.  John  B.  Gould,  white,  with  labor  of  his  own  family, 
made  1,200  pounds  seed  per  acre  on  5  acres  sandy  upland,  manured  by 


REPORT    OP    THE    STATISTICIAN.  143 

penniDg  cattle  on  ground.  Price,  5  cents  in  seed  or  22^  cents  lint,  sea- 
island  cotton. 

One  farmer  in  Jackson' mnAe  62  bales  cotton  and  300  bushels  corn  on 
100  acres  hummock-land,  highly  improved  by  horse  and  cow-manure  for 
years. 

Mr.  T.  F.  Johnson,  of  Jefferson,  with  labor  of  self  and  son,  produced 
12  bales  cotton  and  200  bushels  corn,  with  fodder,  potatoes,  sirup,  and 
other  supplies. 

There  are  a  few  cases  in  Madison  of  450  pounds  lint  per  acre  on  new 
or  fertilized  land. 

The  best  results  in  La  Fayette  are  500  pounds  seed-cotton  for  long 
staple,  1,000  pound  for  short  staple,  per  acre. 

In  Suicannce,  500  short  and  300  long  staple  have  been  obtained. 

Alabama. — In  Bulloclc,  an  instance  is  reported  of  8  bales  on  10  acres, 
with  90  bushels  of  corn  planted  in  alternate  rows  of  If  acres  of  the  same, 
manured  with  washings  from  stock-yards.    Profits,  $268. 

The  largest  yield  in  Butler  was  300  pounds  lint  per  acre  on  40  acres, 
sandy  loam,  ordinary  culture. 

In  Calhoun,  a  bale  per  acre  on  small  lots,  with  extra  pains,  has  been 
obtained.  In  one  instance,  17  bales  to  30  acres.  In  common  culture, 
an  average  crop  is  a  bale  to  3A  acres. 

Mr.  W.  D.  Tomlinson,  in  Conecuh,  had  800  pounds  seed-cotton  (275 
Xjounds  lint)  on  one-quarter  acre  sandy  loam. 

Mr.  Everett  Davis,  in  Crenshaw,  got  2,400  pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre 
on  4  or  5  acres  rich  bottom,  without  manure. 

A  bale  of  500  pounds  on  an  acre  of  black  loam  was  made  in  Dade. 

The  largest  crop  in  De  Kalb  was  800  to  1,000  pounds  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  with  Pacific  guano  and  stable-manure ;  usual  culture. 

A  farmer  in  Elmore  got  5J  bales  on  11  acres  river-bottom,  with  ordi- 
nary culture. 

In  Etowali,  500  lint  is  frequent  on  small  areas,  1  to  5  acres,  with  barn- 
yard and  commercial  manures. 

In  Geneva,  a  bale  (500  pounds)  per  acre  has  been  produced  on  pine  land 
well  manured.    The  average  is  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  a  bale. 

A  very  few  farms  in  Henry  average  1  to  2  bales  per  acre. 

In  one  instance,  in  Jcferson,  1,500  pounds  lint  per  acre  on  5  acres 
black  land  with  red  clay  subsoil,  manured  with  gypsum  and  barn-yard 
manure. 

In  Lauderdale,  in  1876,  a  few  small  farms  produced  1,400  pounds  seed- 
cotton  per  acre,  thoroughly  prepared  and  highly  manured  with  barn-yard 
and  leached  ashes.    Net  profit,  $25  per  acre. 

In  Limestone,  1  bale  on  2  acres. 

Instances  in  Monroe  of  700  pounds  (seed)  per  acre  are  given. 

The  best  yield  per  acre  on  upland  sandy  soil,  manured  with  1  ton 
barn-yard,  and  cultivated  in  ordinary  way,  in  Morgan,  Is  1,340  pounds 
of  seed-cotton. 

Nearly  a  bale  per  acre  on  a  few  acres  has  been  realized  in  Perry,  but 
300  pounds  seed  is  above  the  usual  average. 

In  Saint  Clair,  1  bale  per  acre  is  sometimes  grown  on  small  lots  of  5 
or  6  acres,  one-half  bale  per  acre  on  two  farms  with  100  acres  each  in 
cotton. 

The  best  yield  in  Walker  is  60  bales  on  125  acres  sandy  soil ;  usual 
culture. 

Mississippi. — Alcorn,  13  bales  on  25  acres. 

A  few  small  farms  in  Amite  yield  600  pounds  lint  per  acre  j  soil  well 
prepared  and  liberally  fertilized. 


144    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

On  tbo  best  creek-bottoms  in  Carroll  three-quarters  to  1  bale  per  acre. 

In  Choctaic,  800  pounds  seed,  with  clean  culture,  may  be  obtained. 

A  small  farmer  in  CMckasaio  sometimes  makes  "by  accident"  1,500 
pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre ;  but  few  largo  farms  make  a  very  close 
approximation  to  that  figure. 

One  bale  per  acre  on  a  few  acres  is  made  in  Copiah. 

One  acre  fresh  sandy  pine-land  in  Covington^  fertilized  with  stable- 
manure,  realized  S55 ;  cost  of  manuring  and  cultivating,  $10 ;  gathering, 
08  ;  hauling  to  gin,  $3  ;  to  market,  $5 ;  total,  $20  j  net  gain,  $29. 

A  farm  in  Be  Soto  yielded  37  bags  on  40  acres,  at  a  cost  of  5 J  cents 
per  pound. 

In  Franldin,  120  bales  on  225  acres  black  sandy  soil. 

In  Grenada^  18  bales  on  30  acres,  common  culture. 

In  Attala^  the  best  result  is  180  pounds  per  acre  on  8  acres. 

One  bale  per  acre  on  small  farms  is  sometimes  got  in  Jefferson. 

A  farm  in  Laicrence,  but  not  one  producing  the  best  results,  yielded  ' 
1,300  pounds  lint  per  acre  on  8  acres  common  soil,  giving  a  profit  of  $10 
per  acre. 

In  one  instance  in  Lincoln  there  was  a  yield  of  1,000  pounds  seed-cot- 
ton per  acre  on  creek-bottom  three  years  in  culture. 

Our  correspondent  in  Newton  knows  no  man  who  has  made  1  bale  to 
3  acres,  and  not  a  man  who  is  making  any  profit. 

In  NesJioha,  a  yield  of  2,500  pounds  seed  per  acre  is  reported  on  ono 
small  farm  ;  fine  sandy  soil ;  cultivated  with  plow  and  hoe. 

A  farmer  in  QTctihhelia  got  100  bales  on  200  acres  stiff  black  hummock 
with  common  culture. 

In  Ferry ^  1,000  pounds  seed  per  acre  may  easily  be  obtained  in  black 
sandy  loam,  with  good  preparation,  well  stirred  with  cultivator.  One 
hand  will  tend  15  acres  cotton ;  5  in  corn  and  pease ;  2  in  potatoes  and 
rice  ;  1  in  sugar-cane  and  sorghum. 

Louisiana. — Mr.  Isaac  A.  Dillard,  in  Bossier,  got  600  bales  on  480 
acres  in  1875.  He  had  500  bales  in  187G.  One  tenant  got  30  bales  on 
20  acres.    Clear  profit,  $15,000. 

Some  of  the  river-farms  in  Caddo  produced  500  pounds  lint  per  acre. 

In  Claiborne,  the  highest  result  on  best  lands  is  1,000  pounds  seed-cot- 
ton per  acre. 

In  Concordia,  400  pounds  lint  and  sometimes  li  and  2  bales  per  acre 
are  realized.  If  overflows  could  be  stopped,  the  parish  would  be  a 
garden. 

In  Cameron,  1  bale  to  1^  per  acre,  with  ordinary  culture,  is  not  un- 
common. 

On  tAvo  farms  in  Bast  Baton  Bouge,  li  bales  per  acre  on  8  or  10  acres 
were  obtained  on  each,  on  excellent  soil,  with  ordinary  culture. 

Some  farmers  in  Grant  make  1,200  pounds  seed-cotton  on  hill-land. 
The  average  is  about  500  pounds. 

In  La  Fayette,  9  bales  of  450  pounds  on  9  acres  black  loam,  ordinary 
mode  but  more  careful  culture. 

A  farm  in  Union  produced  250  bales  on  200  acres  j  product,  $15,000; 
expenses,  $12,000. 

Texas. — In  Anderson,  200  bales  were  made  on  500  acres  dark  sandy 
loam,  cultivated  mainly  by  blacks,  whose  labor  cannot  be  intelligently 
controlled. 

In  Angelina,  a  farm  owned  in  New  Orleans,  and  rented  to  different 
parties,  made  the  best  yield.  A  boy  of  12  years  made  C  bales  on  4  acres 
and  another  5  on  4  acres. 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  145 

In  Blanco,  one-half  bale  per  acre  was  made  on  40  acres  stiff  black 
soil  well  cultivated. 

In  Brazoria,  500  pounds  lint  is  claimed  to  be  a  fair  yield ;  750  or  more 
often  produced. 

In  Burleson,  1^  bales  per  acre  are  claimed  on  rich  alluvial  bottoms  of 
the  Brazos,  bedded  in  fall  and  again  in  spring. 

Average  in  Cass  one-half  bale  per  acre. 

A  place  in  Chambers  produced  15  bales  (500  pounds)  on  14  acres  black 
stiff  soil. 

In  CheroJcee,  a  case  is  reported  of  115  bales  (500  pounds)  on  250  acres; 
soil,  one-third  dark  mulatto,  one-third  stiff  red,  one-third  gray  sand  j 
profit,  8  per  cent,  on  cost. 

In  Collin,  a  yield  is  reported  of  500  pounds  lint  on  a  few  acres  j  common 
soil,  but  superior  culture. 

In  Colorado,  500  pounds  of  lint  per  acre  can  be  made  on  best  bottom  by 
two  applications  of  "dead-shot"  worm-poison,  but  owing  to  ravages  of 
worm  250  pounds  of  lint  is  an  average. 

The  largest  farm  in  Coryell  is  500  acres,  river-bottom.  It  yielded  half 
a  bale  per  acre. 

Mr.  William  Caruth,  of  Dallas,  cultivated  700  acres,  black  waxy  soil, 
broken  deep  in  fall,  planted  early  in  April,  kept  clean  by  hoe  and  plow ; 
got  700  bales.    Profit,  $10  per  acre. 

In  Denton,  many  farms  of  sandy  land  make  one  bale  per  acre. 

On  the  Brazos  bottoms,  in  Falls,  one  bale  per  acre  was  made  on  150 
acres  light  loamy  soil.    Profit,  $10  per  acre. 

On  a  farm  in  Fayette,  one  bale  per  acre  was  obtained  on  timbered  allu- 
vial soil  plowed  often. 

A  large  farm  in  Gonzales  produced  150  pounds  per  acre  on  300  acres 
sandy  loam ;  ordinary  culture.    Profit,  $1,800. 

In  Grayson,  the  best  result  is  1^  bales  per  acre. 

In  one  instance  in  Hardin  1  bale  per  acre  was  realized  on  14  acres 
black  sandy  soil. 

In  Henderson,  one  farm  produced  100  bales  on  100  acres,  cultivated 
with  sweeps  every  10  days  moderately  deep. 

The  largest  yield  in  JacTc  is  one  bale  per  acre,  sandy  loam. 

In  Jasper,  1^  bales  per  acre  can  be  grown  with  ordinary  culture. 

On  a  few  places  in  Kerr,  seven-eighths  of  a  bale  per  acre  on  experi- 
mental patches  has  been  made. 

In  Liberty,  one  bale  per  acre  can  be  made  on  black  sandy  land  with 
improved  seed. 

Mr.  F.  J.  Nally  cultivated  20  acres  on  the  Brazos  bottoms  in  McLen- 
nan, and  gathered  13,000  pounds  of  lint.  Two  hands  cultivated  the  cot- 
ton and  supplies  of  other  crops.  Cost,  including  $7  per  acre  rent,  8 
cents  per  pound.  Other  larger  farms  made  over  500  pounds  of  lint  per 
acre. 

A  farm  in  Palo  Pinto  made  1^  bales  per  acre  on  75  acres ;  $2,000 
clear. 

The  largest  yield  in  Parher  is  2,000  pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

Two  farms  under  control  of  our  correspondent  in  Robertson,  Mr.  H.  D. 
Pendergast,  each  of  100  acres,  in  cotton,  averaged  a  bale  per  acre.  One 
was  leased  by  a  white  man,  the  other  by  a  negro. 

Mr.  H.  Maxwell,  of  San  Saba,  grew  12i  bales  (500  pounds)  on  7  acres, 
with  ordinary  culture,  but  with  irrigation. 

'    The  most  profitable  farm  in  Smith  County  is  that  of  G.  S.  Gilchrist, 
producing  93  l^ales  on  220  acres  red  soil,  190  acres  in  corn,  110  in  small 
grains.    Ket  profits  on  seven  hands,  share  system,  $000  j    on  three 
10  a 


146         EEPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

hands,  renting,  $337.75 ;  on  three  hands,  (two  at  $12.50  and  one  at 
$10  per  month,)  under  control  of  land-owner,  $1,202.    Total,  $2,199.75. 

In  Tittis,  26  bales  were  made  on  35  acres,  on  a  sandy  loam  bottom, 
bedded  early  in  March,  subsoiled  and  rebedded,  seed  sown  in  drill,  har- 
rowed as  soon  as  up ;  in  10  days  cultivated  lightly  with  sweep  and  hilled 
up;  again  in  12  days  with  sweep,  then  close  and  deep  with  bull-tongue; 
then  chop  to  stand,  and  sweep  till  July  20. 

Several  farms  in  Tyler  have  averaged  1  bale  per  acre  on  10  to  50 
acres,  black  land  and  creek-bottom,  broken  six  inches  deep  and  care- 
fully worked  with  plow  and  hoo.    The  usual  style  is  very  slovenly. 

The  largest  yield  in  Upshur  was  1,000  pounds  seed  per  acre  on  22 
acres  deep  sandy  loam.  "It  costs  less  to  raise  cotton  at  1^  acres  per  bale 
than  2f-  acres  per  bale." 

In  Uvalde,  300  pounds  lint  per  acre  may  be  realized  on  black  sandy 
loam,  with  flat  beds,  and  thorough  and  late  culture  by  irrigation. 

The  best  crop  made  in  Wilson  was  a  little  more  than  three-quarters 
of  a  bale  per  acre. 

Arkansas. — In  Oaldand,  750  pounds  lint  per  acre  on  30  acres  rich 
bottom,  usual  culture,  and  30  per  cent,  of  whole  crop  lost  by  bad  weather. 

In  Boone,  a  farm  produced  1 ,000  pounds  seed  per  acre  on  80  acres  of 
light  sandy  loam. 

The  largest  yield  in  Craigliead  was  1,500  pounds  per  acre  on  150  acres 
dark  sandy  bottom,  with  usual  culture. 

Our  Crawford  correspondent,  Dr.  L.  C.  White,  made  three-fourths  of  a 
bale  per  acre  on  20  acres  creek-bottom,  sandy  loam,  cultivated  with 
turning-plow,  cultivator,  and  hoe. 

Our  correspondent  in  Conway,  Mr.  K.  W.  Moore,  made  CO  bales  on  90 
acres  in  1876,  and  in  1875  a  bale  per  acre.  Another  farm  produced 
1,000  pounds  seed-cotton. 

A  few  single  acres  in  Fulton  yield  2,000  pounds  seed-cotton,  and  sev- 
eral instances  are  reported  of  1,500  pounds  per  acre  on  5  acres ;  soil 
virgin,  semi-prairie  or  upland. 

A  farm  in  Grant,  produced  1  bale  per  acre  on  18  acres  of  sandy  loam, 
creek-bottom,  with  ordinary  culture. 

In  Independence,  1,200  pounds  seed-cotton  can  be  obtained  on  1  acre 
upland  black  soil,  known  as  "  manganese  land,"  by  the  usual  mode,  but 
with  more  thorough  cultivation. 

Any  of  the  bottom-land  farms  of  Jefferson,  if  well  cultivated,  will 
yield  a  bale  per  acre. 

In  3Iississsi]}X}i  County,  the  largest  yield  indicated  is  1^  bales  per  acre, 
on  sandy  loam,  with  some  black  or  buckshot  land. 

Mr.  George  F.  Eoselle,  in  Perry,  made  400  bales  on  1,000  acres  best 
river-bottom. 

The  largest  yield  in  Saint  Francis  is  estimated  at  300  pounds  lint  per 
acre  on  dark  loam  with  very  little  sand. 

Alarm  in  /S'coW produced  500  bales,  or  75,000  pounds  seed-cotton,  on  95 
acres  loam. 

One  man  in  Sevier  made  7  bales  on  12  acres  of  sandy  land. 

Tennessee. — In  Hardeman,  13  bales  (500  pounds)  were  made  on  18 
acres. 

A  field  of  50  acres  in  Henderson  yielded  250  pounds  lint  per  acre, 
black  sandy  bottom,  fertilized  with  stable-manure.  Profits,  4  cents  per 
pound. 

The  largest  yield  in  Lauderdale  is  500  pounds  lint  per  acre. 

Mr.  Samuel  Ozier,  in  Madison,  got  60  bales  from  120  acres.  He  also 
had  70  acres  in  corn,  1,750 bushels;  120  in  wheat,  oats,  and  grass;  and 


BEPORT   OP   THE   STATISTICUN.  147 

210  bushels  wheat,  150  of  oats,  10  tons  hay ;  cured  7,000  pounds  pork ; 
kept  75  head  stock-hogs,  besides  cattle ;  and  cleared  $1,600. 

In  one  instance  in  Maury,  1,250  pounds  seed-cotton  were  made.  The 
seed  was  rolled  in  laud-plaster  (50  pounds  per  acre)  and  40  pounds  more 
applied  as  top-dressing  when  the  plant  was  one  foot  high.  It  matured 
three  weeks  earlier  than  cotton  on  same  soil  not  plastered,  which  yielded 
only  300  pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

In  McNairy,  there  is  a  product  of  1,000  pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre 
on  10  acres  sandy  upland,  manured  with  stable  and  lot  manure ;  usual 
culture. 

Missouri. — Our  correspondent  in  New  Madrid,  Mr.  0.  C.  Thomas, 
made  in  1872  1,C00  pounds  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

In  Scott,  30  bales  were  last  year  made  on  40  acres. 

VARIETIES  OP  SEED. 

There  is  deterioration  of  seed  in  unfavorable  conditions  and  unsuit- 
able soils  quite  as  marked  in  cotton  as  in  other  plants.  Careless  cult- 
ure is  the  prolific  cause  of  deterioratiou  in  the  vitality  and  value  of 
every  plant  grown  by  the  farmer  as  a  crop.  Favorable  conditions  as 
surely  secure  improvement  in  seed  as  improper  culture  causes  deterio- 
ration. So  surely  does  like  produce  like,  that  it  is  always  unsafe  to  pro- 
cure seed  for  planting  from  a  careless  cultivator,  and  profitable  to  select 
it  from  the  gin-house  of  a  successful  cotton-grower. 

So  well  known  is  this  principle  of  vegetable  l^hysiology  that  the 
quest  for  the  best  seed  has  ever  been  lively  and  general  among  intelli- 
gent cultivators.  With  an  active  demand,  the  commercial  instinct  is 
invoked  for  a  supply,  selfishness  readily  leads  to  exaggeration,  greed 
sometimes  oversteps  boundaries  of  fair  dealing,  and  then  the  doubting 
or  suspicious  boldly  declare  all  assumptions  of  improvement  shams  and 
frauds.  Thus,  some  of  our  correspondents  say,  "  One  seed  is  as  good 
as  another."  The  truth  lies  between  these  extremes.  There  is  great 
advantage  in  a  judicious  choice  of  seed.  There  is  no  sort  so  immeasur- 
ably superior  as  to  commaad  the  preference  uniformly  of  a  majority  of 
cultivators  in  all  States.  It  is  probable  that  several  kinds  may  each 
have  a  locality  and  soil  in  which  they  have  been  developed  and  to  which 
they  are  best  suited.  When  a  correspondent  asserts,  as  in  Washington, 
Mississippi,  that  "  it  is  susceptible  of  proof  that  all  the  cotton  in  this 
county  is  dwarfing,"  it  is  evident  that  either  the  seed  or  the  style  of 
culture  should  be  changed.  Some  correspondents  in  Arkansas  reibr  to 
the  practice,  which  has  become  a  necessity,  of  obtaining  fresh  seed  every 
few  years  from  that  prolific  cotton  region,  the  bottoms  of  the  Arkansas. 

A  careful  consideration  of  the  change  of  seed  is  therefore  one  of  the 
first  requisites  of  wise  and  skillful  cultivation.  But  credulity  should 
never  usurp  the  place  of  belief  in  seed  improvement,  and  enthusiasm 
never  be  allowed  to  run  away  with  judgment. 

Among  the  named  sorts  of  general  distribution,  the  Dickson,  Peeler, 
Cheatham,  Boyd's  Prolific,  Simpson,  and  Petit  Gulf  are  prominent.  The 
Johnston  is  found  less  generally  east  than  west  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
Hurlong  is  frequently  a  preferred  seed  from  Alabama  to  Texas.  In 
Texas,  a  sort  spelled  Shupeck,  Schupach,  and  in  more  ingenious  ways,  is 
very  generally  commended.  In  Alabama  and  Georgia,  many  prefer  a  seed 
called  Eamases.  In  the  West,  there  is  a  fancy  seed  known  as  "Taylor's 
Silk,"  and  another  called  "Matagorda  Silk,"  which  are  occasionally  com- 
mended. The  Java  Prolific  is  mentioned  in  Arkansas  and  elsewhere. 
The  South  American  Champion  and  many  other  kindsj  with  some  names 


148  KEPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

evidently  synonyms  of  some  already  mentioned,  are  also  given  as  lo- 
cally ne-^v-fourid  seeds. 

The  Dickson  has  by  far  the  most  general  and  positive  preference, 
though  some  express  tlieir  want  of  faith  in  its  superiority.  It  is  usually 
reported  a  very  prolific  cotton,  with  a  strong  fiber  of  good  medium 
length.  Its  originator  is  one  of  the  very  foremost  planters  of  the  South 
for  uniformly  large  yield  ;  and  the  habit  established  by  generous  fertil- 
ization and  thorough  culture  continues  its  potent  influence  in  all  sec- 
tions and  soils,  just  as  thoroughbreds  among  animals  exhibit  remarka- 
ble constancy  of  type  in  their  offspring.  The  Peeler  is  a  cotton  of  great 
length  and  fineness  of  staple,  but  prolificacy  is  not  so  confidently  as- 
serted of  it.  The  Cheatham  is  very  highly  commended  by  some,  while 
others  sneeringly  assert  that  its  name  is  indicative  of  its  quality.  As 
in  most  products  of  the  farm  or  orchard  elsewhere,  productiveness,  quan- 
tity, outweighs  quality  in  preference  for  varieties  of  cotton. 

INCREASE   OF  AREA  IN  SUPPLY  PRODUCTS. 

From  the  mass  of  correspondence  asserting  a  tendency  to  greater 
variety  of  crops,  especially  such  as  are  needed  for  subsistence,  the  fol- 
lowing illustrative  notes  are  appended : 

North  Carolixa. — Nasli :  Increase  tlie  past  year.  Farmers  commence  1877  with 
more  corn,  oats,  fodder,  pork,  &c.,  than. for  eight  years.  Profits  are  increased  in  pro- 
portiou  as  they  raise  thpir  supplies;  fewer  "crop  liena"  than  in  187G.  Pasquotank: 
Increase  in  all  iield-crops,  and  a  large  increase  in  beef  and  pork,  very  much  to  profit  of 
producer,  Duplin :  Increase  in  all,  especially  in  small  grains,  particularly  winter  oats. 
Pork  crop  25  per  cent,  larger  than  since  1865.  No  farmer  prospers  who  does  not  pro- 
dnco  his  supplies.  Most  have  plenty  of  meat.  Pitt :  Growing  tendency  to  raise  home 
supplies.  Wheat  growing  in  favor.  But  for  cholera  for  two  years  ample  supply  of 
pork  would  have  been  cured.  Cuniberland :  Decided  increase  in  all,  to  great  satisfac- 
tion of  producers.  Chowan :  Much  increase  in  corn,  fodder,  pease,  and  oats.  Cataicia : 
Increase  in  all,  and  a  decrease  in  price  from  money  stringency  and  not  from  overpro- 
duction. Camden :  All  farmers  raise  their  supplies  and  a  surplus  of  com,  ])ork,  and 
potatoes.  Beaufort :  Great  increase  in  all.  Six  years  ago  thousands  of  bales  of  hay 
v/ere  imported  from  the  North,  now  none.  Pork  imports  decreased  50  per  cent.  Seed- 
oats,  all  imported  formerly ;  now  many  have  them  for  sale.  Abundance  of  beef  at  5 
cents  per  pound  dressed.  The  increase  of  home  supplies  has  saved  us  from  ruin. 
Rutherford :  Abundance  of  all.  The  difficulty  is  to  find  market  for  surplus,  having  no 
railroads.  Warren:  Considerable  increase  in  grain  and  forage,  some  in  beef;  would  be 
in  pork  but  for  cholera.  Credit  and  mortgage  system  generally  abandoned,  and  the 
rigid  economy  necessitated  by  a  cash  basis  working  good  to  planters.  JVihjon :  Yes, 
with  a  decrease  of  expenses  and  increase  of  profit.     Yancey  :  At  a  stand-still. 

South  Carolina. — Marion:  Yes;  Home  demand  not  yet  supplied,  but  those  pros- 
per most  who  produce  supplies  for  sale.  Marlborough :  Wonderful  change ;  with  low 
prices  of  cotton,  will  soon  make  enough  to  feed  all  our  people ;  corn,  oats,  wheat,  pease, 
(fee,  plenty,  and  sheep,  hogs,  «fcc.,  increasing.  Spartanhirgh :  No  increase.  Flour  and 
bacon  coming  in  by  tbe  car-load  from  other  States.  Union :  Yes,  beyoiid  question. 
Less  cotton  ;  home  supplies  varied,  with  continual  improvement  in  condition  of  far- 
mers. Barnwell :  Real  but  not  great  increase  since  1870.  Clear  profit,  as  it  is  not  at 
the  expense  of  the  cotton-crop.  Colleton:  Increase  considerable  in  corn,  oats,  pease, 
and  fodder;  not  much  iu  pork  and  beef.  Edgefield:  Marked  increase  in  cerals,  espe- 
cially oats,  which  has  reduced  expense  of  raising  cotton  fully''25  per  cent.  Fairfield : 
Considerable  in  corn  and  oats  and  some  in  other  grains,  with  profit  to  those  who  raise 
enough  for  home  use.  Pork  v/ill  not  grow  without  a  fenctflaw,  not  to  mention  thieves. 
Rorry :  Twenty-five  per  cent,  increase  in  product  of  corn  in  past  ten  years,  and  50  per 
cent,  in  cotton  by  improved  culture.  Georgetown  ;  Not  10  per  cent,  of  ijrovisions  raised 
iu  county.  Live  stock  decimated  by  disease  and  outlawry ;  labor  stagnant,  and  1,1)00 
acres  rice-land  idle  which  was  planted  last  year.  Greenville;  Little  increase  as  yet, 
but  a  general  determination  that  there  shall  be.  All  agree  that  it  will  increase  the 
])  ot'its  of  the  farm. 

Gkorgia. — Baler:  General  increase  of  provision-crops.  No  dividends  where  such 
increase  has  not  been  made.  Bartow :  Two  hundred  to  three  hundred  per  cent,  increase. 
Less  money  made,  but  less  needed,  and  greater  independence.  Hard  blow  on  mer- 
chants.   Bihb ;  Fully  25  per  cent,  increase  and  circumstances  much  easier,  requiring 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN.  149 

little  aid  from  factors  ami  other  outsiders.  Camden  :  In  corn,  oats,  and  beef,  with 
Leuefit  to  producer.  CanqiicU:  General  increase,  csi:)ccially  iu  sorghum.  A  firm  con- 
•viction  that  it  ia  cheaper  to  raise  supplies  at  homo.  Calhoun :  Some  increase.  Those 
■who  produce  home  supplies  are  more  independent.  Catoosa  :  Very  perceptible,  with 
greater  independence  rather  than  much  laouey-profit  these  hard  times.  The  increase  of 
manure  and  improvement  of  land  from  poa-crop  a  substantial  beneiit.  Carroll :  Largest 
crop  of  cereals  last  year  ever  ma,do,  and  bringing  only  half  usual  price.  ■Clayton :  Those 
prosper  best  who  raise  their  own  supplies.  Coffee:  For  tlireo  or  four  years  past  less 
cotton  and  more  corn,  oats,  and  pork.  Seldom  buy  western  corn  and  bacon  now. 
Decatur:  Much  increase  in  corn  and  oats.  Chufa  being  rapidly  introduced.  Many 
hogs  raised,  but  beef  scarcer  and  higher  priced.  Dooly:  Considerable.  Can  be  pro- 
duced as  cheaply  hero  as  in  the  West,  saving  freights.  Elbert:  Increase  last  year  in 
corn  and  hogs,  afterv/ard  destroyed  by  flood  and  cholera.  Emanuel:  Great  increase, 
and  while  prices  are  lower,  the  producer  has  plenty  for  homo  use.  Fayette:  Marked. 
Those  prosperous  who  raise  homo  supplies,  while  the  all-cotton  policy  brings  poverty 
and  ruin.  Forsyth:  In  corn,  oats,  Avheat,  pork,  and  beef,  pro lits  increased.  County 
eelf-sustaining  as  to  pork.  Gwinnett:  General  increase,  with  benefit,  though  prices  are 
lower.  Halersharn  :  Customarily,  home  supplies  are  produced  first,  and  cotton  extra, 
as  a  money-crop.  Harris  :  Yes;  with  wonderful  eftect  in  increasing  profits  of  cotton, 
and  improving  soil  by  rotation,  and  increasing  independence.  Jackson :  Yes ;  and  will 
be  still  greater  this  year.  Raising  of  home  supplies  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  our 
farmers.  Je^erson  .-'Decided,  with  growing  conviction  that  home  supplies  should  be 
raised  at  home.  Corn  and  meat  cheaper  than  since  the  war.  Liberty :  Corn,  oats,  and 
pease  are  considered  most  profitable  iu  proportion  to  capital,  except  rice,  which  grows 
on  naturally  rich  land.  Home  supplies  increasing,  and  no  prosperity  otherwise.  Lin- 
coln: Decided,  with  a  saving  of  large  sums  formerly  sent  away  for  their  purchase. 
Macon :  None  in  corn  and  pease ;  much  iu  oats,  which  promises  to  be  the  best  crop  for 
cheapening  mule-feed ;  very  slight  in  pork  and  beef.  Mcintosh  :  Decided,  in  all.  Sec- 
tion well  adapted  to  stock-raising.  Marion :  Ten  per  cent,  iu  corn  and  pork  in  1876. 
Decrease  of  25  per  cent,  in  price  of  corn  and  12^  per  cent,  iu  pork  from  January,  1876, 
to  1877.  Meriweilier :  In  corn,  oats,  pease,  pork,  with  increased  profit.  A  more  healthy 
condition  as  to  supplies  than  for  ten  years.  Milton :  In  corn,  30  per  cent. ;  oats  and 
pease,  25  per  cent. ;  fodder,  50  per  cent. ;  pork  and  beef,  10  per  cent.  No  surplus,  the 
profit  being  the  saving  of  purchase  from  abroad.  Mitchell :  Oats  nearly  doubled,  and 
most  profitable  crop,  giving  fine  pasturage  for  hogs,  v^hich  must  have  pasture  here. 
Morgan:  Near  50  per  cent.,  through  fertilizers,  cultivation,  and  good  season.  Most 
prosperous,  those  raising  home  supplies,  or  a  good  portion  of  them.  Murray  :  Increase 
in  product,  but  prices  lower  and  income  not  larger.  Oglethorpe:  Great  in  oats,  corn, 
pork,  and  beef,  especially  in  1876.  We  have  learned  that  the  only  key  to  success  is  to 
raise  supplies.  Fortunes  have  been  made  by  such  as  do,  but  none  otherwise.  Pike : 
Corn,  25  per  cent. ;  oats,  40. ;  fodder,  &c.,  50 ;  pork,  20 ;  beef,  5 ;  pease,  no  increase. 
Increase  on  profit  of  whole  farm  not  over  10  per  cent.  Schley  :  Twenty-five  per  cent. 
in  corn  ;  plenty  for  first  time  since  the  war ;  sells  near  towns  at  75  cents.  Oats,  pease, 
and  fodder  in  abundance  ;  50  per  cent,  of  a  supply  of  pork,  worth  5  to  7  cents.  Taking 
all  together,  they  are  a,  surplus;  cotton  being  profit.  Stewart:  In  a  few  years  cotton 
will  be  a  surplus,  when  all  will  prosper.  Talbot :  One  hundred  per  cent,  in  corn  ;  400 
in  oats.  Not  much  change  in  others,  except,  of  course,  in  corn-fodder.  Taliaferro : 
Considerable  iu  corn,  oats,  pease,  and  German  millet.  Taylor:  At  least  25  per  cent. ; 
the  increase  of  cereals  and  meat  have  materially  improved  the  condition  of  the  farmer. 
Terrell :  Yes ;  with  happy  eflect.  In  a  few  years  cotton  will  not  be  half  as  mucli  grown. 
Thomas :  High  prices  of  guano,  provisions,  and  poor  labor  makes  cotton  cost  \ii  cents 
more  than  i>rice  in  home  market.  Troup :  If  farms  were  self-sustaining,  cotton  made 
a  profit  if  sold  at  10  cents.  Walton:  Corn  and  pork  were  with  many  to  spare,  while 
exclusive  cotton-growers  are  always  hard  up.  Washington :  Great  increase  in  profit,  as 
they  use  the  same  labor  which  is  employed  on  cotton,  but  at  seasons  which  do  not  in- 
terfere.    Wilkes :  Yes ;  increases  profits,  as  it  only  slightly  diminishes  cotton. 

Florida. — Columbia :  Increase  in  oats  as  laborers  abandon  farms.  Gadsden :  Marked, 
with  decided  decrease  in  cost  of  raising.  Hillsborough :  We  propose  to  produce  all  sup- 
plies possible,  as  cotton-culture  does  not  pay.  Have  introduced  fine  Berkshire  hogs 
from  the  North.  Jackson :  Large  in  oats  and  pork.  Home  raising  of  supplies  the  secret 
of  success.  Madison :  Yes;  the  main  source  of  i^rofit.  Cotton  mostly  raised  only  be- 
cause of  the  ready  money.  La  Fayette :  Some  increase  in  corn,  oats,  pease,  and  pork — 
say  5  per  cent. — but  not  enough  to  meet  increasing  demand.  Orange:  In  corn  and 
Guinea  grass.  Suwannee :  He  who  produces  his  supplies  makes  the  money.  Santa 
liOsa:  Very  largo,  with  much  addition  to  home  comforts  and  resources  of  producer. 
Taylor :  Corn,  33  per  cent. ;  oats,  100  per  cent. ;  pease,  33  per  cent. ;  pork  and  beef,  10 
per  cent.    Increased  profit,  25  per  cent. 

Alabama.— I>«i/oc/j :  Decided  among  small  farmers,  giving  a  larger  surplus  of  cotton. 
A  large  proportion  raised  by  small  farmers  and  thrift  following  the  policy.  Butler  : 
Greater  last  year  than  at  any  time  since  the  war.     Material  benefit.     Calhoun :  Con- 


150    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

sideiaLle  for  three  years  past.  Little  increase  in  actual  casli  income,  but  of  great 
benefit  indirectly.  Conecuh :  Marked  with  great  relief  to  farmer.  Pork  6  cents  cheaper 
than  since  1860.  De  Kalh :  Gradual,  and,  but  for  swine  disease,  profit  would  be  con- 
siderable. Elmore :  Thirty-three  per  cent,  since  1669  in  corn,  oats,  pease,  pork,  and 
beef.  Etowah :  Manifest,  with  disposition  to  still  further  increase.  Decided  benefit, 
and  if  farmers  would  raise  all  at  home,  cotton,  as  a  surplus,  would  pay.  Geneva  :  In 
1876  50  per  cent,  more  corn,  10  per  cent,  oats,  20  per  cent,  field-pease,  than  in  1875. 
Price  of  corn  decreased  from  §1.25  to  62^  cents ;  pork,  from  10  cents  to  7  cents.  Farmer 
gets  less  money,  but  has  more  to  sell.  Greene :  Large  in  corn  and  pork,  with  benefits 
seen  by  all  in  reduction  of  store-bills  and  cost  of  living.  Country  in  better  condition 
than  at  any  time  since  the  war.  Hale :  Twenty  per  cent,  more  in  hogs  and  cattle  last 
year  than  any  year  since  the  war.  Henry:  Yes;  among  good  farmers,  in  corn,  pcaee, 
oats,  pork,  and  such  farmers  decidedly  more  thrifty  than  exclusive  cotton-growers. 
Jackson :  In  corn,  pork,  and  beef.  Cotton  considered  as  profitable  as  any  as  a  surplus. 
Jefferson:  Twenty  per  cent.,  and  it  is  redeeming  our  farmers  from  debt  and  Mtarvatiou. 
Lauderdale :  Enough  for  home  supply  for  first  time  since  war,  and  will  jilace  farmers 
in  better  condition.  Winston  :  Fifteen  per  cent,  increase.  Enough  corn,  beef,  and  pork. 
Nearly  self-sustaining.  Macon :  The  increase  has  been  such  as  to  leave  little  to  buy, 
and  there  is  less  stealing  and  greater  production  among  blacks  also.  Madison :  Con- 
siderable in  clover,  and,  in  consequence,  more  hogs  and  horses  and  less  corn  required 
to  feed  them.  Little  increase  in  corn,  oats,  or  pease.  Monroe:  Large,  in  corn,  oats, 
and  cane  for  molasses.  Considerable  increase  in  pork,  with  great  advantage.  Morgan : 
Considerable  in  cereals,  hay,  &c.,  and  farmers  are  in  better  condition.  Perry:  In  for- 
age and  grain,  and  the  farmers  raising  them  in  better  condition  than  the  all-cotton 
men.  Fike:  Small  increase  in  feed,  with  very  material  increase  in  profit.  Bussell: 
Most  in  rust-proof  oats ;  next  in  pork.  Saint  Clair :  Marked,  and  thrift  follows  the  policy. 
No  bacon  will  be  bought  in  1877 ;  does  not  pay  to  buy  corn  and  bacon  to  raise  cotton 
with.  Sumter :  General  increase.  More  hogs  killed  this  winter  than  since  1861.  Con- 
Biderable  increase  in  profit.  Walker :  Only  in  German  millet,  pork,  and  beof ;  profits 
in  proportion. 

Mississippi. — Attala :  General  increase.  Without  it  would  have  been  starvation. 
Amite :  Very  great.  Many  farms  producing  all  home  supplies  and  saving  the  outgo  of 
money.  Alcorn  :  Much  in  pork.  Carroll :  Result  very  favorable,  though  the  policy  is 
not  established  fully  yet.  Choctaw :  Considerable,  except  in  hay,  and  a  growing  interest 
in  that.  Coahoma :  Some  in  corn,  oats,  and  grasses ;  not  much  in  beef,  but  considerable 
in  pork.  Copiah :  Decrease,  with  bad  effect.  Covington :  Very  decided,  with  greater 
independence  and  less  debt.  De  Soto :  In  oats,  pease,  pork,  and  beef.  Those  who 
raise  plenty  have  money  to  lend.  Franklin :  Those  most  successful  who  raise  homo 
supplies.  Grenada:  Yes;  and  the  effect  great  in  diminishing  cost  of  living,  giving 
them  cotton  unencumbered,  which  can  be  held  for  best  prices.  Lawrence  :  Yes.  Large 
percentage  of  farmers  and  hands  have  com  and  meat  of  home  raising.  Lowndes :  Rapid 
increase  in  hogs,  and  general  disposition  to  raise  home  supplies,  with  very  beneficial 
results.  Madison :  Large  in  oats,  pease,  and  hay,  and  much  cheaper  than  formerly.  Also 
increase  in  pork.  2\^eivton  :  Twenty-five  per  cent,  in  corn  and  oats.  Also  increase  in 
pork  and  beef.  Xeshoia :  No.  Raising  of  pork  and  beef  for  home  use  increases  profit 
about  25  per  cent.  Oktibbeha :  Two  hundred  per  cent,  in  corn,  125  per  cent,  in  oats,  100 
in  pease,  500  in  pork,  150  in  beef.  Pe^-ry :  Attention  generally  given  to  lumber-trade. 
Rankin :  Notably  in  red  oats,  and  some  in  corn. 

Louisiana. — Catahoula :  Always  "  to  be  done,"  but  interfered  with  by  overflows. 
Claiiome:  Fine  increase  in  oats,  pease,  pork,  boef,  and  mutton.  Almost  net  gain. 
Concordia :  Increase  in  corn,  consequently  more  of  everything  to  eat.  Home  raising 
of  supplies  the  only  key  to  success.  East  Baton  Rouge ;  Very  marked.  Especially  oats, 
(red  rust-proof,)  pork,  beef,  and  mutton.  Considerable  increase  of  profit.  Jackson: 
Some  increase,  with  good  effect.  La  Fayette:  Some  in  corn,  pease,  hay,  pork,  and  beef, 
with  evident  advantage.  Union :  Yerj  marked.  Some  planters  make  all  their  pork 
and  beef.  Such  generally  thrifty.  Vermillion:  Decided,  with  condition  of  those 
adopting  the  plan  bettered  200  per  cent.    Price  and  profits  not  affected. 

Texas. — Austin:  Steady  increase  in  forage-crops,  but  pork  and  beef  the  reverse. 
Bell :  Great  in  feed,  with  lower  price  of  pork,  but  higher  in  beef.  Are  only  learning 
to  feed  economically.  Bexar :  Corn,  100  per  cent. ;  oats,  150.  All  home  supplies  raised 
and  surplus  sold.  Hogs  shipped  by  rail  to  Saint  Louis.  Blanco  :  Increase  last  year, 
but  as  corn  is  plenty  and  cheap,  it  may  be  neglected  again.  Corn  worth  50  cents. 
Brazoria :  None.  With  the  finest  country  for  hog  raising,  we  buy  our  bacon,  and  beef 
steadily  increasing  in  price.  Brown :  Very  great ;  but  prices  not  lowered,  owing  to 
immigration.  Burleson :  Yes ;  with  beneficial  ettect.  Proceeds  of  cotton,  instead  of 
going  to  pay  for  home  supplies,  can  be  used  for  improvements,  &c.  Cherokee :  Yes ; 
with  favorable  effect.  Nearly  all  out  of  debt.  Coryell :  Very  decided,  except  in  beef. 
Farming  interest  advancing  greatly.  Dallas :  Great  in  corn  and  oats  ;  little  in  pork 
and  beef.  Corn  and  oats  so  low  that  it  did  not  pay  for  growing,  except  with  those  who 
happened  to  have  cattle  or  hogs  to  fatten.    Fallt :  Yea ;  especially  in  pork.    General 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  151 

feondition  much  more  comfortable.  Gi-ayson  :  Pork  on  the  increase  ;  price  unchanged. 
Beef  decreasing ;  market  advancing.  Hays :  In  oats  ;  lowering  the  price  of  corn.  Hen- 
derson :  No  real  increase  ;  coimty  self-sustaininlg.  Hunt :  None.  Houston :  Some  in 
feed-crops;  none  in  hogs,  owing  to  cholera.  Decrease  in  beef.  Jack:  Very  great,  with 
good  prices.  Heavy  inllux  of  population.  Jasper  :  Considerable  in  corn  and  oats. 
Prices  10  per  cent,  lower.  Kaufman  :  Yes ;  200  per  cent.  Profits  on  the  increase  this  year 
will  nearly  pay  off  debts  of  past  two  or  three  years.  McLennan  :  Real  in  forage-crops, 
with  decrease  in  profit  to  producer.  Increase  in  pork,  but  not  to  affect  market.  Great 
reduction  in  beef.  Busk:  Real  increase,  saving  money  formerly  spent  for  supplies. 
Com-meal  50  cents  per  bushel,  and  enough  for  supply.  Last  year  $20,000  paid  for  meal 
alone.  Smith :  It  is  not  in  the  present  generation  of  this  people  to  change  from  cotton  to 
anything.  The  Immigration  Agency  of  the  International  Railroad  turn  their  attention 
to  the  cotton  States,  for  they  want  men  who  will  raise  cotton  to  haul  off  and  give  them 
bacon  and  flour  to  haul  back.  On  the  contrary,  our  country  wants  or  needs  tcestern 
men,  so  called,  who  will  devote  their  labor  to  producing  home  supplies.  Bacon  can  ba 
made  cheaper  in  this  county  than  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  or  Ohio.  Titus :  Thirty  per  cent, 
in  corn,  oatH,  and  pease  in  1876 ;  plenty  to  fatten  stock  and  to  spare,  and  plenty  pork  and 
beef ;  has  been  salvation  of  farmers.  One  more  year  of  all  cotton  would  have  bankrupted 
us.  Tyler :  Large  increase  in  red  rust-proof  oats.  Upshur:  Oa.ts  increasing,  and  corn  will, 
now  that  cotton  does  not  pay.  Experiments  are  being  made  with  ground-pease ;  cheap 
as  sorghum  for  hogs.  Uvalde :  Corn  has  increased  1,000  per  cent,  since  1860.  Fan 
Zandt :  Ship  3,000  head  of  cattle ;  12,000  bashels  of  wheat ;  100,000  pounds  of  hides, 
and  some  hogs.  Wilson  :  Increase  in  com  and  oats  has  kept  price  low  for  corn,  47 
cents ;  oats,  50.   Home  supplies  of  corn  and  beef  raised.    Cholera  unknown. 

Arkansas. — Arkansas :  In  corn  and  pease,  especially  pease.  Most  raise  meat  enough 
ajjd  are  looking  for  some  surplus  money  this  year.  Craighead :  Yes ;  and  pays  bet- 
ter than  cotton.  Purchasers  from  Saint  Louis  now  here  paying  a  good  price  for  pork. 
Craxoford :  A  dozen  men  have  adopted  policy  of  raising  home  supplies,  and  are  better 
off  than  their  neighbors,  but  no  general  increase.  Conway :  Twenty-iive  per  cent,  in 
food-crops.  Wild-grass  giving  out ;  50  per  cent,  more  pork  and  beef  than  formerly ; 
money  kept  at  home.  Crittenden  :  Yes ;  corn  two  years  ago  $1  per  bushel ;  now  30 
cents ;  equal  increase  in  hogs ;  and  this  besides  all  the  cotton  that  can  be  gathered. 
When  all  supplies  are  raised  at  home,  the  farmers  will  grow  rich  at  once.  Dallas :  None 
to  be  relied  on  as  permanent.  People  in  debt  must  raise  cotton  till  they  break.  Fulton : 
Some ;  but  prices  not  much  affected ;  crops  abundant,  and  farmers  generally  out  of 
debt.  Izard:  Large  in  German  millet;  considerable  in  oats,  and  some  in  pork;  not 
enough  to  aft'ect  profits.  Johnson:  At  least  60  per  cent. ;  giving  more  money;  greater 
independence ;  further  increase  indicated.  Mississippi :  Eighty  per  cent,  more  pork  and 
com  than  seven  years  ago  ;  90  per  cent,  hay  ;  80  per  cent,  more  oats  and  fodder ;  corn 
and  pork  75  per  cent,  lower,  and  plenty  on  hand  for  1877.  Prairie  :  Corn  enough  and  to 
spare ;  also  beef ;  a  few  farmers  raising  pork  to  sell,  getting  7  cents,  and  much  more  pros- 
perous than  all-cotton  men;  raising  wheat  and  all  supplies.  Saint  Francis  :  Corn-crop 
of  1876  nearly  double  1875 ;  no  market,  and  consequently  less  to  be  planted  this 
year.  Scott :  Yes ;  and  it  slightly  decreases  profits  of  producer.  Van  Buren  ;  Yes  ; 
entirely  seK-sustaining,  and  export  meal,  flour,  pork,  and  beef,  and  great  bulk  of  cot- 
ton clear  profit.  White:  Much,  owing  to  immigration  from  North.  Woodruff:  Effect 
so  favorable,  that  those  producing  home  supplies  will  continue  to  do  so. 

Tennessee. — Bedford :  Yes  ;  and  increased  thrift  invariably  follows,  especially 
where  stock-feeding  is  practiced.  Gibson:  Very  marked,  with  great  benefit.  For  the 
first  year  in  several,  corn,  pork,  and  beef  have  been  sold  beyond  home  consumption. 
Hardeman :  In  corn,  pease,  pork,  sorghum,  and  nearly  enough.  Generally  in  debt,  but 
in  a  fair  way  to  prosper  by  raising  home  supplies.  Hickman  :  Decided,  in  corn,  hay, 
pork,  and  beef.  Many  going  into  stock-raising  exclusively.  Lauderdale  :  In  pork  and 
beef,  with  lessened  profits.  Maury  :  Considerable  in  grass  and  clover.  Enough  pork 
and  a  large  surplus  of  beef.  McMinn  ;  All  farmers  try  to  raise  home  supplies.  Mc- 
Nairy  :  Very  considerable  in  nearly  all,  especially  pork  and  hay.  Sumner :  In  pease, 
hay,  cattle,  and  sheep.  Decrease  in  corn,  oats,  and  hogs.  Weakley:  Corn  andpeasefor 
stock-feeding.    The  latter  is  a  good  fertilizer  as  well  as  feed. 

SUMMARY  OF  RESULTS. 

The  following  are  the  more  prominent  facts  indicated  as  the  result  of 
this  investigation : 

1.  The  area  in  cotton  is  rapidly  extending  west  of  the  Mississippi  upon 
new  and  fertile  soils ;  the  fields  of  the  large  plantations  iu  the  old  plant- 
ing States  are  only  partially  occupied,  and  in  smaller  proportion  by  cot- 
ton than  formerly.  It  is  less  than  in  1860,  but  includes  about  eleven 
and  a  half  million  acres  in  round  numbers. 


152    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

2.  The  relative  proportion  of  corn  aud  otber  supply  crops  to  cotton  is 
increasing  in  all  the  States.  The  estimated  proportions  are  41  iier  cent, 
for  corn,  34  for  cotton,  and  25  for  all  other  cultivated  crops. 

3.  On  nearly  half  the  cotton  area  of  the  Atlantic  States  fertilizers  are 
regularly  applied;  in  the  remaining  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  a 
greater  economy  of  cotton-seed  and  lot-manures  is  practiced  and  a  few 
experiments  made  with  commercial  fertilizers,  but  the  crop  is  grown 
mainly  without  any  attempt  at  fertilization ;  and  beyond  the  Mississippi, 
with  occasional  exceptions,  no  manures  are  used.  There  is  a  strong 
tendency  to  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  mainly  in  connection  with 
composts  of  home  material,  such  as  cotton-seed,  animal-manure,  marl, 
forest-refuse,  &c. 

4.  There  is  gradual  Improvement  in  culture,  rather  in  thoroughness 
than  in  change  of  mode,  a  deeper  preparation,  with  a  lighter  and  more 
frequent  after-culture.  This  improvement  is  not  general,  and  is  no- 
where sufficiently  developed.  Improvement  in  implements  is  more 
marked,  but  by  no  means  universal ;  and  it  is  most  observable  in  dis- 
tricts in  which  white  labor  is  in  largest  proportion. 

5.  The  size  of  farms  is  diminishing.  Between  18G0  and  1870  the  num- 
ber of  farms  of  100  acres  and  upward  decreased  in  every  cotton  State 
and  those  of  less  than  100  increased,  the  reduction  in  one  case  being  22 
per  cent,  and  the  increase  in  the  other  35  per  cent.  This  movement  is 
still  progressing,  the  largest  ratios  of  increase  of  small  farms  being  in 
South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  and  Florida. 

6.  The  rates  of  wages  paid  for  labor  is  higher  in  Texas  than  in  1867, 
about  the  same  as  at  that  date  in  the  Carolinas,  and  lower  in  the  other 
States.  The  reduction  is  less  in  Alabama  and  the  Mississippi  Valley 
than  in  Georgia.  It  ranges  from  $101  in  South  Carolina  to  $145  in 
Arkansas  for  a  "  full  hand"  per  annum,  with  rations.  The  share  system 
still  predominates  over  wages.  Contracts  vary  widely  in  details,  but 
are  most  generally  based  upon  the  following  equivalents :  Bare  labor, 
one-fourth  of  cotton  in  rich  land,  one-third  in  i)oor  soils;  labor  and 
rations,  one-half  as  a  general  rule,  four-tenths  in  some  very  productive 
lands ;  labor,  rations,  stock,  and  supplies,  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  ot 
the  product. 

The  proportion  of  white  labor  is  increasing,  producing  now  in  some 
cases  one-third  to  four-tenths  of  the  crop.  It  iiredominates  in  Texas 
and  in  Arkansas. 

7.  One  in  twenty  of  the  freedmen  are  cultivating  lands  of  their  own. 
The  largest  proportion  is  found  in  Florida — one  in  twelve. 

8.  The  average  cost  of  the  crop  of  1876  is  made  9^  cents  per  pound, 
and  the  price  received  9  ^^  cents.  The  net  profit  is  about  $11,500,000, 
not  quite  6  per  cent,  of  the  gross  receipts,  which  amount  in  round  num- 
bers to  $205,000,000.  The  average  profit  is  about  $2.60  per  bale. 
Texas  has  the  largest  margin  of  profit,  11  mills  per  x)ound ;  Arkansas, 
9 ;  Alabama,  owing  to  a  poor  crop,  the  least,  2  mills ;  in  most  of  the 
other  States,  5  mills. 

9.  The  varieties  of  seed  having  the  widest  popularity  are  the  Dickson, 
Peeler,  Cheatham,  Boyd's  Prolific,  Simpson,  and  Petit  Gulf. 

10.  Testimony  is  almost  universal  to  the  superior  economy  of  pro- 
ducing home  supplies,  a  wider  range  of  production,  with  cotton  as  a 
surplus  product. 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


153 


SUGAli  PllODUCTION. 


The  sugar  supply  of  this  country  is  becoming  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance. With  increase  of  population  there  has  also  been  a  tendency 
to  a  larger  consumption  per  man.  In  times  of  low  prices  wo  consume 
40  pounds  to  each  inhabitant,  besides  a  large  supply  of  saccharine  mate- 
rial in  the  form  of  molasses  of  cane  and  sorghum,  sugar  and  sirup 
from  maple,  not  to  mention  glucose  from  corn  and  other  products,  which 
nJay  to  a  limited  extent  take  the  place  of  cane-sugar.  The  advance  in 
price,  and  probably  the  hard  times,  have  checked  consumption,  so  that 
but  638,000  tons  only  have  been  taken  for  consumption  the  past  year 
in  the  Atlantic  ports,  against  710,000  in  1874.  There  was  a  deficiency 
in  the  world's  production  of  cane-sugar  in  1875  of  200,000  tons,  in  part 
made  up  by  increase  of  171,738  tons  of  beet-sugar ;  but  by  the  shrinkage 
of  the  beet-sugar  crop  of  1876  a  marked  rise  in  price  was  induced.  The 
commercial  estimate  of  the  supply  of  the  past  year  is  as  follows : 

Tons. 

Cane-sugar,  domestic  and  foreign 638, 360 

Cane-sugar  received  on  the  Pacific  coast 28,  300 

Cane-sugar  made  from  molasses 43, 600 

Maple-sugar 13, 000 

Domestic  beet,  sorghum,  &c , 2, 000 

Taken  for  consumption  in  1870 725, 209 

Taken  for  consumption  in  1875 773, 002 

On  the  basis  of  a  population  of  45,000,000  the  consumption  would  be 
SO  pounds  to  each  in  1876,  and  38  for  the  population  of  1875.  The  sug^ar 
supply  of  the  commercial  world  in  1875  was  3,457,623  tons,  of  which  40 
per  cent,  was  beet-sugar  made  in  Europe.  Cuba  produced  one-third 
of  the  cane-sugar ;  the  other  West  India  islands,  and  Brazil,  Java,  and 
Mauritius,  are  all  prominent  sources  of  supply.  The  following  is  an 
estimate  from  high  authoritfy  of  the  quantities  produced  of  both  kinds 
in  1875 : 

Cane-sugar. 


Tons. 

Cuba 700,  OUO 

Porto  Rico 80,000 

British,  Diitcli.  aad  Danish  West 

Indies .' 250,000 

Java 200,000 

Brazil 170,000 

Mauila 130,000 

China 120,000 

Mauritius 100,  OJO 


Tons. 

Martinique  aud  Guadalonpe 100, 000 

Louisiana 75, 000 

Peru 50,000 

Egypt 40,000 

Central  America  and  Mexico  ...  40, 000 

Reunion 30,000 

British  India  and  Penaug 30, 000 

Honolulu 10,000 

Natal 10,000 

Australia 51, 000 


Total  tons 2,140,000 

Beet-root  sugar. 


Tons. 


Gernaan  Empire s.  346, 04G 

France 462,259 

Russia  and  Poland 245, 000 


Tods. 

Austria  and  Hungary 153, 922 

Belgium 79,796 

Holland  and  other  countries 30*000 


Totaltons 1,317,623 


154         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

The  cost  of  these  sweets  is  a  serious  burden  upon  the  country.  We 
have  the  soil  to  produce  a  fall  supply  either  of  cane  or  beet  sugar  and 
laborers  suffering  for  work,  and  measure^  should  be  taken  for  a  rapid 
increase  of  home  production.  The  details  of  cost  of  the  sugar  used  in 
this  country,  subject  to  a  slight  reduction  from  re-exportation,  are  thus 
given  in  the  statistics  of  the  customs  receipts : 

Fiscal  year  of  1876. 

Sugar,  brown pounds..  1,414,254,663  $55,702,903 

Sugar,  refined pounds..               19,931  1,685 

Molasses gallons..        39,026,200  8,157,470 

Melada, sirup,  .fee ,  ....pounds..        79,702,878  2,415,995' 

Candy,  &c pounds..              87,955  18,500 


66,296,553 


Fiscal  year  of  1875. 

Sugar,  brown pounds.. 

Sugar,  refined pounds.. 

Molasses gallons . . 

Melada pounds.. 

Candy -• pounds.. 


,695,726,353 

$70,015,757 

15,251 

1,202 

49,112,255 

11,685,224 

101,768,386 

3,313,597 

76,816 

16,737 

85,032,517 


The  average  cost  of  the  brown  sugar  of  1875  at  the  foreign  port  of 
shipment  was  4yL2_  cents  per  pound  ;  of  that  of  1876,  3^^  cents. 

Since  June  30, 1876,  the  price  has  materially  advanced.  The  amount 
received  in  the  quarter  ending  December,  1876,  is  198,318,913  pounds, 
costing  4.6  cents  per  pound,  or  17  per  cent,  advance  over  the  average  of 
the  previous  fiscal  year.  This  was  caused  by  the  shortage  of  beet-sugar. 
Analyzing  the  receipts  of  that  year,  we  find  that  the  highest  prices  are 
paid  for  imports  from  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  sugar  of  British 
Guiana,  Cuba,  and  the  Dutch  West  Indies,  respectively,  come  next  in 
order  of  value  per  pound. 

The  following  table  shows  the  sources  and  values  of  the  importation 
of  the  past  year ;  the  remainder,  which  is  but  3  per  cent,  of  the  whole, 
comes  from  21  other  nations : 


Countries. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

Price 

per 

pound. 

Cuba 

Founds. 
1,  008,  413,  671 
110,  445,  708 
70, 155,  045 
49,  6S7, 265 
40,  010,  41G 
26, 187,  830 
23,212,168 
21, 865,  691 
20,  978,  374 

$41,  039,  048 
3,  572,  400 
2,610,418 
1, 751,  478 
1,329,938 
1,  052,  95:} 
844, 144 
912, 101 
1,  051, 987 

4.06 

3.23 

3.72 

rrench  West  Indies  and  Goiana 

3.52 

Brazil 

3.32 

4.02 

3.63 

4.17 

5.01 

The  following  statement  gives  in  detail  the  amount  of  domestic  and 
foreign  sugars  taken  annually  for  consumption  since  1860,  the  im- 
ports minus  the  small  quantity  re-exported,  exclusive  of  those  on  the 


REPORT   01    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


155 


Pacific  coast,  and  the  fluctuating  proportions  of  domestic  to  foreign 
supply  : 


Years. 


Total  con- 
sumption. 


1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875. 
1876 


Tmis. 
415, 281 
363,  819 
432,  411 
284,  308 
220,  660 
350,  809 
391,678 
400,  568 
469,  533 
492,  890 
530,  692 
633,  314 

637,  373 
652,  025 
710,  369 
685,  352 

638,  369 


Imported.     Domestic. 


Tons. 
296,  250 
241,420 
241,411 
231,  398 
192,  600 
345,  809 
383, 178 
378, 068 
446,  533 
447, 899 
463,  892 
553,  714 
567,  573 
592,  725 
661,  869 
621, 852 
561, 369 


Tons. 

119,031 

122,  399 

191,  000 

52,  910 

28,  000 

5,000 

8,500 

22,  500 

23,  000 
45, 000 
46, 800 
79,  600 
69,  800 
59,  300 
48,  500 
63, 500 
77,  000 


a  i. 

.3  ft 

Oh 

Increase 
con  sum 
tion. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

28.6 

33.6 

44.1 

18.85 

18.6 

12.7 

1.4 

58.98 

2.1 

11.65 

5.6 

2.27 

4.9 

17.21 

9.1 

4.97 

8.8 

7.66 

12.5 

19.33 

10.9 

0.64 

9.1 

2.29 

6.8 

8.95 

9.2 

12 

.5  » 


Per  ct. 

3.C8 

12.39 

"'34.'25 
23.38 


3.52 

6.85 


The  foregoing  figures  do  not  include  the  cane-sugar  consumed  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  all  of  which  is  Imported.  The  reported  consumption,  as 
ascertained  by  commercial  statistics  at  San  Francisco,  was  a  little  above 
30  tons  in  1873  and  1874,  and  about  27  tons  in  1875. 

The  statistics  for  the  consumption  of  cane-molasses  in  the  same  years 
are  as  follows : 


Years. 

Total  con- 
sumption. 

Imported. 

Domestic. 

O  s> 

.2  P. 
©  g 

.2  a 

I860 

Gallons. 
47, 318,  877 
40, 191,  556 
62,  668,  400 
37,  509, 088 
32, 410,  325 
35, 185, 038 
45, 140, 110 
49, 776,  465 
55,  957, 969 
54,  361,  092 
49,  323, 171 

52,  065,  784 

53,  695, 203 
51, 485,  526 
48, 206, 257 
58, 008,  734 
48,  809,  504 

Gallons. 
28,  724, 205 
20,  383,  556 

25,  650,  400 

26,  569, 088 
28,  582, 325 
34,  335,  038 
43,840,110 

46,  776, 465 
52,  587,  969 

47,  901,  092 
42, 723, 171 
41, 165,  784 
42,  995, 203 
41, 985,  526 
39,  506,  257 
40,418,734 
36,  459,  504 

Gallons. 

18,  594,  072 

19,  808,  000 
37, 018,  000 

11,  000,  000 
3,  828, 000 

850, 000 

1,  300,  000 

3,  000,  000 

3,  370,  000 

6,  400, 000 

6,  600,  000 

10,  900, 000 

10,  700, 000 

9,  500, 000 

8,  700,  000 

12, 190,  000 

12,  350, 000 

Per  ct. 
39.3 
49.2 
59 

29.2 
11.8 

2.4 

2.8 

6 

6 

11.7 
13.3 
20.9 
19.9 
18.4 
18 

20.8 
25.3 

Perot. 
"55.' 92' 

'"'a  56' 

28.29 
10.27 
12.41 

'"5.56 
3.13 

"21.' 57' 

Per  ct. 
12.79 

1861 

15.06 

1862 

1803 

40 

1864 

13.73 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

2.85 

1870 

9.26 

1871 

1872 

1873 

4.11 

1874 

6.36 

1875 

1876 

16.71 

SUGAR-PRODUCTION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Sugar-cane  is  said  to  have  been  brought  into  Louisiana  from  San 
Domingo  by  the  Jesuits  in  1751,  and  that  sugar  was  first  manufactured 
about  1764.  Accounts  of  the  progress  of  this  industry  under  Spanish 
rule  are  conflicting.  After  the  cession  of  Louisiana  by  France,  in  1803, 
circumstances  were  more  favorable  to  the  production  of  sugar,  but  the 
annual  product  has  fluctuated  greatly,  as  shown  in  the  following  table, 
which  has  for   its  authority  M.  Boucherou,  the  sugar  statistician  of 


1.56 


REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIOXKK    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Louisiaua,  whicl),  however,  diliers  b"ligUtly  iioiu  his  table  published  in 
our  rei)ort  of  1873 : 


Tears. 

llossheads. 

Ye.ira. 

Hogsheads. 

Years. 

Hogsheads. 

1823 

30,  000 
3-.!,  000 
30,  000 
4:,,  000 
71.000 
88,  000 
48,  009 
70,  000 
75,  000 

100,  000 
30,  000 
70,  000 
05,  000 
70,  000 

115,000 
87,  000 
90,  000  : 

1842 

140, 000 
100, 000 
200,  000 
186,  000 
140,  000 
240,  000 
220, 000 
247, 923 
211,201 
236,  547 
321, 934 
449, 324 
346,  035 
2C1,  427 
73, 296 
270,  697 
362, 290 

1859 

2"!  840 

1824 

1843 

ISGO 

228, 753 

459,  410 

76,  801 

10  387 

1825 

1844 

1861 

1826 

lfc>45 

1803 

1827 

1840 

18G4 

1823 

1847 

1685    

18,070 
41,000 

1829 

1848 

1S6G 

1832 

1S49.... 

1867 

37, 647 

84  256 

1833 

1850 

18G3 

1R34 

1851 

1869 

87,090 
144,  881 
128, 461 
108  520 

1835 

1852 

1870 

1836 

1853 

1871 

1837 

1854 

1872 

1838 

1855 

1873 

89,  498 
116, 867 
144  14G 

1839 

1856 

1874 

1840 

1857 

1375 

1841 

1858 

1876    

169  331 

The  crop  of  sugar  produced  in  Louisiana  during  187G-'77  amounted  to 
lG9j331  hogsheads,  or  190,072,570  pounds  net,  according  to  the  census  of 
Mr.  Louis  Boucherau,  against  144,146  hogshead,  or  103,418,070  pounds 
net,  in  1S75-'7G,  an  increase  of  over  10  per  cent.  Of  the  total  product, 
40,708,140  pouuds  were  clarified  sugar,  produced  from  the  juice  by 
vacuum-pans,  against  31,717,710  pounds  produced  by  this  process  the 
previous  year,  an  increase  of  nearly  29  per  cent.  This  kind  of  sugar, 
which  does  not  include  brown  sugar  refined,  was  produced  by  05  special 
factories  using  the  vacuum-pans,  an  increase  of  8  factories  over  the  pre- 
vious year.  By  the  old  process  of  open  kettles  or  open  pans  the  prod- 
uct was  149,904,430  pounds,  against  131,700,300  pounds  the  previous 
year,  an  increase  of  nearly  14  i)er  cent.  The  number  of  sugar-houses 
using  the  old  process  was  975,  an  increase  of  42.  The  vacuum-pan  pro- 
duction is  theu  increasing  at  a  far  more  rapid  rate  than  that  by  the  old 
process. 

The  quantity  of  molasses  produced  the  last  season  was  12,024,108 
gallons,  or  71  gallons  for  each  hogshead  of  sugar ;  during  the  previous 
season  the  product  was  10,870,540,  or  75  gallons  per  hogshead  of  sugar. 
The  number  of  gallons  produced  by  the  05  factories  using  vacuum-pans 
was  1,870,430,  or  59  gallons  per  hogshead  of  clarified  sugar ;  in  the 
previous  season  the  number  of  gallons  produced  was  1,525,002,  or  57 
gallons  per  hogshead  of  clarified  sugar.  The  quantity  of  molasses  pro- 
duced by  sugar-houses  using  the  old  process  was  10,147,072  gallons,  or 
70  gallons  for  each  hogshead  of  brown  sugar ;  the  previous  year  the 
product  was  0,344,884  gallons,  or  82  gallons  per  hogshead  of  brown 
sugar. 

The  table  below  will  give  the  general  statistics  of  sugar-production 
in  Louisiana  for  the  last  nine  years.  In  1808  the  number  of  acres  of 
cane  actually  ground  for  sugar  was  03,199,  and  the  average  product  per 
acre  was  1,504  pounds  of  sugar,  and  80  gallons  of  molasses.  In  that 
year  8,000  acres  of  cane,  for  various  reasons,  were  left  uncut,  and  con- 
sequently lost.  In  1870  the  number  of  acres  cut  was  151,870,  and  the 
average  product  per  acre  1,112  pounds  of  sugar  and  08  gallons  of 
molasses.  The  number  of  acres  in  the  four  subsequent  years  is  not 
given ;  there  was  some  increase  on  the  whole  in  1871,  but  in  1874  quite 
an  amount  of  sugar-land  was  diverted  to  rice  and  other  cultures.  The 
largest  number  of  sugar-houses,  1,224,  was  in  1871,  but  gradually  de- 
clined to  982  in  1875,  with  a  considerable  increase  in  1870.    The  later 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICUN. 


157 


reports  contain  fuller  statistics,  especially  of  acreage,  showing  the  num- 
ber of  acres  cut  and  ground  at  91,761  inl875,  and  104,944  in  187G.  The 
sugar  product  averaged  1,782  pounds  per  acre  in  1875,and  1,817  in  1876  j 
molasses  product  118J-  pounds  per  acre  in  1875,  and  114  in  1876. 


Sugar-houses— 

Pounds  of  sugar  produced. 

MolasHOB  pro- 
duced. 

Year. 

i 

o 

a 

o 

to 

o 

a 

o 
to 

M 

K 
o 

c 
o 
tfl 

s 

o 
C4 

■    t- 
M 

n 

1 

1 

Brown  sugar  by  old 
process. 

Kcflned  aud  clarified 
su^ar   by  vacuum- 
pans. 

CD 

o 

.a  « 

a 

1868.. 
1869 

673 
.817 
1,105 
1,221 
1,181 
1,080 
1,000 

982 
1,040 

510 
6G4 
£37 
907 
889 
856 
776 
754 
786 

133 
153 
268 
317 
292 
224 
'.•24 
228 
251 

507 
683 
863 
946 
920 

S2! 

7.0 

755 

781 

CO 
81 
95 
114 
120 
117 
112 
113 
129 

46 
53 
53 
58 
56 
55 
52 
57 
65 

8 
44 
78 
90 
76 
44 
55 
52 
60 

81,  506,  093 

13,  545, 132 

95, 031,  225 
99,  452, 940 
168,  878,  592 
116,  906, 125 
125,  346,  493 
103,241,119 
134,504,691 
103,418,070 
190,  072,  570 

6,  081,  907 
5,  724, 256 
10, 281,  419 
10, 019, 958 
8,  898,  640 
8, 203,  944 
11,  516,  828 
10,  870, 546 
12, 024, 108 

.   72 

65 

1870.. 
1871.. 
1872.. 
1873.. 
1874.. 
1675.. 
1876.. 

147, 562, 588 
126,  C49,  952 
108, 501,  004 
88,  058, 278 
110,  856,  363 
131, 700,  360 
149,  904, 430 

21,  346, 004 
20, 256, 173 
16,  845,  489 
15, 182, 841 
23,  648,  328 
31, 717, 710 
40, 768, 140 

71 
78 
82 
92 
98 
75 
71 

While  the  coast  counties  of  Texas  afford  a  productive  field  for  sugar- 
extension,  and  most  of  Florida,  especially  the  r;ch  imdrained  (at 
present)  and  cheap  lands  on  the  Gulf  coast  in  Western  Florida,  is  well 
suited  to  sugar  culture,  the  principal  sugar-production  is  still  confined 
to  Louisiana.  There  is  some  cane  grown  for  local  use  in  the  form  of  sirup 
in  all  of  the  Gulf-coast  States,  and  a  few  hogsheads  of  sugar  are  an- 
nually made.  In  the  future  of  this  industry,  with  the  aid  of  central 
factories,  equipped  with  the  best  machinery,  surrounded  by  laborers  on 
small  farms  who  shall  plant  such  patches  of  cane  as  they  can  cultivate 
and  sell  to  these  factories,  the  possibilities  of  rapid  increase  in  produc- 
tion are  very  hopeful.  The  great  mass  of  laborers  are  poor  and  cannot 
equip  such  a,  factory,  or  even  find  means  to  establish  a  co-operative  fac- 
tory, but  they  can  cultivate  each  ten  or  twenty  acres  of  cane,  just  as 
they  now  grow  a  little  cotton  and  pay  toll  for  ginning  and  baling  at  a 
neighboring  gin.  Land  is  abundant  and  cheap,  and  every  man  who  has 
a  spark  of  energy  or  ambition  cannot  be  restrained  .from  the  location  of 
a  home.  On  this  account  it  is  impracticable  to  extend  sugar-growing 
on  the  old  system.  The  adoption  of  this  plan,  which  requires  systematic 
effort  lor  the  establishment  of  factories  as  a  prime  requisite,  with  an 
understanding  and  contracts  with  the  prospective  cane-growers,  ought 
to  secure  a  rapid  enlargement  of  our  sugar  productions,  a  corresponding 
reduction  of  the  importation,  and  an  annual  saving  to  the  country  of 
millions  of  dollars. 

.      BEET-SUGAR. 

In  the  United  States,  beet-sugar  production  is  scarcely  yet  past  the 
experimental  stage,  out  of  which,  in  Europe,  success  only  emerged  after 
long  trial  and  repeated  reverses  and  failures.  There,  while  the  industry 
was  struggling  for  an  assured  foothold,  success  or  failure  depended  much 
upon  legislation  5  but  here  t?he  chief  cause  of  many  failures  in  first  at- 
tempts has  been  a  want  of  practical  knowledge  and  skill  in  a  business 
now  to  the  agriculturist  and  manufacturer.  Prominent  among  early  at- 
tempts in  this  country  which  have  not  been  crowned  with  ultimate  suc- 
cess, except  in  the  way  of  developing  mistakes  for  lati2r  attempts  to 
shun,  were  one  in  Hampshire  County,  Massachusetts,  about  the  year 
1837  J  one  in  Livingston  County,  Illinois,  inaugurated  in  1863,  and  trans- 


158 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMillSSIONER   OP  AGRICULTURE. 


ferred  to  Stephenson  County  in  1870 ;  and  one  in  Fond  du  Lac  County, 
Wisconsin,  in  1SG7.  The  superintendent  of  the  last-named  enterprise 
was  Mr.  A.  Otto,  who  had  had  experience  in  the  manufacture  of  beet- 
sugar  iu  Germany.  In  the  spring  of  1870,  he,  with  the  beet-sugar  inter- 
ests which  he  superintended,  removed  to  Alameda  County,  California, 
and  became  a  constituent  part  of  the  Alvarado  Beet-Sugar  Company, 
Mr,  Otto  being  the  superintendent.  He  was  subsequently  transferred 
to  the  superintendeucy  of  the  beet-sugar  works  now  in  successful  oper- 
ation at  Soquel,  Santa  Cruz  County. 

The  State  Agricultural  Society  of  California  reported,  in  1874,  that  the 
production  of  beet-sugar  in  the  State  amounted,  in  1870,  to  500,000 
pounds;  in  1871,  to  800,000;  iu  1872,  to  1,125,000;   1873,  to  1,500,000. 

The  product  of  beets  reported  for  1873  was  10,073  tons.  Contracts  for 
1877  have  been  made  for  beets  at  84  per  ton. 

A  beet-sugar  enterprise  was  conducted  for  several  years  in  Sacramento, 
California,  but  its  apparent  success  has  not  established  the  manufactory 
as  a  permanency.  Its  machinery,  costing  in  Germany  $160,000,  is  for 
sale,  it  is  reported,  at  $45,000,  and  will  probably  be  set  up  at  some  otlier 
point  in  California. 

SORGHUM. 

The  value  of  sorghum  is  scarcely  realized  by  the  general  public.  It 
has  fluctuated  in  production,  and  the  expectations  of  some  concerning 
sugar  from  it  have,  not  been  met ;  still  it  is  increasing  in  area  in  many 
of  the  States,  while  decreasing  in  others.  In  a  State  not  in  existence 
when  sorghum  was  introduced  into  this  country,  Kansas,  the  production 
of  sirup  has  attained  a  volume  equal  to  one-third  of  the  entire  yield 
reported  by  the  census  of  1860. 

From  small  beginnings,  with  various  local  fluctuations,  but  with  a 
steady  advance  in  the  knowledge  of  its  culture,  soil  required,  and  best 
processes  of  manufacturing,  its  culture  has  extended  over  large  portions 
of  the  country  and  become  one  of  our  important  industries.  The  aggre- 
gate of  sirup  reported  from  the  census  of  1860  was  6,749,123  gallons. 
The  first  State  in  production  was  Iowa.  It  reported  1,211^512  gallons, 
followed  by  881,049  in  Indiana,  806,589  in  Illinois,  796,111  in  Missouri, 
779,076  iu  Ohio,  and  706,663  in  Tennessee.  For  the  census  of  1870  the 
aggregate  was  16,050,089  gallons.  Indiana  reported  2,026,212;  Ohio, 
2,023,427  ;  Illinois,  1,960,473 ;  followed  in  the  order  of  decrease  by  Ken- 
tucky, Missouri,  Tennessee,  Iowa,  and  West  Virginia.  Iowa,  the  first 
in  production  in  1859,  but  the  seventh  in  1869,  returned  1,218,636  gal- 
lons, an  advance  only  of  7,124.  But  the  State  census  of  1867  gives  for 
1865  an  area  of  21,452  acres,  producing  1,436,605  gallons;  and  for  1867, 
25,796  acres,  producing  2,094,557  gallons.  The  State  census  for  1875 
gives,  for  1874, 15,768  acres,  yielding  1,386,908  gallons. 

The  definite  statistics  for  the  State  of  Ohio,  annually  published  since 
1861,  afford  a  fair  illustration  of  the  gradual  advance  iu  production  up 
to  about  1866  and  the  subsequent  gradual  decline  throughout  the  sec- 
tion between  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri,  and  including  the  State  of 
Missouri.    The  production  in  Ohio  for  the  years  named  was  as  follows : 


Tears. 


1862 
1863 

1864 
1865 
1866 
1667 
1868 


Acres. 


30,  872 
31,235 
29, 392 
37, 042 
43, 101 
17,  804 
25,257 


Sujcar. 


27, 486 
27, 35!) 
41,  660 
56, 066 
102,  313 
20, 094 
28,668 


Sirnp. 


Gallons. 
2,  696, 159 
2, 347, 578 
2, 609,  728 
4, 003,  754 
4,  629,  570 
1, 255,  807 
2,  004, 055 


Tears. 


1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 


Acres. 


53,  317 
23,  450 
23,  072 
12, 932 
9,420 
12, 108 
13, 144 


Sugar. 


Pounds. 

27,  048 
21,933 
23, 505 
34,  599 
36, 846 
36,410 
21,  708 


Sirup. 


GaUo)is. 

1,  683,  042 

2, 187,  673 

1,817,042 

968, 130 

092, 314 

941,510 

928, 106 


EEPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  159 

lu  the  Ohio  Valley  there  has  been  a  tendeucy  to  decrease  in  area  of 
sorghum  since  1SG9,  while  there  has  been  a  marked  increase  in  the 
South  and  west  of  the  Missouri.  For  fourteen  years,  ending  with  1875, 
the  average  product  of  sirup  in  Ohio  has  been  2,054,005  gallons,  a  little 
more  than  the  crop  of  1869 ;  the  average  area  is  25,808  acres,  and  the 
yield  79.4  gallons  of  sirup  and  1.39  pounds  of  sugar  per  acre. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  increase  in  new  Western  States,  the  product, 
in  1875,  in  Kansas  is  reported  as  2,542,512  gallons ;  in  1809,  by  the 
ceusus  returns,  449,409  gallons.  The  crop  of  1875  was  produced  on 
23,020  acres :  average  per  acre,  110  gallons. 

Georgia  reported  the  ^ame  year  15,905  acres,  yielding  73  gallons  per 
acre,  or  1,101,005  gallons,  averaging  00  cents  per  gallon,  and  estimated 
to  cost  28  cents  per  gallon.  A  larger  quantity  of  sirup  is  extracted  as 
experience  is  acquired  and  processes  improved. 

As  an  estimate  for  twenty-one  years  since  the  introduction  of  sorghum, 
11,000,000  gallons  of  sirnp  per  annum  might  approximate  the  product. 
At  an  average  value  of  05  cents,  (it  is  less  now,)  the  value  of  the  annual 
product  would  be  $7,150,000.  The  sugar  of  sorghum  is  a  small  item, 
yet  in  fourteen  years,  in  Ohio  alouc,  it  amounts  to  500,000  pounds.  In- 
cluding sugar  and  forage,  the  annual  value  must  be  not  less  than 
$8,000,000,  and  the  aggregate  value  $108,000,000  since  its  introduction 
by  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

MAPLE- SUGAR. 

In  sections  where  the  rock-maple  prevails  tbe  manufacture  of  sugar 
and  sirup  from  it  is  a  remunerative  adjunct  to  other  farming  industries. 
The  season  of  manufacture — beginning  where  winter  ends  and  ending 
before  the  ground  is  sufficiently  thawed  and  settled  for  "  spring  work'' 
proper  to  begin— occuijies  a  period  in  which  little  other  farm-work  can 
be  pursued.  The  apparatus  for  -collecting  the  sap  and  manufacturing 
involves  a  very  small  investment.  The  fuel  consumed  is  usually  on  the 
ground,  consisting  of  the  prunings  of  the  maple  grove,  which  is  bene- 
fited thereby ;  and  within  a  month  or  six  weeks  from  the  time  the  proc- 
ess of  production  begins  the  farmer  may  have  the  cash  in  hand  for  his 
surplus  product,  and  that  at  a  season  when  he  rarely  has  other  cash 
productions  to  disijose  of. 

Vermont  has  probably  given  more  attention  to  the  development  of 
this  industry,  and  been  more  on  the  alert  to  discover  and  promptly 
adopt  improved  processes  of  manufacture,  than  any  other  State.  As  a 
consequence,  it  has  made  large  relative  gains  on  other  States  having 
like  resources.  Though  among  the  smallest  in  productive  area,  at  the 
last  census,  in  the  amount  of  sugar  produced,  it  had  outstripped  all 
others,  exceeding  New  York,  the  next  highest,  by  2,202,202  pounds. 
Estimating  the  product  of  that  season  at  10  cents  per  pound  for  sugar 
and  $1  per  gallon  for  sirup,  the  value  of  the  crop  would  be  $901,453. 
Except  the  labor  of  the  ordinary  force  on  the  farm,  at  the  most  imprac- 
ticable season  for  other  farm-work,  the  outgoes  are  so  smafl,  that  at  least 
90  per  cent  of  this  gross  sum  is  net  income,  earned,  as  it  were,  inciden- 
tally, while  waiting  for  the  frost  to  come  out  of  the  ground.  It  is  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  the  beautiful  rock-maple  "orchards,"  which  em- 
bower the  declivities  and  crown  tbe  hill-tops  of  this  agricultural  State, 
"  are  often  held  at  a  higher  value  than  other  land  covered  with  hard- 
wood timber  or  land  under  cultivation." 

Maple-sugar  production  is  mainly  limited  to  the  States  named  below, 


160         KEPORT   OP    THE    C0MMISSI0?^I:1R    OF    AGKICULTURi:. 

and  the  returns  for  quantities  of  sugar  and  sirup  produced  in  each  cen- 
sus year  of  tho  last  three  completed  decades  are  as  follows : 


Su;;ar. 

Sirap. 

Statca. 

1870. 

18fi0. 

1850. 

1870. 

18G0. 

1850. 

Pounds. 

13!i,  873 

1,  332, 332 

146, 490 

209,416 

100,  805 

009,  800 

1,  781,  855 

210,  407 

116,  980 

1,  800, 704 

6,  692,  040 

3,  409, 128 

1,  545,  917 

134, 968 

8,  894,  302 

215,093 

490,  C06 

507, 192 

28,  443,  645 

Pounds. 
134, 195 

1,541,701 
315, 436 
380,  941 
306, 742 

1,  006,  078 
4,  051,  S-22 

370,  669 

142, 028 

2, 255, 012 

10, 810,  419 

3, 345, 508 

2,  767,  335 
115, 620 

9,  897, 781 
938, 103 

Poimds. 

248,  904 

2,921,192 

78,  407 

437,  405 

93, 542 

795, 525 

2,  439,  794 

2,950 

178,  910 

1,  298, 863 
10, 357,  484 

4,  588, 209 

2,  320, 525 
158,  557 

6,  349,  357 
1,227,665 

Gallons. 
10,  378 

227,  880 
.      9,315 
49, 073 
28,  470 
2,  326 
23,  637 
12,  722 
10,317 
16,  884 
46,048 

352,  612 
39,  385 
4,843 
12,023 
11,400 
20, 209 
31,218 

921,  057 

Gallons. 

20,  048 

292,  908 

11,  405 

140, 076 

32,  679 

15,  307 

78, 998 

23,'038 

18,289 

43,833 

131,  843 

370, 512 

114, 310 

74, 372 

10,253 

99,  605 

Gallons. 
8,354 

180, 325 

3, 162 

30, 070 

3,167 

4,693 

19, 823 

Missouri 

5,636 
9,811 

56, 539 

Ohio 

197, 308 

50, 652 

7,223 

5,997 

40,  322 

1, 584,  451 
40,120,205 

610, 976 
34,253,430 

83, 118 
1,597,569 

9,874 

XJnited  States 

106, 789 

The  total  product  of  maple-siigar  reported  for  the  census  of  1840  was 
35,105,705  pounds.  The  proportions  of  sugar  and  sirup  manufactured 
vary  considerably  from  year  to  year,  but,  so  far  as  indicated  by  the  above 
table,  it  appears  that  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  Maine,  Missouri,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Ohio  about  one-half  of  the  product  in  weight  and  value  is  in 
the  form  of  sirup.  In  Kentucky  the  proportion  of  sirup  is  consider- 
ably greater,  while  in  Vermont  it  is  much  less.  The  Massachusetts 
census  for  1875  reports  the  value  as  well  as  the  quantity  of  both  sugar 
and  sirup :  the  former  averages  11.3  cents  per  pound ;  the  latter,  $1,183 
per  gallon ;  making  1  gallon  of  sirup  very  nearly  equal  in  value  to  lOJ 
j)0unds  of  sugar.  If  we  estimate  10  pounds  of  sugar  as  the  average 
equivalent  for  1  gallon  of  sirup  throughout  the  country,  the  production 
of  the  leading  States  reported  in  1870,  reckoned  in  pounds,  is  as  follows: 
Vermont,  9,014,532;  New  York,  7,152,520;  Ohio,  6,995,248;  Indiana, 
3,611,132;  New  Hampshire,  1,969,544;  Pennsylvania,  1,939,767.  The 
total  products  returned  in  1870  and  1860,  estimated  in  the  same  way,  are 
equivalent,  respectively,  to  37,654,215  and  56,096,095  pounds. 

According  to  a  statement  in  the  Agricultural  Eeport  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents  in  1853,  (p.  234,)  in  1811,  while  Vermont  produced  only 
1,200,000  pounds,  Kentucky  produced  2,471,647,  and  Ohio  3,033,806. 

The  principal  official  State  returns  forwarded  to  this  Department  since 
the  last  national  census  are  as  follows :  Massachusetts  reported  in  1875 
1,082,202  pounds  of  maple-sugar,  valued  at  $123,013,  and  23,015  gallons 
of  sirup,  valued  at  $27,235.  In  Michigan  the  quantity  returned  for  the 
national  census  of  1870  was  56  per  cent,  less  than  in  1860 ;  but  4,319,793 
pounds  were  returned  for  1874,  exceeding  the  product  of  1860  by  6.6  per 
cent.  In  Minnesota  the  State  return  for  1870  was  considerably  larger 
than  that  reported  for  the  national  census,  being  231,602  pounds  of  sugar, 
and  17,394  gallons  of  sirup.  In  1871  the  sugar  product  was  141,982 
pounds ;  sirup,  22,923  gallons.  The  average  annual  product  for  the  next 
three  years  was  160,275  pounds  and  17,394  gallons,  Iowa  returned  for 
1874  132,204  pounds  and  19,613  gallons. 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  161 

GRAPE-SmUP. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Weinberger,  of  Napa  County,  California,  is  reported  as  hav- 
ing  experimented  with  success,  which  promises  a  remunerative  industry, 
in  manufacturing  a  delicious  sirup  from  the  grape.  He  uses  for  this 
purpose  the  Mission  grape,  for  the  alleged  reason  that,  while  less  valu- 
able for  wine-making  than  other  varieties,  it  is  richer  in  saccharine  mat- 
ter. A  ton  of  these  grapes  yields  120  gallons  of  juice  fit  for  sirup.  As 
the  juice  expressed  after  it  begins  to  be  discolored  is  not  suitable  for 
making  sirup,  there  is  a  residuum  for  wine-making,  distillation,  or  feed 
for  hogs.  Three  gallons  of  juice  make  one  of  sirup.  Cook's  patent 
evaporator  (manufactured  at  Cincinnati)  will  reduce  250  gallons  of  juice 
to  sirup  in  about  12  hours. 

A  correspondent,  writing  in  January,  1877,  reports  that  Mr.  Tyein- 
berger  and  another  person  made  at  Saint  Helena,  the  past  season,  from 
3,000  to  4,000  gallons  of  grape-sirup,  far  superior  to  that  from  cane, 
which  finds  a  ready  sale  at  50  cents  per  gallon ;  that  at  that  price  it  will 
be  sufficiently  remunerative  to  enable  the  manufacturer  to  pay  the  pro- 
ducer $20  per  ton  for  grapes;  and  that  the  farmers  will  become  rich  if 
they  can  sell  their  immense  surplus  at  that  rate. 

SUGAR  FROM  WATERMELONS. 

The  following  facts  respecting  an  enterprise  in  California  for  manufact- 
uring sugar,  alcohol,  and  oil  from  the  watermelon  are  communicated  by 
our  correspondent  at  San  Francisco.  The  islands  in  the  delta  formed  by 
the  Sacramento  Eiver  on  the  north  and  the  San  Joaquin  on  the  south, 
(in  Sacramento  County,)  recently  reclaimed,  aggregate  a.bout  400,000 
acres  of  alluvial  deposit  of  marvelous  fertility.  The  soil  and  climate 
are  especially  adapted  to  the  production  of  watermelons  in  great  perfec- 
tion. The  yield  was  so  abundant  that  to  find  a  profitable  outlet  for 
surplus  crops,  amounting  to  hundreds  of  tons,  became  to  the  formers  an 
important  inquiry,  and  stimulated  endeavors  and  experiments  in  that 
direction.  By  using  only  crude,  primitive  apparatus,  they  succeeded  in 
manufacturing  sugar  so  satisfactory  in  quantity  and  quality,  that  several 
enterprising  farmers  on  Andros  Island  were  inspired  with  faith  to  unite 
in  an  enterprise  for  obtaining  the  best  apparatus  known,  and  manufact- 
uring on  an  extensive  scale.  The  result  is  an  organization  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  California  Sugar-Manufacturing  Company,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $2,000,000,  of  which,  at  last  accounts,  50,000  shares 
had  been  sold.  The  company  are  erecting,  at  Isleton,  a  factory  and 
appurtenances,  for  which  they  have  imported  machinery  from  Germany 
at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  The  design,  as  reported,  includes  the  manufacture 
of  two  or  three  grades  of  sugar  from  the  purer  juice,  alcohol  from  a 
remainder  in  the  pulp  and  rind,  and  oil  for  the  table  from  the  seeds. 
The  claim  that  the  melons  will  yield  aboiit  10  per  cent,  of  sugar  and  the 
seeds  25  per  cent,  of  oil  savors  of  sweetening  and  lubricating  a  little  too 
j)rofusely,  and  needs  confirmation. 

11  A 


162         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 
AGKICULTUEAL  BXPOETS. 


Statement  of  the  exports  of  agricidiural  products  of  the  United  States,  with  thdr  immediate 
manufactures,  for  the  two  fiscal  years  ending  June  30,  1876,  compiled  from  the  reports  of 
the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Treasury. 


Products. 


Quantitj'. 


Animals,  living : 

Hogs number . . 

Horned  cattle <lo 

Horses do 

Mules do 

Sheep do 

All  other  and  fowls 

Animal  matter : 

Bone  black,  ivory  black,  &c pounds.. 

Bones  and  bone  dust cwt. . 

Candles pounds. . 

Furs  and  fur-skins 

Glue 

Hair— 

Unmanufactured 

Manufactures  of -. 

Hides  and  skins  other  than  furs 

Leather — 

Sorts  not  specified pounds. 

Morocco  and  other  fine 

Boots  and  shoes pairs. 

Saddlery  and  harness 

Other  manufactures 

Oil- 
Lard gallons. 

Other  animal do... 

Provisions : 

Bacon  and  hams pounds.. 

Beef do... 

Butter do. .. 

Cheese do. . . 

Condensed  milk 

Eggs dozen . 

Lard pounds . 

Pork do... 

Preserved  meats 

Soap: 

Perfumed  and  toUet 

All  other pounds. 

Tallow do... 

Wax do... 

Wool: 

Raw  and  fleece do... 

Manufactures  of 


64,  979 

57,  211 

3, 220 

2,802 

124,  41C 


1,  598,  888 

71,376 

1,  605, 332 


Total  value  of  animals  and  animal  products 

Breadstuffs  and  their  preparations : 

Barley bushels.. 

Bread  and  biscuit pounds. . 

Corn bushels . . 

Corn-meal barrels.. 

Oats bushels.. 

Kye do... 

Bye-flour barrels., 

Wheat bushels.. 

Wheat-flour barrels. , 

Other  small  grain  and  pulse , 

Other  preparations  of  grain c 

Kice 


131, 244 


24, 154, 193 
""'293,'05i 


146,  594 
12, 136 

250, 296,  549 

48,  243, 251 

6,  360,  H27 

101, 010,  853 


34, 119 
166,  869, 393 
56, 152,  331 


10,167,655 

65,  461,  619 

353,  425 

178,  034 


Total  breadstulTs. 


91,118 

11,  729.  4G0 

28,  858,  420 

2'Jl,  654 

.504,  770 

207, 100 

9,  993 

53,  047, 177 

3,  973, 128 


Cotton  and  its  manufactures : 

Sea-island pounds..         4,439,120 

Other  unmanufactured do 1, 255, 979, 783 

Colored  goods yards..         7,593,723 

IJncolored  goods do....       21,224,020 

All  other  manufactures 


Total  cotton,  &c. 


Value. 


$739, 215 

1, 103,  085 

242,  031 

356,  828 

183, 898 

47,  448 

74,  643 
132, 246 
236,  676 

4,  396, 424 

22,  745 

429,  598 

19,  278 

4, 729,  725 

6,  286,  397 

335,  086 

429,  363 

74, 102 

199,  848 

147,  384 
12,  515 

28,  612,  613 
4, 197,  956 
1,  506,  996 
13,  659,  603 
123,  565 
8,  743 
22,  900,  522 

5,  671,  495 
735, 112 

16,  233 

677,  258 

5,  C02,  619 

96,  578 

62, 754 
154,  401 


104,  314,  988 


61,  408 

610,  092 

24,  456,  937 

1, 290,  533 

290,  537 

204,  590 

54, 964 

59,  607,  863 

23,  712,  440 

804, 193 

364,  708 

19,  831 


111,478,096 


1,  538,  769 
189,  099,  856 

939,  061 

2,  313,  270 
819,  551 


1876. 


Quantity. 


194,  710,  507 


68,  044 

51,593 

2,  030 

1,  784 

110,312 


686,  635 

40,  432 

1,  513,  475 


24, 288 


31,  947,  001 
"""263,' 508 


146,  323 
22,631 

327, 730, 172 

36,  596, 150 

4,  644,  894 

97,  676, 204 


29,  633 

168,  405,  839 

54, 195, 118 


10, 057, 478 

72,  432,  775 

218,  610 

104,  768 


317,  781 

12,006,469 

49,  493,  572 

354,  240 

1,  46C,  228 

543,  841 

7,553 

55,  073,  122 

3,  935,  512 


439,  991 


2,  644, 791 

t,  483,  760,  543 

16,488,214 

59,  319,  207 


Valus. 


1870,  042 

1, 110, 703 

234,  964 

224,  860 

171, 101 

24,  617 

29, 271 

69, 159 

229,  311 

4,  398,  883 

5,798 

310, 761 

6,254 

2, 905,  921 

8, 594,  580 

948,  980 

368,  633 

87, 730 

209, 062 

149, 156 

24, 498 

39,  664, 456 

3, 186,  304 

1, 109,  496 

12, 270,  083 

118,  549 

8,300 

22,  429,  485 

5,  744,  022 
998,  052 

11,  007 
673, 732 

6,  734,  378 

69, 127 

13,  845 
336,  389 


113,941,509 


210,  584 

632,  580 

33,  265,  280 

1,  305,  027 

538,  583 

480,  083 

39,  054 

68, 382,  899 

24,  433,  470 

1, 136,  515 

707,  478 

30,  918 


131,212,471 


941,803 

191,  717,  459 

1,  455,  462 

5,  314,  738 

952.  778 


200,  382,  240 


REPORT  OP  THE   STATISTICIAN. 
Statammt  of  the  export!  of  agricultural  products,  ^o. — Continued. 


163 


Frodnctt. 


Wood  and  its  prodncts : 

Boards,  planks,  joists,  &o M  feet. 

Laths,  palings,  pickets,  &o M. 

Shingles M. 

Box-shooks 

Other  staves  and  headings 

Hogsheads  and  barrels number. 

All  other  laniber 

Fire-wood cords . 

Hop,  hoop,  and  telegraph  poles 

Logs,  masts,  and  other  whole  timber 

Timber  sawed  or  hewn cubic  feet. 

All  other  timber 

Household  furniture 

Wooden  ware 

Other  manufactures 

Ashes,  pot  and  pearl pounds. 

Bark  for  tanning 

Kosin  and  turpentine barrels . 

Spirits  of  turpentine gallons . 

Tar  and  pitch barrels. 


Total  wood,  &o. 


Miecellaneous : 

Brooms,  brushes,  to 

.  Cordage,  ropes,  &c pounds. 

Fruits- 
Apples,  green,  ripe,  or  dried. pounds. 

Ouier  green,  ripe ,  or  dried 

Preserved,  in  cans,  &c 

Ginseng pounds. 

Hay tons. 

Hemp- 
Unmanufactured owt. 

Cordage,  cables,  &c do  . 

Other  manufactures 

Hops pounds. 

quors,  alcoholic- 
Beer,  ale,  porter,  and  cider— 

In  bottles dozen. 

In  casks gallons. 

Spirits  distilled  from — 

Grain .  gallons . 

Molasses do... 

Other  materials do . . . 

Wine gallons. 

Oil-cake pounds. 

Oil— 

Cotton-seed gallons. 

Linseed do... 

Essential  or  volatile 

Seeds- 
Cotton pounds. 

Flax  or  lint bushels . 

All  other 

Starch pounds . 

Sugar- 
Brown  pounds . 

Koflned do... 

Mola  ssos gallons. 

Candy  and  confectionery 

Tobacco — 

Leaf pounds . 

Cigars M . 

Snuff pounds . 

Other  manufactuiea 

Vegetables  and  their  preparations — 

Onions bushels. 

Pickles  and  sauces 

Potatoes bushels . 

All  other 

Vinegar .' gallons. 

iotal  miscellaucoas 


1875. 


Quantity. 


213,  974 
6,777 
40,  628 


202,  879 
"""{,'973 


13, 553,  714 


1,  726,  624 


937,  527 

5, 599, 624 

54,  905 


3,  035, 241 

4,  813,  270 


497, 487 
7,183 

2,140 
11, 133 


3, 066, 703 


3,633 
61,661 

130,  460 

414,  564 

219 

45, 039 

247,  016, 095 

417,  387 
32, 370 


5, 316, 113 
43 


7,  382,  862 

3G2,  552 
23,  789,  836 
3,  575,  980 


223,  901, 913 

336 

21,  894 


47, 695 

'609,' 642 

16,345 


Value. 


$3,  693, 909 

22,  535 

160,  925 

471,942 

5, 239,  329 

459,  085 

235,  984 

6,  023 

556,  450 

572,  801 

2,  357,  842 

306,  975 

1,711,709 

342,  815 

1,  539,  701 
115,  622 
193,  938 

2,  774,  419 
1,  924,  544 

127,  206 


22,  875,  814 


146,  988 
391, 165 

1,  048,  440 
269,  632 
315,  931 
658,  926 
110, 225 

21,  656 

171,196 

700,  309 

1, 286, 501 


7,600 

16,  604 

140,519 

210, 169 

666 

50,  308 

5, 138, 300 

216,  640 

30,  689 

217,  576 

63, 128 

137 

1, 227,  750 

442,  682 

31,  111 

2, 585, 382 

1, 135,  995 

41,  029 

25, 241,  549 

17,  072 
7,570 

2, 578, 279 

51,259 

18,  865 
522, 182 
109,  425 

4,  756 


42,  594,  411 


1870. 


Quantity. 


252,  427 

5,675 

33,  636 


152, 228 
"3,"  032 


21,  786,  414 


1,  309,  861 


824,  256 

5, 178,  934 

69, 133 


2, 126,  524 
891, 138 


550,  624 

7,528 


870 
11, 200 


9, 191,  589 


7,045 
99,  310. 

130,  381 

1,  088, 133 

204 

31,  915 

287, 119,  800 

281,  054 
30, 331 


5, 164,  546 


9,  685,  552 

22,  714 

51,  840,  977 

4,  408,  412 


218, 310, 265 

707 

10, 551 


61,  816 
'764,'379' 
"19,' 325' 


Vain*. 


13,  862, 793 
16,  501 

150,  847 

105, 796 
4,  322, 252 

349,  456 

321,  790 
9,029 

476,  312 

616, 197 
3,  463,  352 

138, 553 
1,  574,  935 

342,  860 

1,  565,  602 

75, 597 

223, 276 
2, 188,  623 
1,  672,  068 

164, 647 


21, 620,  486 


198,  914 
271,090 

289, 679 
210, 177 
327, 422 
046, 954 
134,  017 

8,318 

147, 009 

737, 042 

1,  384,  521 


13, 007 

29, 657 

93,  666 

457,  259 

766 

33,  483 

5, 774, 585 

146, 135 
23,  770 
248,270 

69,  005 

257 

1,  348,  750 

524,  956 

2,354 

5,  552, 587 

1,1.58.585 

32, 245 

22,  737, 383 

23, 407 

4,  793 

2,804,955 

54,  015 

19,  036 

431, 443 

133, 272 

6,133 


46,  079,  567 


164         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

Statement  of  the  exports  of  agricultural  products.  <^-c. — Coutinued. 
EECAPITULATIO^f. 


1871. 

1872, 

1873. 

18ff4. 

1875. 

1878. 

Animals  and  animal  matter. 

Breadstuffs,  &c 

Cotton,  &o 

$47,010,312 
79,519,387 

221,885,245 
15,820,029 
33,060,081 

$77,060,849 
85,155,523 

182,988,925 
21,425,068 
40,139,296 

$99,806,599 
98,762,891 

230,190,597 
25,854,120 
37,901,458 

$99,607,669 

161,225,939 

214,319,"420 

27,675,303 

45,486,626 

$104,314,988 
111,478,096 
194,710,507 

B  22,875,814 
45,294,411 

$113,941,509 

131,212,471 

200,382,240 

21,620,486 

46,079,567 

Total  agricnltural  exports 

397,304,054 
562,518,651 

406,769,661 
549,219,718 

492,.515,665 
649,132,563 

548,314,954 
693,039,066 

478,673,816 
643,094,767 

513,236,273 
644,956,406 

Per  cent,  of  :jgricnlt'l  matter . 

70 

74 

7(i 

79     . 

74 

79 

Oar  agricultural  exports  were  nearly  80  per  cent,  in  value  of  the  total 
domestic  exports,  against  74  per  cent,  in  1875.  Their  actual  increase 
in  value  was  $37,542,438,  or  nearly  8  per  cent.,  while  the  total  domestic 
export  increased  only  $1,801,439,  or  less  than  one-third  of  1  per  cent. 
An  increase  is  noted  in  all  the  leading  branches,  except  wood  and  its 
products,  which  fell  off  about  6  per  cent.  Animal  matter  increased  over 
9  per  cent.,  though  living  animals  fell  off  considerably,  Bacon,  hams, 
leather,  and  tallow  show  an  increase  of  over  $12,000,000,  while  beef, 
butter,  and  cheese  declined  about  $2,000,000.  Breadstuffs  increased 
nearly  $20,000,000,  the  leading  items  of  increase  being  nearly  $9,000,000 
in  corn  and  corn-meal,  and  $9,500,000  in  wheat  and  flour.  Oats,  rye, 
and  rye-flour  fell  off  nearly  half,camounting  to  but  little  over  a  half  mill- 
ion of  dollars.  Barley,  always  a  small  export,  shows  a  considerable 
increase.  Eaw  cotton  barely  held  its  own,  while  manufactures  of  cot- 
ton nearly  doubled  in  value.  The  export  of  uaicolored  goods  rose  from 
21,224,020  yards  in  1875  to  59,319,207  yards  in  1870 ;  the  aggregate  value 
from  $2,313,270  to  $5,314,738.  Miscellaneous  matter  increased  about 
9  per  cent.  The  leading  items  of  increase  are  found  in  hops,  distilled 
spirits,  oil-cake,  seeds,  starch,  refined  sugar,  and  manufactures  of  hemp 
and  tobacco.  Cordage,  fruits,  brown  sugar,  tobacco  leaf,  and  vegetables 
show  a  decline. 

Comparing  the  figures  of  the  six  years  embraced  in  the  recapitulation 
above,  we  find  that  the  proportion  of  agricultural  matter  to  the  total 
domestic  export  has  gradually  risen  from  70  per  cent,  in  1871  to  nearly 
80  per  cent,  in  1870,  with  a  decline  to  74  per  cent,  in  1875,  but  after  de- 
ducting the  precious  metals,  the  proportion  will  be  found  to  be  uni- 
formly about  five-sixths  of  the  remainder-;  animal  matter  rose  from 
less  than  12  per  cent,  of  the  agricultural  export  in  1871  to  over  22  per 
cent,  in  1870 ;  breadstuffs  from  20  to  25  J  per  cent.,  reaching  in  1874 
nearly  30  per  cent. ;  cotton  fell  from  about  00  per  cent,  to  39  per  cent. ; 
wood,  with  its  products,  has  ranged  between  4  and  5J  per  cent. ;  mis- 
cellaneous matter,  between  7^  per  cent,  and  10  per  cent. 


FLOUR  AND  GRAIN  MOVEMENTS. 

EXPORT  TRADE. 

The  steady  growth  of  our  export  trade  in  cereals  marks  an  important 
change  in  the  production  of  the  civilized  world.  For  several  years  there 
has  been  a  growing  deficiency  in  the  breadstuff-crops  of  some  European 
countries.  The  development  of  international  communications  and  q£ 
close  Qpmmercial  relations  between  the  different  states  of  That  continent 


REPORT    OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  165 

has  utilized  tlio  surplus  of  the  wheat-producing  countries  by  giving  it 
easier  access  to  the  wheat-consuming  countries.  But  of  late  years  the 
reduction  of  wheat-.acreage  has  rendered  necessary  an  increased  import 
from  other  continents.  An  example  of  this  reduction  is  especially  no- 
ticeable in  the  U«iited  Kingdom,  which  has  been  gradually  narrowing 
her  wheat-fields  to  enlarge  her  i^ermanent  pasturage.  The  demand  for 
animal  food  is  trenching  upon  cereal  production.  The  acreage  of  Great 
Britain  in  wheat  fell  from  3,571,894  acres  in  1871  to  2,994,957  acres  in 
1876,  a  decline  of  IG  per  cent.  The  gradual  progress  of  this  decline 
shows  it  is  the  result  of  steady  and  permanent  causes.  In  Ireland  this 
declining  movementtis  still  more  marked,  the  area  falling  from  246,954 
acres  in  1871  to  119,597  in  1876,  a  loss  of  52  per  cent.  The  whole  United 
Kingdom,  including  the  Channel  Islands,  shows  a  decrease  from  4,185,974 
acres  in  1857  to  3,126,555  acres  in  1876,  or  25  per  cent.  The  rate  of 
yield,  with  some  fluctuations,  has  gradually  fallen  from  33^  bushels  per 
acre  in  1857  to  27  in  1876.  Meanwhile,  as  population  and  wealth  have 
increased,  and  as  the  humbler  classes  have  improved  in  their  circum- 
stances and  aspirations,  using  better  food  than  formerly,  the  demand 
for  wheat-bread  has  increased4n  the  British  islands  to  an  extent  which, 
in  1876,  required  from  90,000,000  to  100,000,000  bushels  of  foreign  grain 
to  meet  it. 

Across  the  English  Channel  the  same  deficiency  in  production  has 
manifested  itself,  though  to  a  smaller  extent.  The  Echo  Agricole,  a  lead- 
ing French  agricultural  journal,  estimates  the  crop  of  1876  in  France  at 
256,726,250  bushels,  of  which  but  a  small  surplus  will  be  left  after  sup- 
plying the  domestic  demand.  The  official  statistics  of  the  government 
give  the  aggregate  product  at  262,454,038  bushels.  The  statistics  of 
foreign  trade,  however,  show  that  these  estimates  are  too  high,  or  that 
home  consumption  is  greater  than  French  statisticians  are  willing  to 
allow.  The  excess  of  imports  of  wheat  over  exports  averaged  16,671,500 
bushels  during  the  last  six  years.  The  average  annual  aci;eage  of  those 
six  years  fell  sliort  of  the  average  of  the  previous  ten  years  314,334 
acres,  or  about  2  per  cent.  The  decline  of  wheat-production  in  France, 
then,  if  less  rapid  than  in  the  British  islands,  is  clearly  indicated. 

As  an  example  of  what  are  called  the  wheat-producing  countries  of 
Europe,  we  notice  a  rapid  decline  in  the  product  of  the  Austro-Hunga- 
rian  Empire.  The  American  consul  at  Vienna,  in  his  report  of  Novem- 
ber 1, 1875,  to  the  State  Department,  shows  that  during  the  ten  years 
closing  with  1871  the  excess  of  cereal  exports  of  the  empire  averaged 
about  $25,000,000  per  annum  in  value.  But  in  1872  there  was  a  surplus 
of  imports  which  took  out  of  the  country  $5,000,000 ;  this  deficiency 
increased  to  $18,000,000  in  each  of  the  two  following  years.  The  total 
product  of  the  empire  fell  from  118,003,880  bushels  in  1868  to  99,014,790 
bushels  in  1874;  the  last-named  crop  showed  a  considerable  increase 
over  its  predecessor.  Meanwhile  civilization  has  been  advancing  in 
Austro-Hungary;  other  industries  have  been  flourishing,  trade  rela- 
tions have  been  extended  and  perfected  with  surrounding  countries;  an 
Increased  amount  of  wheat  is  taken  for  home  consumption.  The  result 
is  a  deficit  in  production  and  an  excess  of  importation  over  exportation. 
Whether  the  shortness  of  the  late  crops  is  a  permanent  feature  in  pro- 
duction is  yet  to  be  seen,  but  even  if  the  former  standard  of  growth 
be  re-established,  it  is  evident  that  the  surplus  for  export  will  be  con- 
stantly narrowed  by  the  increasing  wants  of  the  population. 

The  same  causes  are  at  work  in  other  countries  of  Eastern  and  South- 
eastern Europe.  The  conditions  of  wheat-production  are  changing. 
Agricultural  labor  becomes  scarcer  and  higher  priced  as  general  indus- 


166         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER  OF   AGRICULTXJRE. 

tries  are  developed;  land  rises  in  value,  and  all  the  elements  which 
enter  into  the  cost  of  raising  a  bushel  of  wheat  are  enhanced.  In 
America  this  enhancement  is  met  by  a  wonderful  development  of 
mechanical  labor-saving  processes  in  agriculture,  but  even  with  this 
advantage  the  wheat-production  of  this  country  is  rapidly  shitting  to 
the  cheap  lauds  beyond  the  Mississippi.  In  the  wheat-producing 
countries  of  Southern  Europe  this  economy  of  labor  is  not  studied  and 
practiced  as  in  the  United  States.  Processes  of  culture  are  still  quite 
primitive,  and  do  not  advance  in  efficiency  as  rapidly  as  the  increased 
demands  for  subsistence  in  Europe  generally.  Political  settlements  in 
this  quarter  are  not  favorable  to  a  general  development  of  industry. 
The  old  unsettled  eastern  question  has  assumed  one  of  its  most  threaten- 
ing phases,  and  the  war  now  in  progress  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
threatens  not  only  a  decline  in  production,  but  also  a  serious  obstruction 
of  the  channels  of  trade.  All  of  these  circumstances  point  to  a  still 
more  enlarged  scope  of  the  American  export  trade,  at  least  for  several 
years  to  come. 

In  a  statistical  report  published  by  authority  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, of  which  an  abstract  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  report,  the  aver- 
age annual  product  of  Europe  is  estimated  at  5,153,808,000  bushels,  or 
17  bushels  jper  capita  of  the  population.  The  average  annual  consump- 
tion per  capita  is  set  down  at  15.6  bushels  for  food,  seed,  and  various 
manufactures.  If  these  estimates  are  only  approximately  correct,  it  is 
evident  that  Europe  raises  its  own  supply  of  cereal  products.  But  the 
large  importation  of  wheat  and  other  breadstuff's  from  America,  Aus- 
tralia, India,  and  elsewhere  shows  in  these  grains  the  home  production 
is  not  equal  to  the  demand. 

Of  European  countries,  the  United  Kingdom  is  by  far  the  greatest 
consumer  of  foreign  breadstuffs.  Her  wheat  imports,  with  considerable 
fluctuations,  show  a  steady  increase.  Her  supplies,  prior  to  1860,  came 
principally  from  Eussia,  Germany,  and  France.  In  1859,  the  imports 
from  the  United  States  were  given  at  430,504  cwts. ;  in  1861  they  had 
risen  to  16,610,472  cwts.  From  1860  to  1872,  inclusive,  we  supplied  the 
British  population  with  28.10  per  cent,  of  their  foreign  flour  and  wheat, 
while  Russia  contributed  24.7  per  cent.,  and  Germany  17.2  per  cent. 
In  1873, we  furnished  45  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  imported  into  the  British 
islands  and  25  per  cent,  of  the  flour  j  in  1874,  53  per  cent,  of  the  wheat 
and  nearly  53  per  cent,  of  the  flour ;  in  1875, 45  per  cent,  of  the  wheat 
and  37^  per  cent,  of  the  flour ;  in  1870,  nearly  43  per  cent,  of  the  wheat 
and  39  per  cent,  of  the  flour.  During  the  last  four  years  Russia  fur- 
nished the  following  proportions  of  the  wheat  consumed  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  viz :  1873,  nearly  22  per  cent. ;  1874,  nearly  14  per  cent. ; 
1875,  191  per  cent. ;  1S7G,  19|  per  cent.  The  flour  received  from 
Russia  was  too  inconsiderable  for  mention  in  the  Treasury  statistics. 
Germany  furnished,  in  1873,  5  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  11  per  cent,  of 
the  flour ;  in  1874,  7.3  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  12.3  per  cent,  of  the 
flour ;  in  1875,  lOf  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  13  per  cent,  of  the  flour ; 
in  1876,  6  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  15|  per  cent,  of  the  flour.  France, 
in  1873,  furnished  less  than  3  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  nearly  27  per 
cent,  of  the  flour;  in  1874,  less  than  1  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  10 J  per 
cent,  of  the  flour ;  in  1875,  2^  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  and  nearly  29  per 
cent,  of  the  flour ;  in  1876,  about  five-eighths  of  1  per  cent,  of  the  wheat 
and  18  per  cent,  of  the  flour. 

The  above  facts  and  figures  show  something  of  our  current  relations 
to  the  greatest  consuming  grain  market  in  the  world.  From  consid- 
erations before  cited,  we  are  aasured  that  our  three  leading  competitors 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


167 


named  above — Eussia,  Germany,  and  France— will  fall  behind  in  the 
movement,  but  we  will  be  able  to  occupy  but  a  portion  of  the  field 
vacated  by  them.  Other  countries  are  sending  their  products  to  this 
market— countries  in  which  the  cost  of  production  is  less  than  in  either 
the  United  States  or  Europe.  In  1876,  Turkey  increased  her  import  67 
per  cent,  and  Egypt  42  per  cent. ;  but  the  present  Turko-Eussian  war 
will  paralyze  this  trade.  Chili  raised  her  contribution  nearly  50  per 
cent. ;  India  nearly  tripled,  and  unenumerated  countries  with  small 
importations  nearly  doubled  their  previous  aggregate.  All  the  great 
wheat-produciug  countries,  including  the  United  States,  fell  off  in  1876 
from  the  previous  aggregate.  The  sudden  increase  of  the  import  from 
India  attracted  special  attention.  Some  attributed  it  to  temporary 
causes,  especially  to  the  decline  in  the  value  of  silver  in  Europe  without 
any  corresponding  decline  in  India.  It  was  stated  that  during  187G  an 
English  wheat  importer  could  procure  by  exchange  10,000  rupees  for 
about  £833,  whereas  in  India  the  former  retained  their  full  purchasing 
power  of  £1,000.  This  difference  not  only  paid  the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion, but  added  considerably  to  the  margin  of  profit.  It  was  very  sen- 
sibly argued  that  such  a  state  of  things  could  only  be  temporary,  and 
that  the  equilibrium  between  supply  and  demand  would  speedily  adjust 
itself  in  such  manner  as  to  absorb  this  extra  margin,  and  to  place  this 
trade  on  a  par  with  that  of  other  countries.  Others  argue  that  the 
great  improvements  in  internal  transportation  in  India  and  the  con- 
struction of  the  Suez  Canal  have  created  a  class  of  economic  conditions 
which  will  give  this  trade  a  permanent  vitality,  especially  as  the  cotton 
production  of  Hiudostan  has  begun  to  decline,  leaving  capital,  cheap 
labor,  and  cheap  land  available  for  cereal  production. 

It  is  evident  that  wheat-culture  is  constantly  seeking  the  cheapest 
possible  conditions  of  production.  Our  vast  area  of  virgin  land  annually 
brought  under  culture  by  our  pioneer  settlers  and  our  extended  com- 
munications by  water  and  rail,  together  with  our  immense  labor-saving 
machinery,  still  give  us  measurably  the  advantage  in  the  supply  of 
wheat  and  other  grains  that  will  bear  distant  transportation ;  but  it  is 
still  a  question  how  long  this  advantage  will  remain  with  us.  For  the 
immediate  future,  however,  indications  are  sufficiently  strong  that  our 
export  trade  in  cereals  will  greatly  increase. 

Our  exports  of  wheat  and  flour  during  the  last  fifty-one  fiscal  years 
were  as  follows : 


Five  years  ending— 

Wheat. 

Flour. 

Ml 

p    . 

c  ^ 

to  5    . 

1830      .  .                                                         

Bushels. 

125,  547 

614,  H5 

1,842,841 

2,  946,  801 

10, 184,  C45 

16,  440,  955 

38,  803,  573 

138,  300,  907 

81,808,304 

224,  019,  370 

Barrels. 

4,  651, 940 

5,  241,  964 
4,  092,  932 

6,  274,  697 
12,284,828 
13, 149,  518 
15,  778,  268 
19,  757,  733 
11,  454,  785 
16,797,684 

Bushels. 

23, 385, 247 

26,  823,  965 

22,  307,  501 

34,  320, 346 

71,  608,  785 

82, 194,  545 

117,  699,  913 

237,  095,  572 

139,  082,  2S9 

308,  007, 796 

99.46 

1835 

97.2 

1840      ...          .                               

91.7 

1845      ...                      .          

91.1 

1850 

85.77 

1855 

79.9 

1800 

07 

1865 

42.09 

1870       .                                                        

41.2 

1875...                 

27.2 

Total  for  fi Ttv  vrais 

51.'..  104.  2i  4 
f.5,  073.  122 

1119,484,341) 
3.  935.  51*! 

1,  062,  525,  959 

51.5 

1876 -. 

74,  750,  682 

36.32 

168 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


The  declared  value  of  these  exports  was  as  follows: 


WHEAT. 

FLOUR. 

WHEAT  AXD  FLOUR,  RE- 
DUCED. 

Five  years  ending— 

Aggregate 
value. 

Average' 
value  per 
bushel. 

Aggregate 
value. 

Average 

value  per 

barrel. 

Aggregate 
value. 

Average 
value  per 
bushel. 

0  5  ci 

1830 

$U2,7.-.4 

737,  365 

1,  817,  067 

2, 900,  785 

12,  801, 093 

21, 864,  762 

53,  343,  918 

178,  470,  444 

117,527,424 

296,  540,  060 

5'0  89.  8 
1  20 
98.6 
98.4 
1  25.7 
1  32.  9 
1  37.4 
1  29 
1  43.7 
1  32.2 

124]  70S,  090 
29,  347,  049 
27,  231,  952 
31,  056, 150 
69,375,741 
75,775,220 

104,  368,  446 

133, 356,  875 
92,  071,  717 

114, 401,  066 

$5  31. 1 

5  59.9 

6  05.3 

4  94.9 

5  64.7 

5  76.  2 

6  61.5 
6  74.8 
8  03.9 
6  86.9 

§24,  820,  844 
30,  085,  014 
29, 049,  019 
33,  956,  941 
82, 176,  834 
97,  639,  932 
157,712,304 
311,827,319 
209,  599, 141 
410,  941, 128 

$1  06.1 
1  13.7 
i  30.2 

98.8 
1  18.8 
1  18.8 
1  34 
1  31.6 
1  50.8 
1  33.2 

99.5 

1835 

97.  £.5 

1840 

184a 

93.7 
91.5 

1850 

84.4 

18.55 

77.6 

1860 

66.2 

1865 

42.8 

1870 

43.9 

1875 

27.8 

Total  for  fifty 

686, 115,  672 

1  33.1 

701,  692,  912 

6  40.9 

1,  387,  803,  534 

1  30.0 

50.6 

1876 

68,  382,  699 

1  24.1 

24,  433,  470 

6  20.8 

92,816,309 

1  24.  2 

26.32 

The  above  figures  present  some  very  interesting  indications  in  regard 
to  our  foreign  wheat  trade.  The  enormous  increase  of  exports  in  the 
five  years  aiding  with  1865  is  especially  remarkable,  being  more  than 
double  those  of  the  previous  five  years.  These  were  years  of  civil  strife 
and  bloodshed,  of  gigantic  struggle  to  conquer  a  peace  with  revolted 
States.  These  States  had  previously  consumed  a  large  proportion  of 
the  wheat  products  of  the  North  and  West,  but  the  operations  of  war 
broke  up  this  internal  trade  and  threw  an  immense  surplus  into  the 
channels  of  our  export  trade.  The  nest  five  years,  closing  with  1870, 
showed  a  reduction  of  nearly  100,000,000  bushels,  or  20,000,000  bushels 
per  annum,  but  the  five  years  ending  with  1875  more  than  doubled  the 
export.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  average  export  values  of  wheat  during 
the  civil-war  period  were  lower  than  in  the  semi-decades  immediately 
previous  or  subsequent ;  while  those  of  flour  were  but  a  few  cents  above 
the  previous  period,  and  far  below  the  exceptional  rates  of  the  semi- 
decade  immediately  succeeding. 

The  proportion  of  flour  shows  a  steady  and  invariable  decline.  Fifty 
years  ago  it  constituted  nearly  the  whole  of  our  wheat  export,  but  in 
1876  it  was  but  little  over  one-fourth  of  the  whole,  either  in  quantity  or 
value.  A  special  reason  for  this  is  found  in  the  necessity  of  giving 
every  possible  scope  to  industrial  production  in  Europe.  The  increas- 
ing cost  of  grain  production  in  Europe  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
improvement  in  transatlantic  transportation  on  the  other,  gave  to  the 
milling  interest,  especially  in  England  and  France,  a  margin  of  profit 
in  grinding  American  grain,  which  secured  to  that  interest  an  enormous 
development.  Vast  improvements  in  milling  machinery  and  market 
arrangements  were  devised,  and  strenuous  efforts  made  to  secure  the 
manufacture  of  flour  to  domestic  enterprise.  Meanwhile  American 
millers  found  more  profitable  markets  in  other  countries.  Over  half 
the  exports  of  the  last  two  fiscal  years  were  to  South  America,  West 
Indies,  China,  and  Japan ;  countries  in  which  flour-manufacture  scarcely 
exists.  To  a  large  portion  of  this  field  we  send  our  cheaper  flours, 
superfines  and  low-grade  extras.  The  United  Kingdom  receives  an 
increasing  amount  of  our  better  grades  of  flour,  the  aggregates  being 
1,231,374  barrels  in  1875  and  1,335,185  barrels  in  1876,  the  last  being 
over  a  third  of  the  whole  flour  export.  France  took  1,020  barrels  in 
i875,  and  only  19  barrels  in  1876  j  Germany  took  7,920  barrels  in  1875, 
and  14,113  barrels  in  1876. 


REPORT   OF   THE    S'MTISTICIAN.  169 

But  while  Europeaa  millers  have  enlarged  and  fortified  their  interest 
by  the  latest  scientific  appliances,  American  millers  have  shown  still 
greater  enterprise.  With  the  world's  markets  for  cheap  flours  prac- 
tically assured  them,  they  have  entered  upon  a  keen  competition  with 
European  millers  for  the  supply  of  the  better  grades.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century  our  processes  of  milling  were  of  a  very 
primitive  description,  embracing  generally  but  a  single  pair  of  buhrs 
and  a  reel.  Many  improvements  upon  this  rude  mechanism  were  grad- 
ually introduced  during  the  first  half  of  the  century,  but  the  original 
crude  idea  was  still  maintained,  the  production  of  as  much  flour  as 
possible  from  a  single  gfiuding.  The  cells  of  gluten  and  starch  in  the 
grain  were  separated  by  mashing  or  squeezing,  so  as  to  leave  a  mini- 
mum of  middlings,  as  the  latter  could  be  made  available  only  in  low- 
grade  flour.  This  was  the  exclusive  rationale  of  milling  in  American 
mills  till  within  a  few  years. 

What  is  called  the  new  process  in  flour-manufacture  was  but  lately 
heard  of  in  the  mills  of  Minnesota.  Though  a  new  process  in  this  country, 
it  is  only  the  adaptation  of  an  idea  that  has  prevailed  in  the  mills  of 
Hungary  for  sixty  years,  represented  tTiere  in  a  i^rocess  called  "  half-high 
milling."  American  millers,  however,  have  introduced  very  important 
modifications.  The  object  of  both  the  American  and  Hungarian  sys- 
tems is  to  obtain  the  maximum  proportion  of  middlings  and  the  purifi- 
cation of  the  middlings  before  regrinding  into  flour.  The  Hungarian 
system  accomplishes  these  results  by  a  complicated  and  bewildering 
series  of  processes.  The  American  system,  with  constant  improvements 
in  machinery,  is  abridging  this  series,  and  obtaining  nearly  the  same 
results  with  fewer  and  simpler  manipulations.  The  delegate  of  the 
Austro-Hungarian  Millers'  Association  to  the  late  Centennial  Exposition 
at  Philadelphia  says  that  the  two  systems  are  identical  in  principle 
and  results,  and  that  American  flour  production  is  destined  to  become 
a  still  more  formidable  competitor  to  European  millers.  Both  seek  first 
to  disintegrate,  not  to  crush,  the  granules  of  the  wheat,  which  are,  as 
far  as  possible,  preserved  unbroken  ;  their  coating  of  cellular  tissue  pro- 
tects their  nitrogenous  contents  from  the  consuming  chemistry  of  the 
atmosphere  and  from  the  germs  of  microscopic  vegetation  floating 
everywhere  around  us.  The  buhrs  also  do  not  heat  the  cells  as  under 
the  old  system,  involving,  as  it  did,  the  absorption  of  moisture  and 
chemical  changes  in  the  body  of  the  grain.  The  new  process  avoids 
several  chemical  compounds  of  disagreeable  taste  and  smell  which 
formerly  affected  the  flour,  which  now  embraces  all  the  normal  elements 
of  the  berry  in  their  natural  state. 

The  American  process  originated  in  Minnesota.  A  brief  article  in  the 
annual  report  of  this  Department  for  1875  gives  some  interesting  facts 
in  regard  to  its  origin  and  introduction.  At  least  one-fourth  of  the  mills 
of  Minnesota  are  constructed  with  reference  to  this  "  high-jnilling  "  proc- 
ess. The  wheat  of  that  region  is  almost  entirely  spring-sown,  but  its 
hard,  brittle  nature  renders  it  peculiarly  fit  for  this  kind  of  manufacture. 
Spring-wheat  flour  formerly  ruled  much  below  winter- wheat  flour  j  but 
the  "  patent  springs  "  now  lead  the  finest  winter-wheat  brands  in  the 
most  fastidious  consuming  markets  of  the  East.  This  flour  is  made  from 
disengaged  uncrushed  middlings  5  the  flour-dust  that  is  unavoidably 
produced  in  the  grinding  is  of  low  grade.  This  process  has  been  intro- 
duced as  yet  to  only  a  limited  extent  in  other  regions.  It  is  already 
used  to  some  extent  with  manifest  advantage,  in  milling  winter 
wheat.  It  has  utilized  the  cheaper  spring  wheat  and  rendered  it  avail- 
able for  high  flour  production.    It  is  a  leading  salient  fact  in  the  grain 


170 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP  AGRICULTURE. 


movement  of  this  country,  which  looks  to  very  important  changes  in  the 
near  future,  and  promises  a  great  extension  of  an  export  trade. 

Our  exports  of  maize  have  assumed  great  importance  within  the  last 
few  years.  The  following  table  shows  the  quality  and  value  of  our  ex- 
ports during  the  last  fifty-one  years  by  semi-decades  : 


CORN. 

CORN-MEAL. 

Five  years  ending— 

Bnshela. 

Ajrgregate 
vulue. 

Average 
value  per 
bushel. 

Barrels. 

Aggregate 
value. 

Average 

value  per 

barrel. 

1830 

3, 530, 710 

2, 568,  946 

1, 184,  973 

3,  474, 109 

43,  822, 153 

23,  905, 19G 

27,  597,  896 

52,  612,  028 

47,  993,  276 

146, 152, 915 

$2,  019,  926 

.1,801,711 

873, 104 

1,  755,  602 

31,277,920 

17,  712, 699 

19,  789, 181 

34, 903,  365 

47, 143,  817 

104,  464,  944 

$0  57.  5 
70.1 
73.7 
50.  5 
71.1 
74.1 
71.7 
C6.3 
9«.2 
71.5 

783,  406 
817,  3S3 
843,  93*/ 
1,132.749 
2,  493,  700 
1, 121,  456 
1,291,342 
1, 170, 607 
1,  355,  024 
1,  604, 053 

$2, 404,  371 
2,731,077 
2,471,215 
2,  037,  021 
8,984,252 
4,147,318 
4,917,515 
5, 323, 270 
7, 345,  448 
6, 461,  588 

?3  07. 
3  34  1 

1835 

1840 

4  11  3 

1845 

O   (Jg   1 

1850 

3  60  3 

1855 

3  69  8 

1860 

3  80  8 

1865 

4  52  4 

1870 

5  42 

1875 

4  02.8 

T«tal  for  fifty  years. 

352,  842,  202 

261,  742,  269 

74.2 

12,  619,  652 

48,  823,  075 

3  87 

187« 

<9,  493,  572 

33, 265, 280 

67.2 

354, 240 

1, 305,  027 

3  59.9 

The  exports  of  unmanufactured  corn  up  to  1845  were  small  and  fluctu- 
ating both  in  quantity  and  value.  The  semi-decade  ending  with  3850, 
during  which  the  disastrous  famine  in  Ireland  occurred,  showed  an  aggre- 
gate export  nearly  thirteen  times  as  great  as  its  predecessor,  and  an 
average  value  per  bushel  50  per  cent,  greater.  The  exports  of  corn- 
meal  more  than  doubled,  and  the  average  value  per  barrel  increased 
one-third.  The  excessive  demand  caused  by  the  famine  subsided,  and 
hence  the  exports  in  the  following  semi-decade  fell  off  nearly  half;  but  this 
cereal  had  made  a  permanent  lodgment  in  the  European  markets,  devel- 
oping an  increased  demand.  The  semi-decade  ending  with  1876  nearly 
tripled  the  exports  of  its  predecessor,  while  the  exports  of  1876  amounted 
to  over  tlirce  times  the  average  of  the  previous  five  years.  The  con- 
sumption of  this  grain  for  horse  and  cattle  food  is  rapidly  increasing, 
while  even  as  an  article  of  human  diet  it  is  finding  new  applications. 
The  United  Kingdom  imported  39,958,226  cwt.  of  maize  in  1876,  against 
20,420,292  cwt.  in  1875,  the  largest  previous  importation,  except  in  1872. 
Increasing  shipments  are  being  made  to  Italy,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Hol- 
land, Belgium,  and  France.  There  has  been  an  increased  consumption 
of  maize  in  Paris  and  other  continental  cities,  especially  for  feeding 
horses.  This  grain  has  demonstrated  a  feeding  value  for  the  same  money 
superior  to  that  of  oats,  hence  an  increased  demand  for  this  cereal  is 
created  in  the  European  grain-markets. 

The  other  qereals  show  but  a  small  export,  and  that  only  in  later 
years.  A  brief  analytical  review  of  our  foreign  cereal  trade  during  the 
last  thirteen  fiscal  jears  is  now  presented: 

During  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1876,  our  exports  of  grain,  in- 
cluding flour  and  meal,  reduced  to  their  equivalent  in  grain,  amounted 
to  128,026,829  bushels,  (an  increase  over  the  previous  year  of  23  per 
cent.,)  almost  equaling  the  enormous  aggregate  of  1873-'74.  The  total 
declared  value  of  this  export  was  $128,704,980,  an  increase  of  18  per 
cent.  The  average  value  per  bushel,  compared  with  the  previous  year, 
fell  from  $1.05^  to  $1.00^,  which  was  lower  than  during  the  last  fiscal 
year  before  the  wax,  when  values  were  reckoned  fi'om  a  gold  standard 
•xclofllvely.    IiLiMW62»4ibimdant  ^u-opa  and  th«  oloai&g  of  thtt  aoatk^ 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  171 

ern  markets  by  tbe  operations  of  war  left  a  large  surplus  in  the  Kortli- 
west  available  for  export  at  very  low  prices,  and  hence,  although  gold  had 
begun  to  depreciate,  the  average  value  of  the  grain  exports  sank  to  its 
minimum,  99^  cents  per  bushel.  But  as  the  depreciation  of  the  metallic 
currency  became  more  marked,  the  average  value  of  grain  exported,  be- 
ing estimated  in  legal-tender  currency,  began  to  enhance.  It  reached  its 
maximum,  $1.95f  per  bushel;  in  1864-'65,  the  fiscal  year  during  which 
the  war  closed  ;  during  that  year  the  average  of  the  monthly  means  of 
the  gold  premium  was  202i  per  cent.  In  subsequent  fiscal  years  there 
was  a  general  decline  both  in  the  average  export  value  of  grain  and  in 
the  gold  premium.  The  decline  of  the  latter  being  regulated  by  more 
general  considerations,  has  been  more  uniform  than  that  of  the  former. 
The  price  of  grain  has  been  subject  to  fluctuations  from  the  variation  in 
the  yield  of  European  crops.  The  average  export  value,  which  in  the 
year  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war  had  fallen  to  $1.21  per 
bushel,  rose  two  years  after  to  $1.70J,  after  which  it  fell  to  $1.03|  per 
bushel,  in  1872-'73.  In  the  following  year  it  reached  to  $1.22i  under  the 
extraordinary  demand  created  by  the  failure  of  the  crops  of  1873  in 
Europe,  but  subsequently  fell  to  the  low  figures  of  the  last  fiscal  year. 
These  variations,  together  with  that  of  the  gold  premium,  will  be  found 
in  one  of  the  tables  below. 

Wheat— Of  wheat  and  flour  consolidated,  our  exports  amounted  to 
74,750,682  bushels,  an  increase  of  2^  per  cent,  compared  with  the  pre- 
vious year.  Of  this  quantity,  26.32  per  cent,  was  in  the  form  of  flour, 
against  27.24  per  cent,  in  1874-'75;  our  flour  export  amounted  to 
3,935,512  barrels,  a  loss  of  37,616  barrels ;  our  exports  of  unground 
wheat  were  55,973,122  bushels,  aiT  increase  of  2,025,945  bushels.  The 
aggregate  value  of  wheat  and  flour  exported  was  $92,816,369,  an  in- 
crease of  11^  per  cent. ;  the  average  export  value  $1,241  per  bushel, 
against  $1.14.3  the  previous  year.  The  aggregate  value  of  the  exports 
of  flour  was  $24,433,470,  an  increase  of  3  per  cent. ;  the  average  value 
per  barrel  was  $6.20.8  against  $5.96.8  the  previous  year.  The  aggregate 
value  of  our  exports  of  unground  wheat  was  $68,382,899,  an  increase  of 
14|  per  cent. ;  and  the  average  value  per  bushel  $1.24.1  against  $1.12.4. 

It  is  customary  to  estimate  an  average  of  5  bushels  of  wheat  for  each 
barrel  of  flour.  With  improvements  in  milling  perhaps,  4J  bushels 
would  be  nearer  the  truth.  During  the  previous  years  the  margin  of 
price,  at  5  bushels,  had  been  growing  narrower  on  the  whole,  but  with 
some  variations.  Thus,  in  1863-'64,  ground  wheat  was  valued  11.1  cents 
per  bushel  higher  than  unground ;  in  1864-'65  the  margin  was  8.4  centsj 
in  1865-'66,  27.9  cents;  in  1866-'67,  69.5  cents;  in  1867-'6S,  11.5  cents; 
1868-'69, 15.8  cents ;  in  1869-'70,  unground  wheat  was  6.7  cents,  and  in 
1870-'71,  0.03  cents  higher  than  wheat  in  the  form  of  flour ;  in  1871-^2, 
ground  wheat  recovered  its  supremacy,  being  worth  1.7  cents  more  than 
the  unground ;  in  1872-'73,  this  margin  increased  to  19.6  cents,  but  de- 
clined in  1873-'74  to  0.1  cent ;  in  1874-'75  it  rose  to  6.9  cents,  but  during 
the  last  fiscal  year  it  entirely  disappeared. 

In  explanation  of  this  fact,  it  is  stated  that  our  best  brands  of  flour 
are  mostly  consumed  at  home,  and  that  the  bulk  of  our  flour  export 
consists  of  that  made  from  poorer  kinds  of  wheat.  On  the  other  hand, 
foreign  millers  of  late  years  demand  our  best  wheats  for  their  own  mills. 
This  raw-wheat  export  has  for  years  been  enlarging  its  relative  propor- 
tion to  the  total  wheat- export.  In  1865-'66,  our  flour  export  embraced 
66.17  per  cent,  of  the  quantity  and  70.11  per  cent,  of  the  entire  value  of 
the  wheat  export.    But  those  proportions  declined  in  subsequent  years, 


172         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 

reaching  their  minimum,  22.37  per  cent,  in  quantity  and  22.21  jier  cent,  in 
value,  in  lS73-'74.  During  the  last  two  years  the  proportion  of  flour 
has  somewhat  increased,  but  is  still  but  little  over  a  fourth  of  the  whole 
in  quantity  and  value. 

Later  improvements  in  grinding-machinery  now  render  it  practicable 
to  obtain  an  increased  quantity  of  flour  from  the  same  amount  of  wheat, 
and  to  make  the  flour  from  less-esteemed  varieties  of  wheat  as  attrac- 
tive to  consumers  as  the  brands  which  formerly  ruled  the  market.  Our 
improved  and  patented  spring-wheat  flours  are  largely  replacing  the 
finest  winter- wheat  brands  in  the  eastern  and  European  markets.  Thus, 
we  find  more  profit  in  exporting  our  best  varieties  of  wheat  unground, 
and  our  cheaper  varieties  in  the  form  of  flour.  These  facts  go  to  ex- 
plain the  seeming  anomaly  of  selling  to  foreigners  our  ground  wheat  at 
prices  no  higher  than  those  obtained  for  the  unground. 

Wheat,  including  flour,  still  constitutes  the  greater  part  of  our  cereal 
exports.  It  fell  below  half  the  quantity  of  the  total  export  only  in 
1866-'67,  in  which  the  short  crop  of  1866  formed  the  basis  of  the  trade ; 
but  even  in  that  year  its  aggregate  value  surpassed  that  of  all  other 
cereals.  The  maximum  proportion  of  wheat  exports,  95  per  cent,  in 
quantity  and  value,  was  in  1869-'70,  the  abundant  crop  of  1869  afford- 
ing a  very  large  surplus  for  foreign  consumption.  In  general  terms,  it 
may  be  stated  that  flour  and  wheat,  consolidated,  have  averaged  over 
two-tfiirds  of  the  quantity  and  three-fourths  of  the  value  of  the  annual 
cereal  exports  since  the  close  of  the  late  civil  war. 

During  the  last  fiscal  year  the  exports  of  wheat  and  flour  constituted 
25.58  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  wheat-crop  of  1875,  whereas  the  exports 
of  the  previous  fiscal  year  were  23.23  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  crop  of 
1874.  Of  the  crops  of  the  previous  calendar  years,  the  proportions 
exported  were  as  follows :  Crop  of  1873,  32.54  per  cent. ',  1872,  20.8  per 
cent.  5  1871,  16.82  per  cent. ;  1870,  22.28  per  cent. ;  1869,  20.72  per  cent. ; 
1868, 13.72  per  cent.;  1807, 12.23  per  cent.;  1806,  8.32  per  cent.;  1865, 
11.1  per  cent. ;  1864, 14.3  per  cent. ;  1863,  24  per  cent.  Of  later  years, 
we  spare  about  one-fourth  of  our  annual  production  for  the  wants  of 
foreign  countries,  while  our  annual  yield  is  steadily  increasing  in  spite 
of  fluctuations;  this  gives  us  the  basis  of  a  iDermanently-enlarged 
export. 

Corn. — The  exports  of  corn,  including  meal  reduced  to  its  equivalent 
in  grain,  (estimated  at  4  bushels  per  barrel,)  during  the  last  year  amounted 
to  50,910,532  bushels,  the  largest  amount  ever  exported  in  a  single  fiscal 
year,  and  nearly  70  per  cent,  greater  than  the  previous  year.  Of  this 
quantity,  the  proportion  sent  out  in  the  form  of  meal  was  but  2.81  per 
cent,  of  the  whole,  the  smallest  proportion  within  the  last  thirteen  fiscal 
years.  The  largest  proportion,  34.96,  was  in  1809-'7O,  but  it  has  steadily 
fallen  off  since  that  time.  This,  however,  is  not  the  result  of  a  falling 
off'  in  the  number  of  barrels  of  meal,  but  of  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
bushels  of  grain  exported.  The  aggregate  value  of  the  exports  of  corn 
and  meal  was  $34,570,307,  an  increase  of  33.84  per  cent,  over  the  pre- 
vious year,  and  by  far  the  greatest  value  ever  exported ;  it  averages 
$0.67.9  per  bushel,  against  $0.85.7  the  previous  year.  The  maximum 
value  during  the  last  thirteen  fiscal  years,  $1.43.1  per  bushel,  was  in 
1864-'65,  but  subsequent  years  have  shown  a  general  .tendency  to 
decline,  though  with  some  fluctuations.  Of  the  total  declared  value 
only  3.75  per  cent,  represents  corn-meal,  the  smallest  proportion  on 
record.  The  average  value  of  meal  per  barrel  fell  from  $4.42.5  to 
$3.59.9,  the  minimum  for  thirteen  years  past ;  the  maximum,  $7.47.1, 
was  in  1864-'65.     The  average  vfilue  of  unground  corn  was  $0^67.3 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  173 

against  $0.84.7  the  previous  year.  The  anomaly  noted  in  the  case  of 
flour  is  also  observable  in  the  case  of  corn-meal.  The  margin  between 
the  average  values  of  corn  in  the  form  of  meal  and  of  corn  unground  is 
gradually  narrowing ;  probably  the  same  causes  are  operative  in  both 
cases.  Thus,  in  18G4-'C5,  the  diiference  in  the  average  values  of  corn 
in  the  form  of  meal  and  as  simple  grain  was  56  cents;  or,  allowing  4 
bushels  of  corn  to  each  barrel  of  meal,  $2.24  per  barrel  for  the  expense 
of  manufacturing.  Last  fiscal  year  the  maBgin  had  reached  its  minimum 
of  $0.22.7  per  bushel,  allowing  only  $0.90.8  per  barrel  for  the  expense  of 
manufacture. 

Compared  with  the  entire  cereal  export,  corn  and  corn-meal,  during 
the  last  fiscal  year,  represented  39.84  per  cent,  of  the  quantity  and 
26.79  per  cent,  of  the  value.  The  largest  proportion  during  the  last 
thirteen  fiscal  years,  53.96  per  cent,  in  quantity  and  43.49  per  cent,  in 
value,  was  in  1866-'67 ;  the  smallest  proportion,  3.78  per  cent,  in  quan- 
tity and  3  per  cent,  in  value,  was  in  1869-'70,  during  which  the  short 
crop  of  1869  was  marketed.  Of  the  estimated  crop  of  1875,  the  exports 
of  corn  and  meal  during  the  last  fiscal  year  amounted  to  3.84  per  cent., 
a  i^roportion  very  nearly  the  same  as  in  the  four  crops  next  preceding. 
Of  the  eight  crops  closing  with  that  of  1870,  the  average  amount 
exported  was  1.3  per  cent. ;  of  the  five  subsequent  crops,  the  average 
export  amounted  to  3.71  per  cent.  The  average  of  the  estimated  yield 
of  the  first  eight  crops  was  768,009,545  bushels ;  the  average  yield  of 
the  last  five  crops  was  1,039,619,700  bushels.  Thus,  while  the  average 
yield  has  greatly  enlarged,  the  proportion  sent  abroad  has  also  greatly 
increased.  These  facts  illustrate  the  great  enlargement  of  our  foreign 
trade  in  corn. 

The  enormous  crop  of  1875,  which  was  marketed  during  the  last  fiscal 
year,  bore  such  low  prices  in  the  western  markets  as  to  suggest  the 
practicability  of  a  greatly  enlarged  export  trade.  An  attempt  was  made 
by  parties  at  Chicago  and  other  great  commercial  points  to  establish  a 
large  trade  with  British  farmers  for  stock-feeding.  From  low  prices  and 
freights  then  prevailing  it  was  calculated  that  corn  could  be  laid  down 
in  the  British  markets  so  as  to  be  sold,  with  a  fair  margin  of  profit,  at  26 
shillings  per  quarter.  But  this  movement  partially  defeated  itself  by 
calling  out  supplies  of  grain  in  excess  of  a  normal  demand  and,  conse- 
quently, by  cutting  down  prices  in  England  below  the  calculated  mini- 
mum. Some  of  the  grain,  from  lack  of  care  in  shipment,  was  injured 
by  heating  on  its  ocean  transit,  causing  considerable  losses.  On  the 
whole,  it  is  estimated  that  the  profits  of  this  movement  somewhat  over- 
balanced its  losses.  This  was  one  of  the  causes  that  so  greatly  enlarged 
the  export  of  corn  during  the  last  fiscal  year.  It  seems  clear  that  such 
an  export  trade  is  exceptional  in  its  conditions,  and  that  it  is  only  an 
accident  of  a  period  of  excessive  production,  low  prices,  and  low  rates 
of  transportation. 

Bye. — The  export  of  rye  and  rye-flour  consolidated,  during  the  last 
fiscal  year,  about  doubled  its  previous  aggregate,  both  in  quantity  and 
value ;  yet  it  amounted  to  less  than  half  of  1  i)er  cent,  of  the  entire 
cereal  export.  lu  no  instance  during  the  last  thirteen  years  has  it 
equaled  2  per  cent.  It  is  dependen*  upon  very  uncertain  conditions, 
and  hence  betrays  great  instability.  The  annual  export  since  the  war 
ranged  between  80,924  bushels  in  1870-'71  and  1,956,675  bushels  in 
1873-'74.  During  the  last  fiscal  year  the  average  value  per  bushel  of 
the  whole  rye  and  rye-flour  export  was  $0.89.3,  the  lowest  during  the 
last  thirteen  years.  The  maximum,  $1.69.2,  was  in  1867-'68.  Of  un- 
ground rye,  the  average  of  last  year  was  $0.83.3,  against  $0.98.8  the 


174        REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

previous  year.  Of  rye-flour,  the  average  value  was  $5.16.9,  the  lowest 
value  for  thirteen  years.  The  maximum,  $8.24.3,  was  in  1864-'65.  Al- 
lowing 5  bushels  of  rye  as  necessary  to  make  a  barrel  of  flour,  the  mar- 
gin between  the  export  values  per  bushel  of  ground  and  unground  rye 
has  varied  very  capriciously  from  year  to  year,  with  a  general  tendency 
to  diminish.  During  the  last  three  fiscal  years  the  difference  between 
these  averages  were  respectively  as  follows :  $0.49.6,  $0.11.2,  and  $0.14.1 
per  bushel,  amouutiug  to  $2.48,  $0.56,  and  $0.70.5  per  barrel.  The  same 
causes  are  doubtless  operative  in  this  case  as  in  that  of  wheat-flour  and 
corn-meal.  The  proportion  of  flour  to  the  total  export  in  1875-'76  was 
6.49  per  cent,  in  quantity  and  7.52  per  cent,  in  value  against  19.44  per 
cent,  in  quantity  and  21.04  per  cent,  in  value  the  previous  year.  In 
1868-'69,  the  proportion  of  flour  reached  its  maximum,  42.19  per  cent,  in 
quantity  and  48.28  per  cent,  in  value.  Compared  with  our  annual  yield, 
the  rye  export  of  the  last  fiscal  year  was  3.2  per  cent,  against  1.74  per 
cent,  the  previous  year.  The  proportion  for  thirteen  years  ranged  from 
0.4  per  cent,  in  18G7-'68  to  12.33  per  cent,  in  lS73-'74. 

Oats. — Our  last  annual  export  of  oats  amounted  to  1,466,228  bushels, 
being  nearly  three  times  that  of  the  previous  year  and  the  largest  on 
record.  This  increase  was  the  natural  result  of  the  abundant  crop  of 
1875,  which  was  64  per  cent,  greater  than  its  predecessor.  The  oats 
export  of  1875-'76  amounted  to  1.14  per  cent,  of  the  total  cereal  export 
against  0.5  per  cent,  the  previous  year.  The  export  of  oats  has  never 
exceeded  half  of  1  per  cent,  of  the  crop  of  the  previous  calendar  year. 
The  aggregate  value  of  the  oats  export  was  $588,583,  or  double  that  of 
the  previous  year.  The  average  value  per  bushel  was  $0.40.1,  the  low- 
est figure  of  the  last  thirteen  fiscal  years.  The  maximum,  $0.93.6,  was 
in  1867-'68.  The  value  of  the  oats-export  was  0.45  per  cent,  of  thQ  total 
cereal  export  against  0.73  per  cent,  the  previous  year. 

Barley.— The  exports  of  barley  were  317,781  bushels,  or  about  three 
and  a  half  times  the  aggregate  of  the  previous  year,  and  amounted  to 
about  1.06  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  crop  of  1875.  In  most  years  the 
proportion  falls  below  one-half  of  1  per  cent.  The  export  is  but  0.2  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  cereal  export.  In  one  year  only  did  it  reach  one- 
half  of  1  per  cent.,  1870-'71.  The  aggregate  value  of  the  export  was 
$210,586,  or  three  and  a  half  times  that  of  the  previous  year.  The 
average  value  per  bushel  was  $0.66.3  against  $0.67.4  in  1874-'75.  In 
value  barley  amounted  to  0.23  per  cent,  of  the  total  export  against  0.15 
per  cent,  the  previous  year. 

The  following  analytical  tables  show  the  exports  of  wheat,  corn,  rye, 
oats,  barley,  flour,  and  meal  for  the  thirteen  fiscal  years  ending  June  30, 
1876,  with  their  proportions  and  values : 


BRPOST  OP  THE  STATISTIOUH* 


175 


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176         REPOET   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


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KEPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


177 


Proiwriiors  of  the  different  grains  in  each  annual  export  of  the  last  thirteen  fiscal  ncarK. 


WHEAT    AND 
FLOUR. 

CORK  AND  MEAL. 

RYE    AND 
FLOUR. 

O.VTS. 

BAR 

a 
6' 

LEY. 

Fiscal  years. 

a 
C? 

o 

CM 

6 

1863  '64    

87.9 
84.77 
50.45 
42.55 
CG.  63 
76.  92 
95.21 
82.  33 
51.37 
55. 35 
70. 12 
70. 25 
58.31 

91.60 
89.10 
66.27 
54.  61 
7.5.  92 
82.88 
9G.  25 
88.75 
C8.  5 
72.  PA 
81.9 
75.  96 
71.93 

10.01 
13.  33 
44. 25 
53.  92 
31.45 
21.  45 
3.78 
16.73 
47.07 
42. 73 
27.  49 
28.90 
39.70 

6.34 

9.79 

30.  81 

43.  49 

22.  51 
16.  23 

3.00 
10.78 
30. 35 
25.  98 
16.48 

23.  47 
26.86 

0.4 

0.48 
1.48 
0.74 
1.37 
0.22 
0.36 
0.13 
1.09 
0.65 
1.42 
0.19 
0.45 

0.26 

0.31 

1.1 

0.  05 

1..39 

0.2 

0.3 

0.11 

0.75 

0.  53 

1.22 

0.23 

0.42 

0.65 
1.18 
3.81 
2.77 
0.31 
1.  25 
0.21 
0.23 
0.34 
0.70 
0.C2 
0..38 
1.14 

0.37 

0.43 

1.77 

1.23 

0.16 

0.6 

0.11 

0.10 

0.16 

0.30 

0.24 

0.26 

0.45 

0.14 
0.16 

0. 13 

1864  '65    

0.21 

1865-'66    

1866-'67 

'6.' 02" 

0.15 
0.45 
0.53 
O.ll 
0.  51 
0.24 
0.09 
0.20 

1807  'C3 

0.  02 

1868  '60    

0. 1;J 

1869  '70  

0.24 

1870-'71 

0.30 

1871  '72           

0.  OS 

1872-'73 

1873  '74       

0.  .35 
0.16 

1874-75 

0. 05 

1S75-'7G  

0.  IC 

DOMESTIC  TRADE. 


The  following  ta,ble  shows  the  annual  receipts  of  flour,  meal,  wheat, 
corn,  rye,  oats,  and  barley  at  the  seven  leadinij  outports  of  our  foreign 
trade  during  six  calendar  years : 


Products. 


1871. 


F  loar bbl . 

Wheat bnsh. 

Coru-meal bbl. 

Corn bush. 

Wheat,  including  flour.. do.. 

Corn,  iucludinj;  meal do.. 

Oats do. . 

Eye do.. 

Barley do.. 


Total 176,176,764 


74,  385, 904 

78,  853,  073 

24,  522,  650 

1,  023,  897 

5,  309,  385 

184,  094,  909 


224, 172,  687 


The  receipts  at  these  ports — New  York,  Boston,  Portland,  Montreal, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  New  Orleans — represent  the  great  leading 
currents  of  our  flour  and  grain  movements,  though  these  are  but  a  small 
part  of  our  total  domestic  trade.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  aggregate  opera- 
tions along  these  lines  of  shipment  during  1870  exceeded  those  of  any 
former  year  in  our  history.  All  kinds  of  grain  were  marketed  in  in- 
creased quantities  except  wheat,  which  shows  a  falling  off  both  as 
unground  grain  and  in  the  form  of  flour.  Our  foreign  export  of  flour 
during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  oO,  1870,  was  less  than  40  per  cent,  of 
what  was  sent  to  these  outports  during:  the  calendar  year  1870.  The 
proportion  was  about  the  same  during  the  three  previous  years.  The 
exports  of  raw  wheat,  however,  which  include  heavy  shipments  from  the 
Pacific  coast,  far  exceeded  the  receipts  of  these  ports.  Our  corn  exports 
were  less  than  57  per  cent,  of  the  receipts  at  the  outports,  rye  about  22 
per  cent,  oats  about  5^  per  cent.,  barley  less  than  4  per  cent.  These  facts 
partly  indicate  the  very  small  proportion  which  our  foreign  trade  bears  to 
our  domestic  trade,  even  when  our  view  is  limited  to  wholesale  operations 
on  a  large  scale.  The  great  mass  of  the  shipments  to  seaboard  markets 
supply  only  th^  home  demand,  either  in  city  consumption,  in  the  coast- 
ing trade,  or  in  distribution  to  local  markets  by  land  carriage.  AV  heii 
12  A 


178    KEPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

WO  extend  our  view  and  take  into  consideration  the  minor  wholesale  and 
the  retail  trades,  onr  imposing  foreign  exports  sink  into  comparative 
insignificance. 

The  following  table  shows  the  receipts  and  eastward  shipments  of 
flour  and  grain  for  the  last  four  calendar  years  at  the  following  western 
lake  and  river  ports,  viz,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  Toledo,  Detroit,  Cleve- 
land, Saint  Louis,  Peoria,  and  Duluth : 


rroducts. 

1873. 

1874. 

1875.                 !                  1876. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipiueats.j  Receipts. 

1 

Shipments. 

Flour.,  bbl - 
Wheat -bu. 

6,332,259 
68,108,613 

6,445,394 
57,995,184 

6,159,574 

78,860,187 

5,627,056 
60,301,991 

5,022,510 
70,609,657 

5,.539,9i)5      5,578,0.'i0 
57,899,809     55,834,141 

4,  997,  8  J5 
48,  799, 613 

Flour  and 

wlieat.bu. 

Corn.  ..bu. 

Oats bu. 

Barley.,  bu. 
Kye bu. 

99,709,908 

61,249,356 

30,208,074 

6,394,538 

1,763,177 

89,221,154 

49,776,823 

21,482,214 

4,259,376 

1,348,459 

109,658,057 

57,393,142 

20,842,681 

6,554,296 

1,598,943 

89,437,271 
44,572,431 
16,701,205 
3,061,182 
2,994,947 

95,782,207 

48,969,721 

25,341,390 

6,233,151 

2,829,494 

85,599,724 
43,979,250 
19,322,370 
2,814.470 
927,340 

83,728,891 

81,054,249 

24.881,498 

8,937,089 

2,854,000 

73,  798, 838 

75, 010, 881 

20,  093,  245 

3,  947,  OSG 

2,  511,  047 

Total... 

199,335,053 

167,089,026 

202,047,119 

156,767fl5G 

179,175,963 

152,143,154 

201,456,627 

175,  351,  097 

The  eastward  shipments  from  these  lake  and  river  ports,  it  will  be 
seen,  were  larger  during  187G  than  in  any  former  year,  constituting 
nearly  80  per  cent,  of  the  receipts  of  the  seaboard  ports.  The  remainder 
is  made  up  of  flour  and  grain  from  more  southern  and  eastern  ports. 
The  shipments  of  the  two  previous  years  bore  about  the  same  proportion, 
those  of  1873  being  somewhat  greater.  The  western  ports  shipped 
to  the  seaboard  ports,  in  1876,  87  per  cent,  of  their  entire  receipts 
against  85  per  cent,  in  1875,  77  per  cent,  iu  1874,  and  83  per  cent,  in 
1873.  Of  flour  during  1876  they  furnished  over  half  the  receipts  of  the 
seaboard  j)orts,  80  i^er  cent,  of  the  flour  and  wheat  consolidated;  86J 
per  cent,  of  the  corn,  82  per  cent,  of  the  oats,  and  over  50  per  cent,  of 
the  barley.  The  eastward  shipments  of  rye  were  greater  than  the  receipts 
at  the  seaboard  ports;  probably  heavy  shipments  were  made  too  late 
for  acknowledgment  during  the  year  at  the  outports. 

The  increased  demand  for  western  flour  and  grain  in  the  markets  of 
the  Eastern  States  is  noteworthy  in  this  connection.  It  is  estimated 
that  i^ew  York  alone  requires  annually  about  45,000,000  bushels  of 
grain  besides  what  is  raised  within  her  own  borders.  In  the  New  En- 
gland States  the  deficit  of  home  production  is  still  greater,  while  even 
in  the  agricultural  States  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  the  bread-crops 
fall  short  of  the  demand  upon  them.  Southern  wheat-production  is  still 
on  too  small  a  scale  to  meet  home  necessities,  and  hence,  though  some 
choice  brands  of  flour  and  wheat  are  sent  to  the  eastern  markets  and 
to  Europe,  a  much  greater  amount  is  received  from  the  Northwest. 

In  the  distribution  of  this  east-bound  traffic  the  changes  noted  in  the 
annual  report  of  this  Department  for  1875  continued  to  operate  through 
1876.  The  encroachment  of  rail-routes  upon  water-routes  was  still  more 
marked.  The  competition  was  very  sharp,  greatly  narrowing  the  profits 
of  the  carrier.  From  Chicago  to  New  York  the  rates  of  lake  and  canal 
transport,  via  Buffalo,  during  the  navigation  season  of  1876,  averaged 
9.58  cents  per  bushel  for  wheat  weighing  CO  pounds  per  bushel,  and  8.8 
cents  for  corn  weighing  56.  Eail-transportation  between  the  same 
points  for  grain  of  all  sorts  and  grades  averaged  13.5  cepts  per  bushel 
from  April  26  to  May  5,  and  12  cents  from  May  5  to  December  18 ;  after 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN,  179 

the  close  of  the  water-routes  the  tariff  was  raised  to  18  cents.  The  rail- 
rates  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  were,  in  several  instances,  less  than  the 
canal-charges,  which  averaged  6.G8  cents  per  bushel  for  wheat,  and  6.02 
cents  for  corn  from  Buffalo  to  New  York.  In  187C  the  State  toll  on  wheat 
was  0.0207  cents  per  bushel  for  wheat  and  0.0193  cents  for  corn.  During 
the  current  year  these  rates  have  fallen  to  0.01035  cents  for  wheat  and 
0.00905  cents  for  corn.  The  comparative  cost  per  ton  of  transportiug  wheat 
from  Chicago  to  New  York  by  lake  and  canal  was  $3,103,  and  for  corn 
$3.093 ;  the  all-rail  route  averaged  $4  for  each.  From  Chicago  to  Buf- 
falo, by  lake,  the  charges  were  $0,907  and  $0,043  ;  from  Buffalo  to  New 
York,  $2,220  and  $2.15.  The  canal-rates  included  the  insurance  paid  by 
the  carrier ;  on  the  lake  the  owner  insured  his  own  freight.  Deducting 
canal-tolls,  the  carrier  realized  only  7.4  cents  per  bushel  for  transport- 
iug grain  1,419  miles  against  30.3  cents  in  1807.  Water-freights  have 
steadily  declined  ever  since  1872.  Including  lakc-insuranco,  transfer, 
and  reshipment,  the  water-rates  involved  a  cost  nearly,  if  not  quitey. 
equal  to  the  average  railway-charges.  The  rail-routes  presented  specific 
advantages  to  shippers,  such  as  greater  dispatch,  a  smaller  interest  on 
ventures,  and  less  liability  to  decay  by  heating.  Both  rail  and  water 
routes  suffered  from  the  great  disproportion  between  eastward  and  west- 
ward bound  freight,  as  the  heavy  agricultural  products  of  the  West  re- 
quired at  least  three  tons  for  every  one  of  the  lighter  wares  of  the  East.  A 
wide  margin  of  profit  on  the  east-bound  freight  was  therefore  necessary 
to  make  up  the  enforced  loss  of  running  so  many  empty  cars  westward. 
This  disproportion  was  formerly  as  4  to  1,  but  an  increased  demand  for 
eastern  products,  especially  coal,  has  reduced  the  disproportion.  The 
increase  of  western  population  annually  requires  an  increased  import  of 
eastern  manufactures,  which  tend  still  further  toward  an  equilibrium. 

The  reduction  of  lake  and  canal  charges  would  have  entirely  destroyed 
the  competition  of  this  line  but  for  the  great  improvements  in  trans- 
portation. Lake- vessels  of  1,000  to  3,000  tons  have  driven  the  old  fleet 
of  500-ton  schooners  out  of  the  trade.  Barges,  also,  have  been  intro- 
duced, vessels  furnished  with  just  enough  rigging  to  enable  them  to  take 
care  of  themselves  in  case  of  being  accidentally  turned  adrift.  A  pow- 
erful tug-steamer  transports  from  four  to  six  of  these  barges  loaded  with 
150,000  to  200,000  bushels  of  grain.  These  barges  being  graduated  to 
the  requirements  of  the  New  York  canals,  finally  deliver  their  freight  at 
tide-water  without  transshipment,  thus  saving  heavy  charges  at  Buffalo. 

The  monetary  panic  that  has  depressed  business  for  nearly  four  years 
deprived  the  railroads  of  a  largo  proportion  of  their  carrying  trade, 
especially  west-bound  freights.  Our  foreign  import-trade  fell  off  enor- 
mously, and  western  demand  for  eastern  and  European  products  has 
greatly  declined.  To  compensate  this  loss,  and  to  give  employment  to 
the  enormous  rolling-stock  that  had  been  accumulated  by  the  railway 
lines,  the  latter  enlarged  their  facilities  and  j)reseuted  additional  induce- 
ments for  the  shipment  of  western  produce.  The  advantages  of  direct 
shipment  to  southern  markets,  and  the  removal  of  expensive  transship- 
ments of  grain,  made  this  method  of  transport  more  profitable  to  ship- 
pers than  a  considerably  lower  rate  by  water.  It  was  found  that  grain 
in  cars  was  much  less  liable  to  injury  from  heating  than  when  stored  in 
the  damp  holds  of  ships  or  in  the  immense  bins  of  warehouses.  The 
combined  rolling-stock  of  the  competing  lines  of  railway-transport 
amounted  to  nearly  60,000  cars,  capable  of  transporting  1,200,000  tons 
each  trip.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Central  Eoads 
have  shorter  lines  but  heavier  grades  than  the  New  York  routes.  Pre- 
vious to  February,  1876,  the  schedule  of  freight-charges  was  $2  per  ton 


180         EEPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE.      • 

less  to  Baltimore  aad  81  per  ton  less  to  Philadelpliia  than  to  New  York 
on  all  eastern-bound  freight  from  competing  points  in  the  West.  A 
drawback  of  60  cents  per  ton  was  also  allowed  on  corn  exported  making 
the  cost  of  placing  western  corn  on  shipboard  at  Baltimore  7.28  cents 
per  bushel  and  at  Philadelphia  4.24  cents  less  than  New  York,  while 
the  ocean-freights  showed  scarcely  any  perceptible  differences.  These 
discriminations,  with  other  expedients  by  the  southern  lines,  drew  an 
immense  amount  of  trade  from  quarters  that  had  formerly  patronized 
the  New  Y^ork  roads.  The  eastward  movement  of  flour  and  grain  by 
lake  and  canal  via  Buffalo  fell  from  50,854,076  bushels  in  1873  to 
27,773,977  bushels  in  1876,  or  nearly  one-half.  The  cost  of  winter-trans- 
port in  the  more  genial  southern  railway  belt  is  an  important  advantage, 
of  which  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Central  lines  have 
availed  themselves  to  the  utmost.  The  erection  of  large  elevators  at 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  and  the  general  enlargement  of  facilities 
for  foreign  shipment  at  these  two  cities,  have  given  special  inducements 
to  the  grain-shippers  of  the  West  to  choose  these  shorter  lines  to  sea- 
board. How  long  this  competition  between  rail  and  water  routes  will 
continue  is  a  matter  of  speculation.  Daring  the  year,  shippers  began  to 
complain  of  lack  of  accommodations.  It  was  stated  that  several  of  the 
railways  were  storing  their  cars  on  side-tracks  and  refusing  to  furnish 
facilities  for  transport  except  at  higher  rates.  It  was  urged  that  the 
necessity  of  hauling  so  many  extra  cars  westward,  added  to  the  cost  of 
eastward  transport,  left  no  margin  of  iirofit,  if  indeed  it  did  not  entail  a 
loss. 

The  supremacy  of  New  York  as  an  outport  of  our  foreign  trade  in 
cereals  is  rapidly  waning.  In  1876  she  retained  but  48  per  cent,  of  a  trade 
which  she  once  practically  monopolized.  How  this  will  be  when  business 
shall  have  renewed  its  tone  and  our  foreign-import  trade  its  former  rel- 
ative dimensions,  it  is  impossible  to  predict.  The  other  great  Atlantic 
ports  are  making  strenuous  efforts  to  retain  and  to  enlarge  that  portion 
of  the  export  trade  which  they  have  secured.  New  York  capitalists  have 
had  their  attention  challenged  to  this  great  loss  in  their  trade  by  the  city 
press.  The  immense  cost  of  transporting  freight  across  Manhattan 
Island,  which  is  alleged  as  one  of  the  special  difficulties  at  this  point, 
estimated  by  the  Shipping  List  at  $26,000,000  per  annum,  is  a  tax  upon 
the  city  trade  which  is  difficult  to  understand,  considering  that  a  water- 
transport  around  the  city  is  practicable,  and  that,  if  necessary,  exports 
could  bo  shipped  from  elevators  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson. 

The  tendencies  to  centralization  of  trade  seem  to  have  reached  their 
limit,  and  now  opposite  tendencies  begin  to  prevail.  The  indications  of 
the  present  are  that  the  opening  of  new  grain-fields  in  the  South  and 
West  will  place  our  production  in  different  relations  to  the  lines  of  com- 
munication, and  will  cause  a  greater  diffusion  of  this  important  traffic 
to  different  outlets  at  various  points  on  our  Atlantic  coast. 

The  statistics  of  our  leading  grain-markets  are  given  herewith. 

NEW  YORK. 

The  aggregate  receipts  of  grain,  flour,  and  meal  at  New  York  duriug 
1876  were  95,610,563  bushels,  against  91,685,800  in  1875,  an  increase  of 
4.1  per  cent.  Of  this  aggregate,  49.97  per  cent,  were  wheat  and  flour, 
against  57  per  cent,  in  1875 ;  the  actual  decline  of  these  items  was 
0,620,934  bushels,  or  32.28  per  cent,  from  the  receipts  of  1875.  Corn 
and  corn-meal  constituted  28.92  per  cent,  of  the  receipts,  against  25  per 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


181 


cent,  in  1875,  showing  au  iucreaso  of  4,020,023  bushels,  or  20  per  cent., 
in  the  actual  receipts  of  those  articles.  Oats  constituted  12.81  per  cent., 
about  the  same  as  in  1875,  but  the  actual  quantity  received  shows  an 
increase  of  1,015,187  bushels,  or  15.19  per  cent.  Barley  increased 
2,068,934  bushels,  or  44  per  cent.,  and  rye  1,325,403  bushcl?>  making-  its 
receipts  about  five  times  those  of  th'^  preceding  year ;  tlio  receipts  of 
barley  constituted  about  7  per  cent.,  and  those  of  rye  about  2  per  cent, 
of  the  total  receipts,  against  5  per  cent,  and  1^  per  cent,  the  previous 
year. 

The  total  exports  of  187C  were  53,508,157  bushels,  against  49,970,097 
in  1875,  an  increase  of  7.2  per  cent.  Of  this  aggregate  05f  per  cent, 
were  wheat *and  Hour,  against  72  per  cent,  in  1875,  showing  an  actual 
decline  of  2,032,818  bushels,  or  5  per  cent,  from  the  previous  exports 
of  the  same  articles.  Corn  and  corn-meal  constituted  32.84  i)er  cent, 
of  the  total  cereal  export,  against  27  per  cent,  in  1875,  showing  an  actual 
increase  of  4,921,582  bushels,  or  27.9  per  cent,  over  their  previous  export. 
The  rye  export  amounted  to  2^  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  showing  an 
increase  of  1,129,529,  or  five  times  the  aggregate  of  the  previous  year. 
The  oats  export  was  about  1^  per  cent,  of  the  whole  and  four  times  the 
oats  export  of  1875.  Barley  exports  were  quite  insignificant.  Of  the 
two  last  named  grains,  nearly  the  whole  receipts  were  required  for  city 
consumption. 

The  movements  of  grain,  flour,  and  meal  for  the  last  five  calendar 
years  were  as  follows : 


Products. 

1872. 

1873.                                      1874. 

Eeceipts. 

Exports. 

TLCceipts. 

Exports.      Eeceipts. 

Exports. 

Flour 

Wheat 

Corn-meal 

Corn 

.barrels, 
.bushels. 
..barrels, 
.bushels. 

.bushels. 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do.... 
...do 

3,  042,  907 

10, 238,  433 

178, 150 

40,  800, 939 

1, 202,  792 

13, 299, 320 

144,  530 

25,  652,  603 

3,  546,  563 

35, 559,  870 

211,591 

24,  576,  345 

1,655,331 

27,  801,  829 

136,  084 

15,  416,  7rf7 

4,  017,  207 

41,817,215 

178,  8;i9 

29,  329,  000 

2,  462,  723 

33, 541,  740 

176,393 

26,  447,  807 

Flour  and  wheat... 

Corn  and  meal 

Oats 

Rye 

B!vrlcy 

31,452,968     19,313,280 
41,  513, 539     26, 234,  723 
12,  442, 127            32,  718 
491,851           623,355 
3,964,441             17,402 

53, 292,  710 

25,  422,  709 

11, 235, 420 

995,  447 

2,  444,  200 

36,  078,  484 
15,961,123 

49,  573 
1,  oust,  140 

40, 040 

61, 903, 250 

30, 044,  356 

10,  792,  919 

592,114 

2,  770,  000 

45,  855,  380 

27, 253,  379 

122,  528 

641,661 

3,560 

Total 

89,  864,  926     46.  221.  473 

93,  390,  493 

53, 198, 360 

106, 102,  039 

73,  876, 508 

Products. 

18 

75. 

1876. 

Eeceipts. 

Exports. 

llecoipts. 

Exports. 

Flour 

Wheat 

Corn-meal 

Corn 

barrels. 

bushels. 

barrels. 

bushels. 

bushels. 

do.... 

do.... 

do 

do.... 

3. 941.  331 

34, 214,  768 

131,  885 

22,  488. 707 

1,  953,  607 

26, 193,  693 

178,  257 

12,  955,  525 

4,051,065 

27, 042, 16  i 

188,  277 

26,  £99, 162 

1,  914, 183 

24,  3,58,  295 

178, 221 

16,877,251 

Flour  and  wheat . . 

Corn  and  meal 

Oats 

ilye 

Barley 

53, 921, 423 

23,016,247 

10, 636, 078 

301,  654 

4,  710,  598 

35,  962,  0'i8 

13,  668,  553 

138,  508 

206,  698 

Mi) 

47,  300,  489 

27,  652, 270 

12, 251, 265 

1,  627,  007 

6,  779,  .532 

33,929,210 

17,  590, 135 

624,  431 

1,  336,  423 

87,  953 

Total 

91. 686, 000 

49,  976,  0J7 

95, 610, 5G3 

53,  568, 157 

BOSTON. 

Flour. —The  receipts  of  flour  during  187G  v/ere  1,830,985  barrels,  an 
increase  from  the  previous  year  of  199,013,  or  over  12  per  cent. ;  ship- 
ments, 268,093  barrels,  a  decrease  of  3,077.    Prices  of  the  highest  grades 


182    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

of  flour  were  quite  firm  during  tlie  whole  j^ear.  For  local  trade  the  best 
products  of  westeru  mills  are  iu  constant  requisition,  and  brands  that  are 
reliable,  that  fully  maintain  their  standard,  will  always  meet  with  ready 
sale,  commanding  from  25  to  50  cents  per  barrel  more  than  brands 
whose  reputation  is  not  well  established.  The  best  patent  flours  sold 
at  $8.50  to  $10  5  the  best  Saint  Louis  and  Illinois,  $8  to  $9 ;  the  best 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Michigan,  86.50  to  $7.50.  Inferior  flours  are  either 
exported  abroad  or  shipped  coastwise. 

Wheat. — Eeceipts  of  1876,  504,767  bushels,  or  less  than  half  of  those 
of  1875 ;  shipments,  112,915  bushels,  against  784,941  in  1875.  The  wheat 
trade  of  Boston  has  been  of  a  fluctuating  character,  and  has  always 
been  limited  in  extent,  com^Jared  with  other  great  markets  Of  wheat 
and  flour  together  the  receipts  of  1876  amounted  to  9,689,692  bushels, 
an  increase  of  464,723,  nearly  as  much  as  all  receipts  of  raw  wheat ;  ship- 
ments, 1,453,380  bushels,  a  decline  of  687,411.  Boston  being  almost 
exclusively  a  consuming  market,  the  proportion  of  flour  to  grain  is 
constantly  increasing. 

Corji.— Eeceipts  of  1876,  9,005,375  bushels,  a  gain  of  3,659,035,  or 
over  68  per  cent.;  shipments,  4,160,817  bushels,  a  gain  of  2,609,041,  or 
168  per  cent.  The  extreme  annual  range  of  prices  of  corn  for  ten  years 
past  was  as  follows  :  1867,  $1.10  to  $1.60;  1868,  95  cents  to  $1.42;  1869, 
80  cents  to  $1.35  ;  1870,  78  cents  to  $1.25;  1871,  72  to  93  cents;  1872, 
64  to  81  cents ;  1873,  60  to  90  cents ;  1874,  82  cents  to  $1.06  ;  1875,  65 
to  93  cents ;  1876,  58  to  75  cents.  The  corn-meal  trade  of  Boston  shows 
the  receipts  of  from  80,000  to  100,000  barrels,  the  shipments  taking 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  receipts. 

Oats. — The  receipts  of  oats  during  1870  were  2,622,150  bushels,  a  de- 
cline of  211,304,  or  nearly  8  per  cent.,  the  receipts  being  mostly  for 
local  consumption.  The  exports  are  too  small  to  attract  the  notice  of 
local  statisticians  and  journalists ;  the  range  of  prices  in  1870  was 
from  30  to  58  cents  per  bushel,  against  41  to  82  cents  in  1875,  and  52  to 
72  cents  in  1874. 

Eye. — Eeceipts  of  1876,  34,594  bushels,  an  increase  of  6,716  over  1875 ; 
the  receipts  being  mostly  for  local  consumption ;  no  shipments  are 
noted.  Prices  ranged,  in  1876,  from  75  cents  to  $1  per  bushel;  in  1875, 
from  95  cents  to  $1.25  ;  in  1874,  from  $1  to  $1.25. 

Barley.— IlQQGii)ts  of  1876,  798,689  bushels,  an  increase  of  268,150 
bushels,  or  50  per  cent.;  no  shipments  noted. 

The  grain  movements  of  the  last  five  years  were  as  follows  : 


Prodncta. 

1872. 

1873. 

1874. 

Eeceipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Eeceipts. 

Shipments. 

Flour barrels. 

Wheat bushels. 

Corii-mcal barrels. 

Com bushels. 

1,586,017 

402,  426 

91,  538 

5,  090,  755 

217,  586 

151,  660 

63,  832 

1,  673,  769 

1,  795, 272 
880,  747 
120,  296 

3,  558,  363 

231,  361 

486, 128 
84,  926 
162,  739 

1,  890,  487 

1, 362,  017 

97,  938 

3,  303,  641 

28T,  718 

1,  062,  366 

76, 277 

380, 254 

Wheat  and  flour bushels. 

Corn  and  corn-meal.  -  .do 

Oats do  -- 

8,  3:}2,  511 

5, 456,  907 

2,  725,  641 

13,  989 

539,  038 

1, 239,  790 
1,  929, 097 

9,  857, 107 

4, 039,  547 

3,  663,  364 

33,  335 

332,  849 

1, 642,  933 
502,  433 

10,  814, 452 

3,  691,  793 

3, 037, 269 

34,  273 

418,615 

2,  500, 956 
685, 362 

Eye do 

Barley do 

Total 

17,  038,  080 

17,  926, 202 

17,  996,  402 

REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


183 


Products. 


1875. 


1876. 


Eeceipts.    Shipment*  |   Receipts,  i  Shipments. 


Flour barrels . 

"Wheat bushels . 

Corn-meal barrels. 

Corn bushels . 

WTieat  and  flour bushels . 

Corn  and  corn-meal do 

Oats do 

Rye do 

Barley do 


9, 224,  969 

5,  682,  772 

2,  833,  544 

27,  878 

530,  539 

Total ;  18,299,702 


1,  637,  972 

1,035,109 

84, 108 

5,  346,  340 


271,170 

784,  941 

7.%  848 

1,551,776 


1,  830,  985 

504, 71)7 

81,2ti5 

9, 005, 375 


268,  093 

112,915 

90, 106 

4, 100,  817 


2, 140,  791 

1,  847, 168 


9, 689,  692 

9,  331,  435 

2,  622, 150 

34,  594 

798,  689 


22,  476,  500 


1,  453,  380 
4,521,241 


The  year  187G  sbows  tbe  larf^est  receipt  of  cereals  on  record.  The 
increase,  however,  is  chiefly  in  flour,  corn,  and  barley,  and  is  mostly  to 
supply  the  demand  of  an  increased  local  consumption. 


PHILADELPHIA. 

The  flour  and  grain  trade  of  Philadelphia  exhibits  a  marked  increase  of 
volume,  the  receipts  of  1876  amounting  to  40,573,880  bushels,  the  largest 
aggregate  in  the  history  of  the  city.  A  considerable  increase  in  flour  is 
especially  noticeable,  which  was  due,  most  probably,  to  the  increased 
consumption  of  the  city  for  the  subsistence  of  visitors  at  the  great  Cen- 
tennial Exposition.  Wheat  and  barley  fell  off,  but  corn,  oats,  and  rye 
were  marketed  in  greatly  increased  quantities,  especially  corn,  of  which 
the  receipts  were  nearly  triple  those  of  1875. 

Flour. — The  flour  trade  of  1876  was  on  the  whole  satisfactory  to  deal- 
ers, the  receipts  amounting  to  970,781  barrels,  against  922,190  barrels 
in  1875.  The  manufactures  of  the  mills  in  and  around  the  city  amounted 
to  532,000  barrels,  against  587,390  in  1875.  The  exports  were  192,433 
barrels,  valued  at  $1 ,295,910,  averaging  $6.76  per  barrel ;  tbe  exports 
of  1875  were  160,748  barrels,  valued  at  $943,107,  averaging  $5.86  per 
barrel.  The  greater  part  of  this  export  goes  to  either  the  United  King- 
dom or  its  colonies,  especially  the  British  West  Indies.  An  increased 
demand  is  also  noted  from  South  America  and  the  West  Indies  gener- 
ally. Patent  flours  from  the  Northwest  are  becoming  quite  popular  in 
city  consumption.  Spring-wheat  flour,  since  the  recent  improvements 
in  its  manufacture,  has  rivaled,  if  not  surpassed,  the  finest  brands  of 
winter-wheat,  and  now  commands  the  highest  market  price.  Phila- 
delphia, with  increased  facilities  of  transportation,  is  annually  attract- 
ing a  larger  portion  of  this  production.  The  mills  of  Philadelphia  and 
its  vicinity  have  also  increased  in  number  and  efficiency.  They  sold 
more  flour  in  1876  than  in  any  former  year,  though  the  number  of  bar- 
rels manufactured  was  not  quite  equal  to  that  of  1875.  The  aggregate 
capacity  of  the  city  mills  is  estimated  at  2,500  barrels  in  each  twenty-four 
boars.  Allowing  sixty  days  in  each  year  for  repairs,  there  will  remain 
about  250  working  days,  giving  an  aggregate  production  of  625,000  barrels 
per  annum.  The  production  of  1876,  then,  fell  less  than  15  per  cent,  short 
of  the  running  capacity  of  the  machinery.  The  grades  of  flour  manufac- 
tured in  Philadelphia  have  a  wide  range,  but  the  bulk  is  made  from  prime 
red  and  amber  wheat.  The  exports  to  South  America  and  the  West  Indies 
are  generally  Pennsylvania  and  southern  red  and  amber.  Some  spring- 
wheat  is  mixed  with  winter-wheat  in  the  manufacture  of  low  grades  for 


184         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 

the  Brititjb  markets.  Prices  ruled  low  duriug  187G.  Superfine  opened  at 
$4  to  $4.37^  oa  the  1st  of  January,  fell  to  $3.25  to  $3.50  June  1,  but  ral- 
lied gradually  to  $3.50  to  $4  December  1 ;  Pennsylvania  extra  to  choice 
ranged  from  $3.75  to  $0.25  in  August  and  September  to  $4.50  to  $6.75  in 
January;  western  extra  to  choice  from  $4.25  to  $6.G0  in  March  to  $5.25 
to  $8  in  June. 

Wheat. — The  receipts  of  wheat  fell  off  considerably,  being  4.485,000 
bushels  in  1870,  against  5,550,800  bushels  in  1875.  The  decline  is  attrib- 
uted to  the  smaller  number  of  direct  orders  from  Europe.  The  quality 
of  the  receipts  was  mostly  very  good,  the  bulk  being  Pennsylvania  and 
southern  red  and  amber,  which  are  great  favorites  with  Philadelphia 
millers.  "Western  red  winter  No.  1  and  No.  2  were  also  received  in  con- 
siderable quantities  and  of  superior  quality.  The  western  wheat  trade 
has  greatly  increased  of  late  years.  Spring- wheat  seems  to  be  but  little 
known  in  the  market,  from  the  fact  that  no  quotations  of  prices  are 
extant.  Winter  red  ranged  $0.70  ®  $1.17  in  August  to  $1.15  ®  $1.42  in 
June;  amber,  from  $1.18®$1.22i  in  August  to  $1.50®  1.55  iu  May; 
white,  from  $1.20  ©  $1.30  in  August  to  $1.50  ©  $1.58  in  April. 

Corn. — The  receipts  of  corn  rose  from  7,130,000  bushels  in  1875  to 
20,261,075  bushels  in  1876,  and  that  grain  now  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
cereal  products  marketed  at  Philadelphia.  With  short  supplies  of  wheat 
in  the  Old  World  in  several  years  past,  the  use  of  corn  as  human  aliment 
has  become  more  general.  The.  exports  amounted  to  16,790,691  bushels, 
valued  at  $10,448,938,  or  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  aggregate  value  of  the 
total  foreign  exports  of  the  city.  The  exports  from  Philadelphia  are 
mostly  to  the  United  Kingdom,  but  an  increasing  amount  is  annually 
shipped  to  Portugal  and  to  Northern  Europe.  Italy  used  to  import  alcohol 
from  the  United  States,  but  lately  she  has  found  it  cheaper  to  import  our 
corn  and  distil  the  spirit  upon  her  own  soil.  Philadelphia  has  prof- 
ited by  this  new  trade  movement.  Prices  were  steady  during  the  year, 
ranging  from  51  ®  57  cents  per  bushel  in  September  to  56  ^  68  cents  in 
January.  Of  corn-meal  the  export  amounted  to  25,510  barrels,  valued 
at  $81,096,  against  26,367  barrels,  valued  at  $108,956,  in  1875. 

Oats. — The  receipts  of  oats  also  showed  a  great  increase,  amounting  to 
4,484,000  bushels,  against  3,820,400  bushels  in  1875.  Prices  took  a  wide 
range,  opening  January  1  at  43  'g)  50  cents  per  bushel,  and  gradually  fall- 
ing to  28®  41  cents  December  1.  The  exports  amounted  to  861,176 
bushels,  valued  at  $355,783 ;  in  1875  the  export  was  only  33,800  bushels, 
valued  at  $22,104.  This  is  one  of  the  numerous  facts  illustrating  the 
success  of  the  late  efforts  of  the  business  men  of  Philadelphia  to  secure 
a  larger  portion  of  the  cereal  trade  of  the  country.  The  oats  crop  of 
1876,  from  which  the  exports  of  the  latter  part  of  the  year  are  mostly 
derived,  was  about  10  per  cent,  short  of  the  crop  of  1875 ;  yet  in  spite 
of  the  shortened  domestic  supply,  Philadelphia  increased  her  export 
twenty-six  fold. 

Rye. — The  receipts  of  rye  also  show  an  enormous  rate  of  increase, 
rising  from  187,550  bushels  in  1875,  to  679,100  bushels  in  1876.  The  ex- 
ports were  431,223  bushels,  valued  at  $345,867.  The  exports  of  rye  in 
1875  were  too  insignificant  for  even  an  official  record.  The  exports  of 
rye-flour  amounted  to  766  barrels,  valued  at  $3,80,4,  against  543  barrels, 
valued  at  $2,91,7,  in  1875.  Rye  opened  at  88  ®  90  cents  January  1,  rose 
to  $1.25®$1.50  in  May,  and  fell  to  6S®75  cents  in  November. 

Barley. — The  receipts  of  barley  were  1,329,200  bushels  in  1876,  against 
1,652,700  bushels  in  1875.  The  exports  of  both  years  were  too  small  to 
attract  attention.  All  the  barley  brought  to  this  market  is  for  brewing, 
and  hence  the  best  qualities  are  in  constant  request,  the  receipts  being 


EEPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


185 


mostly  absorbed  in  the  inanufiicture  of  beer,  either  in  the  city  or  its 
immediate  neighborhood.  Prices,  Jaunary  1,  were  $0.70  ©61.35  per 
bushel ;  became  nominal  in  June,  were  quoted  at  55  ®  95  cents  in  July, 
and  rose  to  CO  ®  95  cents  December  1.  The  brewers  prefer  malt  of  their 
own  manufacture,  or  malted  in  the  city  malt-houses ;  but  Canadian, 
northern,  and  western  malt  was  marketed  in  large  quantities  during  the 
year. 

The  receipts  (not  including  the  product  of  the  city  mills)  and  exports 
of  flour  and  grain  were  as  follows : 


Products. 

1873. 

1874. 

1875. 

IS 

:g. 

Receipts. 

Exports. 

Receipts. 

Exports. 

Receipts. 

Exports. 

Receipts. 

Exports. 

Flour Ijbls. 

954,  680 
4,  372,  800 

142, 386 
1,  938,  310 

915,636 
5,  471,  700 

922, 190 
5, 550,  600 

160.  7-J^ 

970.  781 

192,  433 

Wheat bush. 

3,  302,  054 1  4,4»:>,000 

2,  989,  704 

Flour  and  wheat, 
bushels 

9, 146,  200 
8, 233,  400 
5  980  565 

2,  650, 240 
2, 002, 368 

10,  049,  880 
5, 954,  700 
4,  715,  000 
210, 191 
1, 236, 392 

10, 161,  750 
7, 130,  000 
3, 820, 400 
187, 550 
1, 652, 700 

4,105,79J    9,338,905 

4,60I,5S6'20,261,075 

33,800   4.484.000 

3,  951, 869 

Corn bush. 

Oats...... .  do.. 

16,  790,  691 
861, 176 

Kye ... do.. 

270,  600 
1, 006,  392 

079, 100 
1, 329,  20C 

431, 223 

Barley do.. 



Total 

24, 097, 157 

22, 156, 1C3 

22,  952,  400 

30,092,660 

BALT] 

[MORE. 

The  receipts  of  flour  and' grain  at  Baltimore  during  187G  show  an  in- 
crease of  nearly  60  per  cent,  compared  with  1875,  and  nearly  50  per  cent, 
compared  with  the  great  grain  year  of  1874.  The  increase  is  mostly  in 
corn ;  the  other  items,  excepting  rye,  show  a  decline.  The  most  of  this 
trade  consists  in  flour,  wheat,  and  corn. 

Flour. — The  Baltimore  Flour  and  Corn  Exchange  reports  the  aggregate 
receipts  of  1876  at  1,389,538  barrels,  against  1.391,843  barrels  in  1875, 
a  decline  of  2,305  barrels.  This  report  does  not  include  the  coasting- 
trade  with  Eichmond,  Va,,  which  in  1876  is  estimated  at  65,000  barrels, 
making  the  total  receipts  1,454,538  barrels.  Of  the  receipts,  321,852  were 
reported  as  contributed  by  the  city  mills,  an  aggregate  which  is  considered 
as  considerably  below  the  truth.  It  should  probably  be  placed  as  high  as 
400,000  barrels.  Shipments  to  home  points  are  not  given.  The  foreign 
exports  of  1876  amounted  to  426,094,  a  decline  of  6  per  cent,  from  the 
figures  of  1875.  Of  the  exports  of  1876,  about  58  per  cent,  went  to 
South  America,  24  per  cent,  to  the  West  Indies,  and  the  remainder 
mostly  to  Europe,  Great  Britain  taking  51,032  barrels.  The  character 
of  the  flour  made  by  the  Baltimore  mills  was  fully  maintained  during 
the  year.  The  wheat  crop  of  the  neighboring  regions,  upon  which  the 
city  mills  mostly  depend  for  supply,  was  remarkably  good,  and  the  manu- 
facture carefully  conducted.  The  market  ruled  low  for  inferior  brands 
during  most  of  the  year,  but  improved  toward  the  close,  rising  fall  $1 
per  barrel  above  previous  minimum  quotations.  High  grades  of  city 
mills  manufacture  fluctuated  with  the  cost  of  wheat.  During  the  first 
three  months  the  price  ranged  from  $6.50  ©  $7  per  barrel,  rising  in  May 
to  $8,  when  a  decline  set  in,  which  culminated  in  October  at  $0.25  © 
$6.50  per  barrel;  a  subsequent  rise  brought  prices  to  $7.25  ©  $7.50. 
Howard-street  superfine  opened  at  $4.25  fS>  $4.50  per  barrel,  declined 
late  in  the  summer  to  $3.75  ©  $4,  and  rose  in  December  to  $4.50  ©  $5. 
Western  extra  opened  at  $4.50  ©  $5.25,  fell  to  $3.50  ©  $4.25  late  in  the 
season,  and  rose  to  $5.25  ©  $5.50  in  the  middle  of  December. 


186         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE 

Wheat. — The  receipts  of  wheat  during  1876  were  3,945,247  bushels,  a 
decline  of  404,423  bushels,  over  10  per  cent.,  from  the  receipts  of  1875. 
The  foreign  exports  amounted  to  1,659,861  bushels,  a  decline  of  19  per 
cent.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  the  stock  left  over  from  1875  in  the 
hands  of  millers  and  dealers  amounted  to  311,043  bushels,  which,  added 
to  the  current  receipts,  made  the  total  stock  in  the  market  during  the 
year  4,250,290  bushels.  Of  this  amount,  about  2,000,000  bushels  were 
ground  by  the  city  mills,  1,059,861  bushels  exported  to  foreign  countries, 
about  100,000  bushels  shipped  coastwise  or  to  millers  of  neighboring 
districts,  with  247,856  bushels  left  in  the  elevators,  and  248,573  in  the 
hands  of  millers  and  dealers  or  on  shipboard.  The  crop  of  1875,  in 
regions  dependent  upon  the  Baltimore  market,  was  considerably  short- 
ened, which  caused  a  reduction  in  the  receipts  of  the  first  six  months. 
The  crop  of  1876  being  larger,  the  receipts  were  more  abundant  and  of 
better  quality.  Southern  red  wheat,  on  the  1st  of  January,  was  quoted 
at  $1.35  ®  $1.45  per  bushel.  It  showed  a  rising  tendency  through  the 
winter  and  spring,  reaching  $1.40  ®  $1.50  in  May.  Subsequently  it 
declined  as  the  prospects  of  the  crop  around  Baltimore  became  more 
cheering,  falling  to  $1.18  ©  $1.22  in  August,  but  rallied  to  the  opening 
figures  at  the  close  of  the  year.  Southern  white  exhibited  about  the 
same  range  of  fluctuations,  opening  and  closing  at  $1.45  ®  $1.55.  Of 
wheat,  and  flour  reduced  to  wheat,  the  receipts  amounted  10,892,937 
bushels,  a  decline  of  1,351,288,  or  11  per  cent,,  from  1875. 

Corn. — Receipts,  24,684,230  bushels,  an  enormous  increase  over  the 
receipts  of  1875,  which  embraced  but  9,567,141  bushels.  This  increase 
gives  Baltimore  the  leadership  in  the  corn  trade  among  the  distributive 
markets  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  It  results  from  a  judicious  manage- 
ment of  the  immense  railroad  facilities  centering  at  Baltimore  in  offer- 
ing diiferential  rates  of  transportation  for  through  freight.  During  the 
last  seven  months  of  the  year  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  liailroad,  compet- 
ing with  rivals  farther  north,  put  down  the  tariff  on  transportation  to 
17J  cents  per  cental  from  Chicago  to  Baltimore.  Of  the  receipts,  about 
3,000,009  bushels  came  by  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  stock  on  hand  at 
the  opening  of  the  year  was  155,385  bushels,  which,  added  to  the 
receipts,  amounted  to  24,839,615  bushels.  This  aggregate  was  disposed 
of  as  follows :  Exported  to  foreign  countries,  20,953,724  bushels ;  ex- 
ported coastwise,  600,000  bushels ;  ground  by  city  mills,  250,000  ,•  taken 
by  distilleries,  350,000 ;  taken  for  local  wants,  1,200,000 ;  stock  left  in 
elevators,  1,038,650  -,  stock  left  in  hands  of  millers  and  others  and  on 
shipboard,  447,241.  The  prices  of  southern  white  corn  were  uniformly 
lower  than  in  1875.  The  year's  quotations  opened  at  48  ®  55  and  closed 
at  55  ®  56,  the  maximum,  62  <©  63,  being  reported  in  April  and  May. 
Southern  yellow  averaged  about  the  same. 

Oats.— Receipts,  810,212  bushels,  a  decline  of  167,302.  The  receipts 
were  nearly  all  taken  for  home  consumption,  the  shipments  being  too 
small  to  be  worthy  of  notice.  The  receipts  were  cut  down  by  a  failure  in 
the  demand,  caused  by  the  inferior  character  of  the  crop  as  well  as  by  the 
abundance  of  the  hay  crop  of  1876.  which  largely  superseded  it  as  a 
feeding  material.  Prices  were  uniformly  lower  than  during  1875; 
January  1,  the  quotations  were 40  ®  50  cents;  they  gradually  subsided  to 
30  fa)  30  November  1,  with  a  partial  reaction  toward  the  close  of  the  year. 

Rye. — Receipts  112,160  bushels,  an  increase  of  37,631  bushels,  or  50 
per  cent.,  over  1875.  The  annual  receipts  of  the  last  few  years  show 
great  variations,  showing  a  fluctuating  relation  between  supply  and 
demand.  Greater  storage  facilities  for  this  branch  of  the  grain  trade, 
it  is  thought,  would  enlarge  the  local  consumption,  and  induce  a  profit- 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN, 


187 


able  foreign-export  trade.  Prices  show  a  marked  reduction  all  through 
the  year.  January  opened  at  78  <a)  85  cents,  but  quotations  fell  to  54  ®  55, 
September  1,  with  a  subsequent  reaction,  which  carried  them  nearly  up 
to  their  opening  figures  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

Barley. — No  receipts  of  this  grain  are  noted  in  the  commereial  reports 
of  Baltimore. 

The  following  table  represents  the  flour  and  grain  movements  of  the 
last  five  years : 


Products 

1872. 

1873. 

1874. 

Keceipts. 

Foreign 
shipments. 

Receipts. 

Foi'oign 
shipmeuts. 

Receipts. 

Foreign 
shipments. 

Plonr 

Wheat 

.barrels., 
.bushels.. 

bushels. - 
....do.... 
....do.... 
....do.... 

1. 175,  907 
2;  450, 100 

282,  553 
88,  025 

1, 312,  612 
2,  810,  917 

359,  500 
1,158,097 

1,  560,  997 
6, 456,  834 

474,  758 
3, 550,  848 

Flour  and  wheat . 

Corn 

Oats 

8,  335,  935 

9,  045,  465 
1,  959, 101 

90,  938 

1,  500,  700 
5, 157,  235 

9,  373,  977 

8,  330,  449 

1, 255,  072 

100,  519 

2,  955,  927 
0,  003,  618 

14,201,819 

9,  355,  567 

1, 149, 188 

118,  634 

5,  930,  038 
5,  959,  757 

Kyo 

Total 

19,  431,  499 

19,  060,  017 

24,  885, 208 

Produc 

ts. 

1875. 

1876. 

Receipts. 

Foreign 
shipments. 

Receipts. 

Foreign 
shipments. 

Flour 

Wheat 

...barrels.. 
...bushels.. 

...bushels.. 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

1,  391,  843 
4,  409, 670 

453,  000 
2,  046, 430 

1, 389,  538 
3, 945,  247 

426, 094 
1,  059,  861 

Flour  and  Tvhoat  . 

Corn 

Oats 

11,  368,  885 

9,  507, 141 

977,  514 

74,  529 

4,311,430 
6,  989,  807 

10, 892,  937 

24,  684, 230 

810,  212 

112, 160 

3,  790, 331 
20, 953,  724 

Eye 

Total 

21,  988,  069 

36,  499, 539 

»  CINCINNATI. 

The  statistics  of  the  flour  and  grain  trade  of  Cincinnati  are  compiled 
chiefly  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  chamber  of  commerce,  and 
represent  "  commercial  years  "  instead  of  calendar  years.  The  report 
for  the  twelve  months  ending  August  31,  187G,  of  course,  shows  but  a 
small  portion  of  the  crops  last  harvested,  and  embraces  mainly  the 
crops  of  1875.  The  flour  trade  during  the  last  commercial  year  was 
very  unsatisfactory  both  to  millers  and  dealers.  The  wheat  crop  in 
many  districts  dependent  on  the  Cincinnati  market  suffered  serious 
disaster  during  the  growing  and  harvest  season  of  1875,  which  not  only 
reduced  the  amount  of  flour  marketed,  but  rendered  much  of  it  very 
unsound.  This  is  especially  true  of  wheat  in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  where 
destructive  floods  were  numerous  during  the  summer  of  1875.  The 
trade  in  raw  grain,  however,  shows  the  same  steady  increase  in  the  last 
commercial  year  that  characterized  it  during  several  preceding  years. 
Cincinnati,  which  has  long  been  a  large  consuming  market,  is 
annually  extending  its  distributive  trade.  This  extension  is  partly  the 
result  of  favorable  railroad  prices  of  transportation,  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  enlargement  of  the  volume  of  that  trade  tends  to  perpetuate 
those  favorable  terms.  Elevating  machinery  is  being  brought  into  play 
for  the  handling  of  grain,  and  all  the  modern  improvements  of  a  great 
grain  market  are  in  progress  of  construction  or  in  contemplation.  The 
Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad,  now  under  construction,  will  open  a  still 
wider  field  of  commercial  enterprise,  giving  access  to  many  southern 


188         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

interior  markets  ^vith  v>liioli  Cincinnati  traders  have  now  no  direct 
relations. 

Flour. — Keceipts  of  187o-'7G,  G3G,504  barrels,  a  decline  of  01,074:  bar- 
rels, or  nearly  1)  per  cent.,  from  tlie  previous  twelve  months.  Shipments, 
390,217  barrels,  a  reduction  of  77,243  barrels,  or  10  per  cent.  The  amount 
of  unsound  flour  received  was  greater,  perhaps,  than  dnrin^^  any  previous 
year,  on  account  of  the  poor  wheat-crops  of  1875.  To  meet  the  defi- 
ciency, winter-wheat  from  Michigan  and  I^orthern  Ohio,  which  usually 
sought  other  markets,  was  imported  by  the  millers ;  but  the  success  of  this 
expedient  was  by  no  means  remarkable.  An  increased  amount  of  spring- 
wheat  flour  from  the  Northwest  was  marketed  here,  and  an  increased  de- 
mand for  this  article  by  bakers  and  families  for  home  consumption  was  the 
result.  The  better  grades  of  winter-wheat  flour  steadily  gained  ground 
in  public  favor;  even  the  poorer  classes  are  preferring  high  grades. 
Poor  flour  was  abundant  during  the  year,  realizing  but  a  limited  demand 
for  shipment,  especially  as  Cincinnati  prices  were  relatively  higher  than 
those  of  many  other  markets.  The  increased  consumption  of  high  grades 
left  a  smaller  surplus  for  shipment.  For  these  reasons  and  others,  the 
shipments  fell  off  in  greater  proportion  than  the  receipts.  Yery  little  of 
speculation  disturbed  the  regular  course  of  the  trade.  The  market  dur- 
ing the  year  was  languid.  During  the  months  immediately  following  the 
harvest  of  1875  there  was  some  activity,  but  this  subsided  after  it  was 
found  that  the  reports  of  bad  condition  of  the  crop  were  greatly  exag- 
gerated. During  the  last  five  years  family  flour  averaged  $7.32  per  barrel 
in  1871-'72,  $7.40.8  in  1872-'73,  $0.00.4  in  1873-'74,  $5.43  in  1874-'75, 
$5.52.3  in  1875-'70.  Extra  flour,  during  the  same  years,  respectively 
averaged  $7.14.0,  $7.15,  $0.25.5,  $5.18.3,  and  $4.05.0;  superfine,  during 
the  same  years,  averaged  $0.00,  $5.50i,  $5.0Gi,  $4.41.7,  and  $3.90. 

Wheat. — The  crop  of  1875  was  inferior,  but  a  large  surplus  remained 
from  the  excellent  crop  of  1874  in  first  hands,  which  came  into  market 
in  such  quantities  as  to  prevent  a  great  rise  in  prices.  It  was  also  mixed 
with  the  imperfect  new  grain  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  flour,  but  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  latter  was  found  entirely  unfit  for  milling, 
and  hence  was  thrown  into  the  feeding-trough.  As  the  harvest  of  1870 
approached,  the  fine  prospects  of  the  crop  greatly  depressed  the  price  of 
the  old  one.  The  demand,  however,  was  good  during  the  whole  year. 
The  receipts  were  1,052,952  bushels,  a  decline  from  the  preceding  year 
of  82,430  bushels,  or  over  7  per  cent.  Shipments,  558,252  bushels ;  a 
decline  of  42,370  bushels,  or  7  per  cent.  As  but  little  wheat  was  author- 
itatively graded  during  the  year,  it  is  difficult  to  compare  prices.  Sales 
were  generally  made  by  sample,  and  the  average  on  the  full  range  of 
samples  was  $1.10,17  per  bushel,  against  $1.10,0  the  preceding  year. 

Corn. — The  corn  trade  exceeded  that  of  any  previous  year,  receipts, 
4,115,504  bushels,  an  increase  of  420,003  bushels,  or  over  11  per  cent.; 
shipments,  1,028,325  bushels,  an  increase  of  432,410  bushels,  or  72  per 
cent.  The  crop  of  1875  was  very  abundant,  but  in  many  regions  de- 
pendent on  the  Cincinnati  market  it  had  not  been  secured  in  very 
good  order,  and  hence  it  presented  a  very  inferior  quality.  As  but  a 
small  proportion  could  bo  graded  as  ^o.  2,  a  new  grade  (No.  3.)  was 
established  by  authority  of  the  chamber  of  commerce.  At  the  open- 
ing of  the  commercial  year  the  market  showed  considerable  strength, 
prime  mixed  ear  being  quoted  at  70  to  71  cents  per  bushel;  but  all 
through  the  year  prices  declined,  with  some  partial  reactions.  The  closing 
quotations  were  44  to  47  cents.  The  annual  average  prices  of  this  kind 
of  corn  for  the  last  five  commercial  years,  respectively,  were  as  follows : 
1871-'72,  45  cents;  1872-'73,  42.0  cents;  1873-'74,  00.5  cents;  1874-75, 
72.52  cents ;  1875~'70,  51.02  cents. 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


189 


Oats. — Notwithstauding  tho  comparative  failuro  of  tlio  oats-crop  of 
1875  in  Kentucky  and  Southern  Ohio  and  Indiana,  the  trade  in  this  grain 
showed  great  enlargement.  The  receipts  were  1,441,158  bushels,  a  gain 
of  117.778  bushels,  or  nearly  9  per  cent.  Shipments,  321,755  bushels,  a 
gain  of  128,513  bushels,  or  G6  per  cent.  Eegions  generally  contributing 
to  other  markets  came  in  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  the  districts  imme- 
diately around  the  city.  The  northern  counties  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois  furnished  a  good  quality  of  feeding-oats,  while  Southern  and 
Central  Missouri  sent  some  less  desirable.  The  crop  of  1874  went  out 
at  high  prices.  The  crop  of  1875  opened  at  40  ®  52  cents  for  ISTo.  2  mixed, 
but  steadily  declined  until  nearly  the  close  of  the  year,  reaching  31  to 
35  cents  at  the  end  of  August,  187(3.  The  average  price  of  this  grade  was 
38  cents,  against  59  cents  in  the  preceding  year  and  48.2  cents  in  1873-'74. 

Eye. — The  rye  trade,  on  the  whole,  exceeded  that  of  any  previous  year ; 
receipts,  500,515  bushels,  an  increase  of  164,105  bushels,  or  nearly  50 
per  cent. ;  shipments  178,403  bushels,  an  increase  of  80,158,  or  over  81 
per  cent.  The  supply  throughout  tho  year  was  abundant,  but  the  quality 
poor,  having  shared  in  the  disasters  of  1875,  so  fatal  to  the  small  grains 
of  this  region.  A  large  part  of  the  crop  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  was 
returned  as  rejected.  Its  apparent  lack  of  keepiug  qualities  prevented 
speculation,  as  none  desired  to  accumulate  grain  that  showed  tendency  to 
spoil.  Eye  from  Wisconsin  and  some  from  Kansas  and  Missouri  was,  on 
the  whole,  above  this  suspicion,  but  there  werd  exceptions.  Prices  for 
No.  2  opened  at  80  ®  82  cents,  but  shrunk  through  the  whole  year,  with 
an  occasional  fitful  reaction,  and  closed  at  55  ©  58  cents.  The  average 
for  the  year  w\is  74.4  cents  per  bushel,  against  $1.05,8  the  preceding  year, 
92.9  cents  in  lS73-'74,  and  75.8  cents  in  1872-'73.  The  samples  of  the 
crop  of  1876,  marketed  at  the  close  of  the  year,  were  good,  on  the  whole, 
and  indications  of  an  abundant  yield  caused  a  decline  in  prices. 

Barley. — The  receipts  exceeded  those  of  any  previous  year,  being 
1,551,944  bushels,  an  increase  of  442,251  bushels,  or  nearly  40  per  cent. 
Shipments,  232,550  bushels,  an  increase  of  149,823  bushels,  or  181  per 
cent.  The  barley  marketed  was  mostly  inferior,  but  good  samples  came 
from  California,  Canada,  and  New  York.  The  market  was  active  and 
well  supplied  throughout  the  year.  Owing  to  injuries  from  bad  weather, 
very  little  of  the  barley  in  the  market  was  graded.  No.  2  spring  opened 
at  $1.16®  $1.18,  and  fell  off  by  November  $1  ®  $1.10;  No.  2  fall 
appeared  in  the  latter  i^art  of  the  year,  ranging  from  70  to  SO  cents  per 
bushel.  It  was  mostly  sold  by  sample,  and  that  which  approximated 
No.  2  fall  averaged  $1.20  per  bushel,  against  $1.41  the  preceding  year. 

The  Hour  and  grain  movements  at  Cincinnati  during  the  last  five  com- 
mercial years  were  as  follows : 


Products. 


Flour ba  rrela. . 

Wheat bushels.. 

Flour  and  wheat . .  bushels. . 

Corn do 

Oats do 

Kye do 

Barley Uo 

Total 


lS~l-'73. 


Keccipts.    Shipmsuta. 


582,  930 
762, 144 


410,501 
323,  405 


1872-'73. 


Receipts.    Shipments. 


705,  4G'J 
860,  454 


3,  676, 794 
1,  82!),  866 
1,  IfiO,  053 
357,  309 
1, 177, 306 


8,  201, 328   2.  Ol'O.  95 


2,  37.5, 910 
24G,  632 
ii30,  063 
110,404 
26,  984 


4,  687,  799 
2,  259,  5 14 
1,  .'i-20,  979 
426,  GOO 
1,  228,  245 


10, 123, 227 


SCO,  829 
412,  722 


3, 210,  807 
324, 183 
324,  718 
CI,  577 
37,  450 


3,  064,  801 


1873-'74. 


Eeceipts.    Shipments. 


774,  916 
1,  221, 176 

5,  095,  756 
3,  457, 164 
1,  372,  464 
385,  934 
1,  084, 500 


551,774 
783,  990 

3,  542,'8e0 

658,718 

210,  6t0 

117,  o4;< 

90.  0^:8 


11,395,818  I   4,626,275 


190         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


5. 

1874 

-'75. 

1875-'76. 

Product 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Beceipts. 

Shipmenta. 

barrels.. 

697,  578 
1, 135,  388 

473,  460 
COO,  622 

636,  504 
1,  052,  952 

396,217 

Wheat 

bushels.. 

558, 252 

bushela.. 

4,  623, 278 
3,  695,  561 
1,  323,  380 
336,  410 
1, 109,  693 

2, 967, 922 

595,  915 

193,  242 

98, 245 

82, 733 

4,  235,  472 
4,115,564 
1,441,158 
500,  515 
1,  551,  944 

2,  539,  337 

do.... 

1,028,325 

do.-.. 

321,  755 

do.... 

178,  403 

do.... 

232,  556 

Total 

11,  0S8, 322 

3,  938,  057 

11,844,653 

4,  300, 376 

CHICAGO. 

Flour. — The  receipts  of  flour  were  2,955,197  barrels,  a  gain  of  329,314 
barrels,  or  12i  per  cent.,  over  1875,  and  the  shipments  2,634,838,  a  gain 
of  349,725,  or  15  per  cent.  The  city  mills  manufactured  271,074  barrels, 
against  249,053  in  1875  ;  they  were  kept  running  during  the  whole  year 
to  nearly  their  full  capacity.  The  city  manufacture  was  confined  mostly 
to  three  establishments.  The  market  was  generally  quiet,  and  fre- 
quently dull.  The  wholesale  trade,  especially,  was  greatly  reduced. 
Formerly  trade  was  not  considered  as  very  active  unless  transactions 
involved  the  sale  of  15,000  or  20,000  barrels  per  day.  During  1876  few 
days  exceeded  4,000  barrels,  while  the  average  of  the  year  was  not  over 
3,000  barrels  per  day.  Yet  with  this  low  average  of  the  wholesale  trade 
the  sales  of  1876  somewhat  exceeded  those  of  1875.  The  decline  in 
wholesale  transactions  is  due  to  the  growing  disposition  of  bakers  and 
store-keepers  to  order  direct  from  the  mill  and  thus  save  one  set  of  mid- 
dlemen's profits.  Much  flour  not  handled  by  city  operators  was  sent  to 
Chicago  to  gain  the  benefit  of  the  excellent  inspection  laws  there  in 
force.  The  increase  in  shipments  prevented  any  great  accumulation  of 
stocks,  and  hence  holders  were  not  at  any  time  under  an  undue  pressure 
to  sell.  The  city  mills  disposed  of  their  products  chiefly  in  direct  sales 
to  consumers  or  retail  dealers. 

A  great  change  has  taken  place  in  later  years  in  the  character  of  the 
Chicago  flour  trade.  The  milling  capacity  of  the  Northwest  has  greatly 
increased.  Formerly  the  country  mills  found  it  to  their  interest  to  send 
their  stocks  to  Chicago,  where  a  steady  demand  existed  for  shipment  to 
the  Eastern  States  and  to  Europe,  but  of  later  years  they  have  estab- 
lished direct  relations  with  the  markets  of  consumption  in  the  East,  and 
now  ship  direct.  The  foreign  export  trade  has  been  greatly  affected  by 
the  improvements  in  handling  grain  by  elevators,  which  have  lessened 
the  expense  of  shipping  raw  grain.  English  millers  now  purchase 
American  wheat  and  largely  mix  it  with  cheaper  wheats  from  South- 
eastern Europe  and  Egypt,  thereby  producing  a  flour  which  meets  the 
great  bulk  of  the  home  demand.  The  English  mills  have  also  exten- 
sively introduced  the  "  middlings  purifier,"  which  enables  them  to  ex- 
tract a  larger  amount  of  flour  than  formerly  from  the  crushed  grain. 
This  revival  of  the  flour  manufacture  of  England  has  especially  curtailed 
the  foreign  export  from  Chicago,  shifting  the  demand  from  flour  to 
wheat.  But  the  decline  in  shipments  to  the  East  and  to  Europe  has 
been  partly  made  up  by  an  increase  in  local  consumption  and  in  the  sup- 
ply of  neighboring  regions.  The  spring-wheat  flour  of  the  Northwest, 
with  its  recent  improvements  in  manufacture,  is  encroaching  even  upon 
the  winter  flour  of  regions  farther  south,  and  successfully  competing 
with  best  white  winter  flour  in  all  the  leading  markets  of  the  country. 
A  considerable  foreign  trade  in  bagged  flour  has  sprung  up,  embrac- 


REPOET   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


191 


iug  grades  below  average  spring  extras.  These  bagged  flours  are 
mostly  sent  to  Scotland  and  the  north  of  England,  where  they  meet 
a  popular  prejudice  in  favor  of  flour  put  up  in  this  way.  The  quality 
of  the  flour  made  from  the  crop  of  1875  was  unsatisfactory,  and 
especially  destitute  in  keeping  qualities.  Hence  there  was  no  disposi- 
tion to  accumulate  stocks.  This  kept  the  market  steady  in  small  trans- 
actions to  meet  current  wants.  The  mixture  of  old  wheat  with  new 
caused  some  prejudice  agaiust  the  crop  of  187G,  but  its  superiority  soon 
became  appareut.  Kansas  flour  declined  in  receipts ;  its  dark  color  over- 
balanced its  other  good  qualities,  and  the  demand  became  restricted. 
Nebraska  mills  have  gained  some  reputation  by  samples  already  afforded, 
and  an  increasing  trade  in  their  flour  is  anticipated.  The  Department 
record  of  prices,  compiled  at  the  beginning  of  each  month,  shows  that 
choice  winter  extras  ranged  from  $6.50  to  $7.87  per  barrel  during  the 
year;  patent  springs,  from  $G  to  $9  ;  spring  superfiues,  from  $2.50  to  $4. 
The  maximum  prices  were  in  the  early  summer.  The  average  price  for 
the  year  for  shipping  extras  was  $4.75,  against  $4.92^-  in  1875  and  $5  in 
1874.    Minnesota  flour  of  all  grades  averaged  about  $5.75. 

Wheat. — The  wheat  trade  fell  off  greatly  in  187G ;  receipts,  10,574,058 
bushels,  a  decline  from  1875  of  7,032,312  bushels,  or  over  31  per  cent. ; 
shipments  14,361,950  bushels,  a  decline  of  8,822.399,  or  38  per  cent. 
Prominent  among  the  reasons  of  this  diminished  trade  was  the  poor 
quality  of  the  crop  of  1875,  together  with  the  small  demand  for  low 
grades,  which,  constituted  the  greater  portion  of  that  crop.  The  close 
inspection  which  thus  classified  the  crop  was  considered  remarkably 
strict  and  deterred  many  shippers  from  passing  their  grain  through  this 
market  by  the  fear  that  it  would  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  board 
of  trade.  Yet,  strict  as  it  was,  a  large  quantity  of  wheat  graded  as  No. 
2  was  defective  in  the  keeping  qualities  required  for  this  grade,  and 
injured  the  reputation  of  the  market  by  heating  in  the  bin.  A  combi- 
nation was  also  formed  for  the  shipment  of  the  low  grade  wheats,  repre- 
senting them  as  equal  to  Chicago  No.  2,  but  their  deficiency  in  keeping 
qualities  prevented  their  export  to  Europe,  and  they  lay  in  New  York 
magazines,  slowly  worked  off'  to  meet  the  demands  of  local  consump- 
tion. This  combination,  though  short  lived  and  ending  in  serious  dis- 
aster to  all  its  participants,  succeeded  in  injuring  greatly  the  reputation 
of  Chicago  wheat.  The  market  dragged  heavily  through  the  spring, 
and  prices  went  down  in  consequence  of  exaggerated  reports  of  the 
poor  condition  of  the  crop  of  1875.  Another  combination  during  the 
summer  quietly  cornered  the  wheat-market  and  succeeded  in  bearing 
prices  to  a  very  low  point,  just  in  time  to  take  advantage  of  a  rise  caused 
by  threatening  aspects  of  the  Turkish  question.  A  lack  of  transporta- 
tion facilities  eastward  by  rail  was  severely  felt  by  shippers  during  the 
summer  and  fall.  These  are  some  of  the  causes  alleged  for  the  dimin- 
ished wheat  movement  at  this  point.  The  following  table  shows  the 
annual  and  monthly  range  and  the  average  of  prices  of  No.  2  spring- 
wheat  during  the  year  and  for  the  last  four  years: 


Month. 

Lowest. 

Higliest.  Average. 

Month. 

Lowest. 

Highest. 

Average. 

January 

1 

ei  Qui 

1  06i 
1  14} 

§1  IGi 

1  m 

1  2CJ 

$1  09J 

973 

95* 

1  021 

1  05       1  Oil 
1  05       1  00  4-5 
1  05i     1  OIJ 
1  OS        1  03 
1  ()»       1  044- 

November 

December 

Year— 
1376 

1  10  5-6 

1  191 

. . 

May    

83 

83i 

81J 

89  . 

1  m 

1  31 

1  iiSJ 
1  40 

1  03 

83   1      1 04:;      mk 

84i  1            97i         89  9-10 
93'   1        111        t  orii 

1875 - 

1874 

1873 

1  02 

August 

1  08 
1  17 

1 

191 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


The  improvement  in  prices  toward  the  close  of  the  year  is  due  to  short 
crops  in  the  Korthwest,  as  well  as  to  the  better  quality ;  there  was  a 
good  demand  for  old  wheat  at  the  close  of  the  year.  Minnesota  wheat 
has  become  quite  popular  with  the  English  millers  as  one  of  the  moat 
available  for  mixing  with  other  wheats,  but  the  short  crop  of  Minnesota 
in  1S7G  limited  this  branch  of  trade  at  Chicago. 

Corn. — The  corn  trade  of  1876  shows  a  great  enlargement;  the  receipts 
were  48,608,640  bushels,  an  increase  of  20,327,490  bushels,  or  over  71 
per  cent,  over  1875;  the  shipments  were  45,629,035  bushels,  a  gain  of 
19,185,151  bushels,  or  73  per  cent.  This  increased  trade  is  attributed  to 
the  great  yield  of  corn  in  1875  and  to  its  inferior  condition,  which  made 
producers  and  traders  indisposed  to  hoard  it.  It  was  gathered ,  generally, 
in  a  damp  condition,  and  was  destitute  of  keeping  fhalities.  Complaints 
against  the  inspection  authorities  caused  some  changes  in  the  official 
board,  after  which  the  complaints  ceased.  The  crop  of  1876  was  abun- 
dant and  good,  and  ageneral  disposition  to  crib  it  caused  the  receipts  to 
be  light.  It  was  secured  generally  in  good  order,  and  hence  would  bear 
keeping.  The  low  prices  offered  at  the  close  of  the  year  presented  but 
little  inducement  to  holders  to  part  with  it.  The  range  of  prices  was 
remarkably  limited,  and  less  disturbed  by  speculation  than  formerly.  A 
systematic  effort  was  made  to  enlarge  the  consumption  of  western  corn 
in  England,  and  a  large  quantity  was  shipped  from  Chicago.  As  long 
as  the  grain  commanded  at  least  26  shillings  per  quarter  in  the  Euro- 
pean market,  it  was  found  profitable  to  ship  it ;  but  the  supplies  sent 
forward  were  in  excess  of  the  demand,  and  not  over  25  shillings  per  quar- 
ter could  be  obtained  for  lots  in  good  condition,  while  some  that  had 
been  spoiled  by  heating  on  the  passage  were  sold  at  19  ®  22  shillings. 
The  crop  of  1S75,  not  being  in  as  good  condition  generally,  as  had  been 
calculated,  made  a  less  favorable  impression  in  England  than  had  been 
anticipated,  and  this  materially  affected  both  the  price  and  the  de- 
mand. The  annual  and  montli^  range  and  average  of  prices  of  IS'o.  2 
corn  during  the  year  and  the  last  four  years  were  as  follows: 


Mouth. 


Lowest. 


January I      $0  40 

February |  38§- 

March i  42i 

April j  44i 

May 44 

Jane i  43} 

July 42| 

August 41} 

September 42J 


liighest. 


$0  47i 
43 
47* 
48J 
4i) 
47} 
48 
47i 
47i 


Averasa. 


$0  43.4 
41.2 
44.62 
45.84 
46.2 
45.7 
45.  Gl 
44.65 
45.31 


Month. 


Lowest. 


October $0  42 

November 4i2- 

Uecembor 44^ 


Te.ir— 

1876. 
1875. 
1874. 
1873. 


38J 
46 
53 
29 


Highest. 


Average. 


$0  46J 
4Gi 
46J 


49 

76J 

86 

53} 


?0  43.  C 
43.  e5 
45.  2tj 


443 
63i 
65 
37 


Oats. — The  market  for  oats  exhibits  a  small  increase  in  quantity  but 
a  decrease  of  nearly  half  in  the  value  of  the  grain.  The  receipts  were 
13,030,121  bushels,  against  12^916,428  in  1875;  shipments,  11,271,642, 
against  10,279,134.  The  course  of  the  market  was  regular,  and  the  trade 
was  remarkably  free  from  comers ;  the  disastrous  results  of  the  corner 
of  1875  still  lingered  as  a  warning  in  the  memory  of  speculators,  while 
the  new  rules  of  the  board  of  trade  rendered  the  process  of  combina- 
tion more  difficult.  The  natural  play  of  supply  and  demand  depressed 
prices,  as  the  large  surplus  of  the  crop  of  1875  was  even  larger  than  had 
been  estimated.  The  shipping  movement  of  the  old  crop  was  very  satis- 
factory, being  much  larger  than  during  the  preceding  year.  The  low 
grades  mostly  went  to  New  York,  and  the  hi'gher  to  New  England  and 
Europe,  especially  to  England,  where  the  feeders  found  a  profit  in  using 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


193 


our  oats.  The  new  crop  of  1876  was  poor  and  deficient,  not  so  much  in 
the  number  of  measured  bushels  as  in  weight  per  bushel.  Oats  weigh- 
ing 25  to  26  pound  per  measured  bushel  were  graded  as  No.  2,  while  at 
.least  three-fourths  of  the  offerings  failed  to  meet  even  this  poor  test. 
'A^'he  result  was  a  great  demoralization  in  the  market.  The  new  crop 
cfx-me  in  slowly,  as  holders,  calculating  from  the  short  yield  that  prices 
wo  uld  be  higher,  were  disposed  to  hold  on  to  their  stocks.  Western  buy- 
ers vdid  not  care  to  take  them,  and  hence  they  were  sent  forward  to  glut 
the  eastern  ma,rkot.  During  the  last  live  months  of  the  year  Chicago 
prices  ruled  relatively  higher.  The  annual  and  monthly  range  and  aver- 
age of  ;")rice8  during  the  year  and  the  last  four  years  vrere  as  follows  : 


Month. 


LOTVOSt. 


January . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August ... 
September 


?0  2fl| 

m 

sei 

284 
27 

:?o 

304 


nife-hest. 


to  31 J 
32J 
34i 
33.^ 
3U 
3li 
30i 
33 
35 


'Averajre. 


$0  30.  6 
31.4 

32.  78 

32.28 

30.22 

2!).  71 

28.  77 

30.8 

33.42 


Mouth. 

Lowest. 

Highest. 

31  i 
30i 
33 

m 

3:ii 
34i 

Novoniber 

Tear— 
1876  

27 
29J 
37i 
23J 

35 
63 
85 
40J 

IS"."! 

1874 

1873 

ATcrage. 


39.87 
32. 21 
33.74 


3U 

47 
46 

28} 


Eye.— The  rcceipti^'.  nearly  doubled,  being  1,447,917  bushels  in  1876, 
against  699,583  in  1875;  the  shipments  were  1,433,970,  against  310,592, 
an  increase  of  fourfold.  This  great  disproportion  in  the  shipments  was 
caused  by  the  close  of  nearly  all  the  distilleries  for  the  winter,  necessi- 
tating the  shipment  of  the  receipts  to  other  markets.  Prices  dragged 
through  the  winter  and  spring,  but  in  June  a  fair  demand  for  European 
export  arose,  which  advanced  the  prices  of  No.  2  to  72J  cents  per  bushel, 
but  the  free  receipts  of  the  new  crop  reduced  quotations  to  50  cents. 
With  a  partial  rally  prices  remained  steady  to  November,  when  reports 
of  a  short  crop  in  Germany  caused  a  rapid  clearing  of  the  rye-bins  of 
Chicago  for  shipment  to  Europe,  which  strengthened  prices.  In  Decern- 
ber  it  was  believed  that  most  of  the  "visible  supply"  in  the  country  was 
controlled  by  a  single  Chicago  firm. 

The  annual  and  monthly  range  and  average  of  prices  during  the  year 
and  the  last  four  years  were  as  follows : 


Month. 


January . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

An.i;u8t ... 
September 


Lowest. 


$0  66 
62 
00 
63 
611 
67 
50 
50 
57i 


Highest. 


$0  671 
67i 
60 
CG 
71 
72i 
67 
58 


Average. 


$0  66. 7 
63.  26 
64 

6,').  19 
65.  67 
09.9 
59.  78 
54 
02 


Month. 


Lowest. 


October $0  5!) 

November 56 

December 67^ 


Year— 

1876.. 
1875.. 
1874.. 
1873.. 


Highest. 


$0  62| 
67 
73 


73 
1  15 
1  01 

81 


Average. 


.$0  60.  71 
61.63 
71.09 


63i 

881 


Barley. — Receipts  4,710,360  bushels,  an  increase  of  1,609,003,  or  over 
50  per  cent.;  shipments  2,687,932,  an  increase  of  819,726,  or  44  per 
cent.  The  market  throughout  the  year  was  languid  and  unsatisfactory. 
The  crop  of  1875  in  regions  dependent  on  Chicago  was  poor,  while 
Canada  and  New  York  raised  abundant  crops  of  good  quality.  This 
reduced  prices  to  iin  unusual  depression.  An  unsuccessful  attempt  at 
cornering  brought  heavy  loss  on  the  parties  engaged  in  it;  they  were 
obliged  to  receive  at  95  cents  a  large  quantity  of  barley  for  which  they 
13  A 


194         REPORT   OF   THE   COBIMISSIONER   OF   AQRICULTURE. 


were  glad  to  accept  40  cents  in  New  York,  the  grain  being  fit  only  for 
feeding.  The  new  crop  was  better  than  its  predecessor,  yet  it  waa  defi- 
cient in  choice  brewing  grain,  hence  a  large  quantity  was  imported  from 
California,  Canada^  and  other  quarters.  The  fall  trade  in  western  bar- 
ley was,  therefore,  as  unsatisfactory  as  in  the  previous  part  of  the  year. 
The  low  grades  were  shipped  eastward  for  feeding,  while  the  small  pro- 
portion of  No.  2  remained  to  be  speculated  on,  though  orders  from  t?i6 
East  were  few.  The  annual  and  monthly  range  and  average  of  prices 
for  187G  and  for  the  last  four  years  were  as  follows : 


Month. 


January . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

Angu8t... 
September 


Lowest. 


$0  75 
51 
52 
552 
Gii 
55 
49 
09 
72 


Highest. 


10  87 
80 
64 
64 
80 
63 
71 
80i 
88i 


Arersgo. 


10  81.  31 
67.1 
58.8 
59.72 
68.70 
59 
59.8 
73.8 
79.5 


Month. 


October . . . 
November 
December 

Tear— 

1876 

1875 

1874 

1873 


Lawest. 


Highest. 


(0  »5 
80 
'68i 


95 

1  40 

2  00 

1  58 


/i.Terag«. 


$0  85.  48 
73.63 
05.91 


69.38 
126 


The  flour  and  grain  movement  of  the  last  five  years  may  be  summa- 
rized as  follows  : 


Products. 


1872. 


Eeceipts.    Shipments. 


1873. 


Eeceip^/S.    Shipments. 


1874. 


Keceipts. 


Shipments. 


Flour b.irrels 

Wheat bushels 

Wheat  and  flour bushels 

Corn do... 

Oats do... 

Eyo do... 

Barley do... 

Total 


1,532,014 

12,  724, 141 


1,361,328 
12, 160, 046 


2,  407,  376 
26,  r*6,  562 


2,  303,  490 
24,  455,  657 


2,  666,  679 
29, 764,  622 


2,  306, 576 
27, 634, 587 


20,  384, 211 

47, 306,  087 

15,  001,  715 

1, 129,  086 

5,  251,  750 


18, 966,  686 
47, 013,  552 
12, 255,  537 
776,  805 
5,  032, 303 


38, 703,  442 

3'.'<,  157, 232 

17,  888, 724 

1, 189,  464 

4,  240, 239 


35,  973, 107 

36, 754, 943 

15,694,133 

900,  613 

3,  366,  041 


43, 098, 017 
35,  799, 638 
13, 901,  235 
791, 182 
3, 354,  981 


39, 167, 467 

32, 705, 224 

10, 561,  673 

335, 077 

2,  404,  538 


89, 192,  849 


84, 044,  8S8 


100, 179, 101 


92,  748,  837 


96, 945,  053 


85, 173, 979 


Products. 

1875. 

1876. 

Keceipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Flour 

Wheat 

barrels. 

bushels. 

bushels. 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

2,  625,  883 
24, 206, 370 

2,285,113 
23, 184,  349 

2,  955, 197 
16,  574,  058 

2,  634,  838 
14,361,950 

Wheatand  flour 

Corn 

Oats 

Kye 

Barley 

37,  335,  785 

28, 341,  IQO 

12,  916,  426 

699,  583 

3, 107, 297 

34,  009,  914 

26,  443,  884 

10, 279, 134 

310,  592 

1,  868,  20S 

31,  350, 043 

48,  008,  C40 

13,  030, 121 

1,447,917 

4,  716,  360 

27,  536, 140 
45,  629,  035 
11,271,642 

1,  433, 976 

2,  687,  932 

Total 

82,  400,  243 

73,  511,  730 

99, 213,  081 

68,  558,  725 

MILWAUKEE. 


Flour. — The  receipts  of  lioiir  from  other  points  during  1876  at  Mil- 
waukee amoiHited  to  2,082,688  barrels,  an  increase  compared  with  1875 
of  638,887  barrels,  or  over  44  per  cent.  The  number  of  barrels  manu- 
factured was  647,581,  a  decline  of  98,545  barrels,  or  13  per  cent.,  from  the 
figures  of  1875.  The  aggregate  of  receipts  and  manufactures  of  1876 
was  2,730,269,  an  increase  of  540,342  barrels,  or  nearly  25  per  cent.,  over 


REPORT   OP   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


195 


the  previous  year.  The  total  shipments  amounted  to  2,654,028  barrels, 
an  increase  of  490,682  barrels,  or  nearly  23  per  cent.  The  deficiency  of 
the  wheat  crop  of  1876  in  the  region  around  Milwaukee  had  no  percep- 
tible effect  upon  the  milling  operations  of  the  city  till  about  the  close  of 
the  year,  when  the  depletion  of  interior  stocks,  especially  of  good  wheat, 
began  to  appear.  This  deficiency  in  raw  material  indicated  an  enforced 
decline  in  the  aggregates  manufactured  and  marketed  at  least  before 
the  receipt  of  tbe  crop  of  1877.  A  comparatively  small  proportion  of 
the  flour  from  other  j)oints  was  for  sale  in  the  Milwaukee  market,  but 
was  mostly  received  only  for  transshipment.  Prices  were  generally 
steady  and  affected  less  than  usual  by  the  fluctuations  of  the  wheat 
market,  closing  at  an  advance  of  25  cents  to  50  cents  per  barrel  over 
the  rates  prevailing  at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  Superfine  spring 
brands  opened  and  closed  at  $3  to  $4  per  barrel,  ruuniug  as  low  as  $2.50 
during  the  last  weeks  of  summer.  Spring  extras  advanced  gradually, 
but  without  reaction,  from  $4.25  to  $5.50  at  the  beginning  to  $4.87  to 
$5.75  at  the  close  of  the  year.  Fancy  springs  showed  scarce  a  ripple  of 
variation,  ranging  from  $6  to  $8.25.  Winter  extras  gradually  rose  from 
$5.50  ©  $6.50  to  $5.75  ©  $6.75.  The  latter  ranged  somewhat  higher 
than  extra  State  flour  in  the  New  York  market,  the  quotations  being 
carefully  made  on  the  same  days. 

Wheat — The  wheat  trade  of  Milwaukee  shows  a  very  heavy  decline, 
the  receipts  of  1876  amounting  to  18,174,817  bushels,  a  decrease  of 
9,703,910  bushels,  or  nearly  35  per  cent.,  from  the  receipts  of  1875.  The 
shipments  were  16,804,394  bushels,  a  decline  of  5,876,626  bushels,  or  26 
per  cent.,  from  the  previous  year.  The  deficiency  occurred  entirely 
within  the  latter  half  of  the  year.  Unfavorable  reports  of  the  prospects 
of  the  crop  began  to  tell  upon  the  receipts  even  a  month  before  harvest, 
and  the  subsequent  confirmation  of  these  reports  by  the  results  of  the 
harvest  produced  a  very  marked  deficiency.  The  receipts  of  the  crop  of 
1876  during  that  year  were  only  7,083,777  bushels,  against  14,302,942  in 
the  previous  year.  The  crop  of  1876  was  saved  in  excellent  condition,  and 
of  its  receipts  at  Milwaukee  during  the  closing  months  of  the  year  12.14 
per  cent,  were  graded  as  No.  1,  54.26  per  cent,  as  No.  2,  28.36  per  cent, 
as  No.  3,  and  the  remainder,  5.24  per  cent.,  as  rejected.  Of  the  receipts 
of  the  preceding  crop  of  1875,  26.72  per  cent,  graded  as  No.  1,  41.50  per 
cent,  as  No.  2,  26.89  per  cent,  as  No.  3,  and  4.89  per  cent,  as  rejected. 
The  relative  quality  of  the  receipts  of  the  last  twelve  crops  is  shown  in 
the  following  table : 


Crop  of— 

No.  1 

spring. 

No.  2 

opring. 

No.  3 

spring. 

Rejected. 

Crop  of— 

No.l 

spring. 

No.  2 

spring. 

No.  3 

spring. 

Kojected. 

1865 

Per  ct. 

77 

10.80 

CO.  20 

37.30 

34.00 

30.10 

Per  ct. 
15.60 
50.70 
34.30 
57.70 
56 
66.50 

Per  ct. 

"28.80' 
4.80 
3.90 
9.30 
3.20 

Per  ct. 

7.40 
9.70 
0.70 
1.10 
0.70 
0.20 

1871 

Per  ct. 
28.09 
£3.40 
29.5 
35.  67 
26.72 
12.14 

Per  ct. 
63.  99 
69.40 
64.3 
57.31 
41.50 
51.26 

Per  ct. 

2.83 

7 

5.90 

6.60 
26.  89 
28.36 

Per  ct. 
0.10 
0.20 
0.23 
0.42 
4.89 
5.24 

1866 

1872 

1867 

1873 

1868 

1874 

1869  ......   . 

1875 

1876 

1870 

The  amount  of  wheat  left  over  from  1875  was  3,206,966  bushels,  which, 
added  to  the  receipts,  18,174,817  bushels,  made  a  total  of  21,441,783 
bushels  handled  during  1876.  Of  this  aggregate  16,804,394  bushels 
were  shipped  to  other  points,  and  2,914,214  bushels  ground  into  flour 
by  the  city  mills,  leaving  a  balance  at  the  close  of  tbe  year  of  1,723,175 
bushels.  No.  2  spriug-wheat  opened  at  98J  ®  99  cents  per  bushel,  and 
gradually  rose,  with  a  few  minor  reactions,  to  $1.03  ®  $1.08J  in  June. 


196    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

During  the  summer  it  ranged  much  lower,  going  down  to  89|^  ®  91 J 
cents  at  the  close  of  July.  With  the  incoming  crop,  however,  prices 
steadily  rose,  reaching  $1.2G3  ®  $1.27  December  30.  The  same  grade  of 
wheat  was  uniformly  about  2  or  3  cents  per  bushel  higher  than  in 
Chicago.  A  still  greater  difference  is  noted  in  the  quotations  of  Mil- 
waukee and  Chicago  No.  2  wheat  in  the  New  York  market.  This  is 
attributed  by  Milwaukee  statisticians  to  the  higher  requirements  and 
more  strict  execution  of  their  system  of  grading. 

Corn, — The  receipts  of  corn  during  187G  were  798,458  bushels,  against 
949,605  in  1875,  and  1,313,042  in  1874;  shipments  96,908  bushels  in  1876, 
226,895  in  1875,  and  556,563  in  1874.  Nearly  all  the  receipts  of  1876 
were  taken  for  consumption  in  the  city  and  at  neighboring  points.  The 
decline  in  the  corn  trade  is  somewhat  remarkable,  in  view  of  the  immense 
yield  of  this  crop  for  the  past  ten  years  and  the  marked  increase  of  its 
production  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  in  Wisconsin.  Prices  were  com- 
paratively steady  daring  the  year,  opening  at  46  cents  per  bushel  and 
closing  at  41i  cents ;  the  maximum,  52  cents,  was  in  the  middle  of  May, 
and  the  minimum,  42  cents,  at  the  close  of  January.  These  prices  ranged 
from  3J  to  26  cents  below  those  of  1875,  and  from  8  to  40  cents  below 
those  of  1874.  The  amount  in  store  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  left 
over  from  1875,  was  24,481  bushels,  which,  with  the  receipts,  798,458 
bushels,  made  the  amount  handled  during  the  year  822,939  bushels.  Of 
this  amount  716,381  bushels  were  taken  for  local  consumption  and  96,908 
shipped  to  other  points,  leaving  a  surplus  of  9,650  bushels. 

Oafs.— Eeceipts  1,745,673  bushels,  against  1,643,132  in  1875;  ship, 
ments  1,377,560  bushels,  against  1,160,450.  The  abundance  and  cheap- 
ness of  corn  reduced  somewhat  the  local  consumption  of  oats.  The 
receipts  of  tlie  crop  of  1875  during  the  first  half  of  the  year  were  of  a 
superior  quality,  but  the  crop  of  1876  was  one  of  the  poorest  ever  handled 
at  Milwaukee.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  receipts  weighed  less 
than  28  pounds  per  bushel,  and  a  very  small  part  over  30  pounds. 
Prices  opened  at  31-J  cents  per  bushel  and  closed  at  33  cents,  ranging 
from  5  to  30  cents  below  1875.  The  surplus  of  1875  in  store  at  the  be- 
gining  of  the  year  amounted  to  66,568  bushels,  which,  added  to  the 
receipts,  1,745,673  bushels,  made  the  total  amount  handled  during  the 
year  1,812,241  bushels.  Of  this  amount  local  trade  and  consumption 
absorbed  301,372  bushels,  and  1,377,560  bushels  were  shipped  to  other 
points,  leaving  a  surplus  at  the  end  of  the  year  of  133,309  bushels.  Be- 
sides these  aggregates,  a  considerable  trade  by  farmers  delivering  with 
their  own  teams  considerably  swelled  the  local  consumption,  but  of  this 
class  of  receipts  no  account  was  taken. 

Eye. — The  receipts  were  354,859  bushels,  an  increase  of  124,025  bush- 
els over  1875 ;  shipments  220,904  bushels,  a  gain  of  122,041  bushels. 
The  crops  of  1875  and  1876  marketed  at  Milwaukee  were  both  large 
and  of  good  quality,  especially  the  former.  The  ])rices  were  steady 
during  1876,  oi^ening  at  69  and  closing  at  72  cents,  with  a  very  nar- 
row range  of  variation.  Quotations  were  from  4  to  45  cents  lower  than  in 
1875.  The  surplus  left  over  from  1875  was  10,622  bushels,  which,  added 
to  the  receipts,  made  the  total  amount  handled  during  the  year  365,481 
bushels.  Of  this  amount  220,984  bushels  were  shipped  abroad,  and ' 
93,513  bushels  taken  for  local  consumption,  leaving  a  surplus  at  the 
close  of  the  year  of  51,004  bushels. 

Barley. — The  receipts  of  barley  in  1870  amounted  to  1,857,208  bushels, 
an  increase  over  1875  of  570,623  bushels.  The  shipments  were  larger 
than  in  any  former  year,  amounting  to  1,235,481  bushels,  against  867,970 
in  1875,  and  4(;4,837  in  1874.    The  crop  of  1875  was  considerably  damaged 


REPORT    OP   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


197 


by  rains  during  harvest;  that  of  187G  was  saved  in  a  much  better  con- 
dition, but  was  somewhat  smaller  in  yiekl  than  its  predecessor.  (Jou- 
siderable  quantities  of  old  barley  remained  in  hands  of  dealers  up  to 
harvest,  and  holders  found  some  difficulty  in  disposing  of  it.  The 
market  was  generally  in  favor  of  buyers  and  against  holders.  This  made 
the  profits  of  handling  this  crop  very  meager  at  best,  while  in  many 
instances  heavy  losses  were  incurred.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
year  till  the  incoming  of  the  new  crop  the  tendency  of  the  market 
was  to  lower  prices,  the  resultant  decline  amounting  to  30  cents  per 
bushel.  During  the  fall  months  prices  occasionally  rallied,  but  the  im- 
provement was  not  permanent,  and  the  year  closed  upon  a  dull  and 
declining  market.  Prices  were  at  their  maximum,  07  cents  per  bushel, 
at  the  begiuing  of  the  year,  and  closed  out  at  80  cents,  reaching  the 
minimum  of  GO  cents  in  July;  they  ranged  from  4  to  50  cents  lower  than 
in  1875.  The  amount  in  store  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  was  167,510 
bushels,  which,  added  to  the  receipts,  made  a  total  of  2,297,329  bushels 
handled  during  the  year.  Of  this  amount,  1,235,481  bushels  were 
shipped  abroad  and  822,735  bushels  taken  by  the  city  brewers,  leaving 
a  surplus  at  the  end  of  the  year  of  239,113  bushels. 

The  following  table  shows  the  Hour  and  grain  movements  at  Milwau- 
kee during  the  last  live  years : 


1872. 


Products. 


j  Keceipts.     Shipments. 


Flour ...barrels.. 

Wboat bushels.. 

V7heat  anJ  flour  ..bushol."?.. 

Corn do 

Oats ilo 

Rye do 

Barley do 


834,20-2       1,231,5)86 
13,  G18, 9jy     11,  570,  bin 


17,  7S9,  909 
2, 140, 178 
1,  t)i)1, 72(i 
41J0,  .^)73 
1.  447,  078 


Total 23,393,0^4 


17,730,50.3 

1,001,412 

1,  338,  023 

£0!),  751 

938, 725 


21,  816,  421 


1S74. 


Eeceipta.     Shipmecta.  |  Receipts.     Shipments, 


1,  254,  821 
28,  457,  937 


34,  732, 042 
921,  391 

1,  7(53.  056 
370,034 

1,  209,  474 


39, 002,  599 


l,g05,2CO 
24,  994,  SUO 


],Cie,338 
25,  C28,  143 


2,  217,  579 
22, 255,  380 


34,  020,  200 
197,  920 
9r.U,  525 
255,  9-.i8 
088,  455 


36, 153,  094 


33,709,633 
1,313,042 

1,403,  689 

284,  522 

1,  083,  472 


37,  795,  358 


33, 343, 275 
556, 563 
726, 039 

74,  879 
464, 837 


35, 165, 593 


Products. 


1675. 


Receipt*.     Shipinocts. 


1870. 


Receipts.     Shipments. 


Flour barrels.. 

Whout bushels. . 


1,443,801 
27,  878, 727 


2, 163,  3i0|     2,032,683  1      2.654,028 
22,081,020     18,174,817       10,604,394 


Wheat  ar d  flour bushels. .  35,  097, 732 

Corn do I  949, 005 

Oats do ....  I  1 ,  643, 132 

liye    do I  230, 834 

liarley do....  1,286,585 


Total I  39,207,888 


33, 497,  750 

220,  695 

1, 169.  4.50 

98,  92:5 

£67,  970 


35,  651,  'uSS 


28,  5^8,  257 

'-9:i.4.53 

1.  745.  G73 

■  354,  859 

1.857,208 


30,  065, 034 

96.  903 

1,  377,  5C0 

220,  964 

1.  235. 481 


i3,  344,  455       32,  995, 947 


PEOKIA. 

Flour. — The  receipts  of  i1our  by  river  and  rail  amounted  to  129,331 
barrels  in  1S7G,  against  97,734  barrels  in  1875.  The  city  mills  manu- 
factured 200,000  barrels,  an  increase  of  40,000  over  the  previous  year. 
Keceipts  and  manufactures  iu  187G,  329,331  barrels ;  in  1875,  257,734 
barrels;  total  increase  of  receipts  and  manufactures,  71,597  barrels. 
Shipments  iu  1S7G,  178,512  barrels,  against  134,019  in  1875.  But  few 
transactions  in  flour  occur  on  'change. 


198         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Wheat— The  receipts  of  1876  were  677,647  busliels;  of  1875,  831,039 
bushels.  The  decrease  in  the  receipts  is  attributed  by  local  statisticans 
to  the  decreased  yield  of  the  wheat  region  dependent  on  the  Peoria 
market.  The  deficiency  is  less  in  j)roportion  than  at  other  points. 
While  the  yield  was  below  what  was  anticipated,  the  quality  averaged 
well.  The  sales  were  principally  to  millers,  the  price  varying  in  propor- 
tion to  the  quality  and  condition  of  the  samples  offered.  Sales  are  uni- 
formly by  sample.  The  shipments  of  1876  were  155,210  bushels,  against 
349,020  bushels  in  1875.  The  falling  off  in  the  shipments  being  greater 
than  in  the  receipts,  shows  an  increased  surplus  left  for  manufacture  by 
the  city  mills.  Most  of  the  sales  on  'change  were  to  millers  for  domestic 
manufacture.  Prices  of  No.  1  winter  opened  at  $1.12  ©  $1.25  per  bushel 
in  January,  attained  its  maximum,  $1.47  ®  $1.50,  in  March,  and  fell  to 
$1.10  ®  $1.12  in  September,  after  which  no  quotations  are  reported. 
No.  2  winter  opened  at  $1.10,  rose  to  $1.28  ®  1.37  in  the  beginning  of 
April,  and  closed  the  year  at  $1.15  ©  $1.20.  No.  1  spring  received  but 
little  notice;  No.  2  opened  at  80  ®  90  cents,  and  closed  at  its  maxi- 
mum, $1.20  ©  $1.26 ;  No.  3  spring  opened  at  75  ^  82.^  cents,  and  closed 
at  $1.09  ©  $1.15. 

Corn. — The  crop  of  the  corn  region  dependent  on  the  Peoria  market 
was,  on  the  whole,  of  fair  yield  and  of  better  quality  than  in  1875.  This 
accounts  for  the  increased  receipts,  amounting  to  7,662,695  bushels, 
against  6,206,300  in  1875,  and  constituting  the  heaviest  supply  ever  re- 
ceived in  the  city  in  any  one  year.  The  shipments  were  5,367,050  bushels, 
against  4,211,340  in  1875.  Prices  ruled  much  lower  than  in  1875,  the 
maximum  price  of  high  mixed  in  store  being  47  cents  per  bushel,  rarely 
falling  below  42  cents,  except  in  the  early  part  of  the  year,  when  a  few 
sales  were  made  at  35  cents. 

Oats. — The  receipts  of  oats  during  1876  were  3,418,810  bushels,  against 
3,981,115  bushels  in  1875.  Shipments  of  1876, 3,236,050  bushels,  against 
4,169,025  bushels  in  1875.  The  crop  of  the  neighboring  region  was  poor 
and  unsatisfactory  both  in  quantity  and  quality,  much  of  it  falling  con- 
siderably below  the  standard  weight.  Prices  ranged  from  24^  cents  per 
bushel  to  32^  cents  for  No.  2  in  store. 

Rye. — The  rye-crop  of  the  neighboring  country  being  unusually  abun- 
dant and  of  good  quality,  the  receipts  at  Peoria  showed  a  considerable 
increase,  amounting  to  069,135  bushels  in  1876,  against  609,985  in  1875. 
Shipments,  589,330  bushels  in  1876,  against  442,255  in  1875.  At  the 
opening  of  the  year  No.  2  in  store  stood  at  66  cents  per  bushel,  declined 
to  48  cents  in  August,  rallying  gradually  to  67  ®  68  cents  at  the  close 
of  the  year. 

Barley. — The  barley  crop  of  1876  was  also  abundant  around  Peoria, 
though  somewhat  damaged  by  rains  in  harvest,  rendering  the  most  of 
this  grain  unfit  for  brewing:  hence  prices  were  low,  and  as  sales  were 
by  sample,  no  definite  report  of  prices  was  recorded.  Eeceipts,  714,090 
bushels  in  1870,  against  439,938  in  1875.  Shipments,  271,740  bushels, 
against  263,990. 

SAINT  LOUIS. 

The  flour  and  grain  trade  of  Saint  Louis  during  1876  was  the  largest 
ever  known,  showing  an  aggregate  of  receipts  25  per  cent,  greater  than 
those  of  1875,  and  11^  per  cent,  greater  than  those  of  1874,  the  maxi- 
mum of  previous  years.  This  is  attributed  in  great  part  to  the 
improved  facilities  in  transportation  and  the  reduced  tariff  of  railway 
freights  eastward.  The  merchants  of  Saint  Louis  have  long  urged  the 
cbionic  grievance  of  unjust  discrimination  on  the  part  of  railway  com* 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  199 

panies  against  the  interests  of  that  city.  Although  the  terminus  of 
fifteen  railroads,  Saint  Louis  has  been  treated  as  a  waj^  station.  But 
this  discrimination  has  finally  been  removed  through  the  energetic  asso- 
ciated efforts  of  the  mercantile  interest  so  far  as  the  lines  running  east- 
ward are  concerned,  and  the  same  benefit  is  expected  to  result  from  the 
influences  brought  to  bear  upon  the  southern  roads.  The  Mississippi 
Eiver  remained  open  during  the  year  up  to  December  3,  and  steamer 
freights  were  reduced  to  a  point  which  threatened  at  times  to  ruin  the 
river-carrying  trade.  These  are  some  of  the  changes  to  which  may  be 
attributed  the  great  enhancement  of  the  flour  and  grain  trade  in  1876. 

Flour. — The  flour  trade  shows  a  decline  in  all  its  branches.  The 
receipts  from  other  points  were  1,071,434  barrels,  a  reduction  of  228,947 
barrels  compared  with  1875;  1,441,944  barrels  were  manufactured,  or 
42,877  barrels  less  than  the  previous  year ;  254,590  barrels  were  shipped 
by  Saint  Louis  merchants  from  country  mills  direct  to  eastern  markets, 
or  50,125  barrels  less  than  in  1875.  The  total  number  of  barrels  thus 
received,  manufactured,  and  shipjied  was  2,767,974,  a  decline  of  321,949 
barrels  compared  with  1875. 

The  decline  in  the  receipts  is  greatest  in  the  spring-wheat  brands  from, 
the  North.  This  is  supposed  to  be  due  to  the  general  adoption  of  the 
"  new  process  "  in  the  northwestern  spring- wheat  region,  especially  to 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  Kiver.  The  receipts  of  this  class  of  flour 
amounted  to  only  65,958  barrels  in  1876,  against  142,393  barrels  in  1875. 
To  a  great  extent,  however,  this  falling  off  was  compensated  by  an 
increase  in  the  receipts  of  brands  made  of  low-grade  and  rejected  winter- 
wheat.  The  receipts  from  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  also  declined,  on 
account  of  the  short  crops  in  those  States  and  the  inferior  quality  of  the 
wheat  harvested.  Eeceipts  by  the  southern  roads  also  declined,  but 
those  from  the  West  slightly  increased. 

The  falling  off  in  city  manufacture  is  largely  due  to  the  destruction  by 
fire  of  the  Anchor  Mills,  the  largest  in  the  city,  which  in  1875  pro- 
duced 186,867  barrels.  These  mills  were  not  rebuilt  till  the  close  of  the 
year.  There  are  now  in  the  city  twenty-five  flouring-mills,  with  an 
aggregate  capacity  for  the  production  of  10,350  barrels  per  day,  or 
3,239,550  per  annum.  Allowing  each  mill  sixty  days  in  each  year  for 
repairs,  the  miUing  capacity  of  Saint  Louis  may  be  approximately 
stated  at  2,500,000  barrels  per  annum.  Less  than  half  this  capacity 
was  used  during  1876,  for  a  variety  of  reasons.  The  wheat-crop  of 
1875  was  injured  before  and  after  harvest  by  incessant  rains  in  the  wheat 
region  tributary  to  Saint  Louis  manufacture.  Business  depression  also 
restricted  trade  to  an  unusual  degree  during  the  first  half  of  1876,  and 
produced  very  unsatisfactory  results.  But  the  crop  of  1876,  constituting 
the  greater  part  of  the  wheat  ground  in  the  latter  half  of  the  year,  was 
of  excellent  quality  and  secured  in  good  order,  but  heavy  rains  left  the 
wheat  marketed  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  season  too  tough  for  good 
grinding,  except  at  the  rate  of  two-thirds  the  usual  daily  production. 
The  flour  produced  diuiug  this  period  of  enforced  slow  grinding  proved 
to  be  of  excellent  quality,  which  induced  large  purchases  by  eastera 
dealers,  especially  in  New  England.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year  it 
was  not  unusual  to  find  the  product  of  both  city  and  country  mills  sold 
ahead  for  two  to  four  weeks.  This  demand,  in  part,  resulted  from  the 
threatening  aspects  of  the  European  eastern  question  and  the  proba.- 
bilities  that  only  the  sword  could  disentangle  its  complications.  But  in 
November  eastward  railroad- treighta  made  a  rapid  advance,  which 
caused  a  corresponding  advance  in  prices  and  a  consequent  decline  in 
purchases.    Several  causes  couspired  at  the  close  of  the  year  to  enhance 


200 


REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 


the  price  of  wheat,  and  the  shrinking  of  the  margin  of  manufacturing 
profit  caused  the  mills  to  reduce  their  product.  The  same  causes 
operated  to  reduce  the  amount  shipped  directly  from  country  mills  by 
Saint  Louis  dealers.  The  stock  on  hand  January  1, 1876,  and  left  over 
from  1875,  was  161,880  barrels,  making  the  whole  amount  handled 
during  the  year  2,929,854  barrels.  Of  the  shipments,  2,217,578  barrels 
were  direct  from  the  city  and  254,596  barrels  from  country  points,  as 
before  stated;  319,898  barrels  were  taken  for  city  consumption,  leaving 
on  hand,  December  31, 137,782  barrels.  Of  the  shipments,  1,205,129  bar- 
rels were  sent  southward,  against  1,440,680  in  1875,  and  978,689  eastward, 
against  1,006,475  the  previous  year ;  down-river  steamers  took  768,304 
barrels  and  up-river  steamers  46,881.  The  heaviest  railroad  shipment, 
by  the  Indianapolis  and  Saint  Louis  Bailroad,  was  368,980  barrels,  an 
aggregate  nearly  equaled  by  the  Saint  Louis,  Iron  Mountain  and  South- 
ern, and  by  the  Chicago,  Alton  and  Saint  Louis  Eoad.  In  spite  of  the 
diminution  in  receipts  and  manufactures,  the  trade  was  unusually  satis- 
factory both  to  millers  and  traders.  The  reduction  is  believed  to  be 
only  temporary,  while  the  business  has  been  placed  on  a  more  profitable 
basis  than  in  former  years.  An  increased  manufacture  in  years  to  come 
is  confidently  predicted. 

The  total  amount  of  tlour  handled  by  Saint  Louis  millers  and  dealers 
during  the  last  eight  years  was- as  followa : 


18C9. 

1870. 

1871. 

1872. 

1373. 

1874. 

1875. 

1876. 

Ileceived 

Manufactured 

bold    direct    from 
country  mills 

Barrels. 
1,310,555 
1,068,592 

297,860 

Barrels. 
1,491,626 
1,351,773 

407,561 

Barrels. 
1,423,403 
1,507,915 

364,043 

Barrels. 
1,259,933 
1.294,798 

440,631 

Barrels. 
1,290,457 

1,420,287 

324,891 

Barrels. 

1,633,898 
1,573,203 

228,789 

Barrels. 
1,300,3«1 
1,481,821 

304,721 

Barrels. 
1,071,434 
1,441,944 

254,596 

Total 

2,077,007 

3,250,960 

3,300,366 

2,995,362 

3,041,635 

3,485,889 

3,039,923 

2,767,974 

Shipmonta 

2,172,761 

1,790,739 

2,676,525 

2,247,040 

2,506,215 

2,981,760 

2,480,877 

2,217,573 

The  stocks  of  flour  left  in  etore  at  the  close  of  each  of  the  last  eleven 
years  were  as  follows :  1866,  53,678  barrels ;  1867,  52,690  barrels ;  1868, 
51,686  barrels  ;  1809,  70,321  barrels  ;  1870,  88,126  barrels  ;  1871,  151,683 
barrels ;  1872,  132,302  barrels ;  1873,  58,848  barrels ;  1874,  117,261  bar- 
rels ;  1875, 161,880  barrels ;  1876, 137,782  barrels. 

These  figures  show  that  while  the  operations  in  flour  have  not  very 
greatly  varied  in  volume,  the  amount  manufactured  has  steadily 
increased.  Over  two-thirds  of  the  wheat  received  at  Saint  Louis  is 
ground  by  her  own  mills.  She  still  retains  unimpaired  her  ascendency 
as  the  greatest  flour-manufacturing  center  in  the  world. 

The  prices  of  flour  were  remarkably  uniforin  during  the  year.  Winter 
family  opened  at  $6.50  to  $7.50,  and  closed  the  yoar  about  the  same,  reach- 
ing a  maximum  of  $7  to  $8  in  April,  and  failinj^c  to  $Q  fa)  $6.85  in  Sep- 
tember. Extra  opened  at  $4.25  ®  $4.50  and  closed  at  $4.60  ©  $5.10. 
It  fell  to  $3.10  ©  $3.90  in  June,  and  rose  graduahy  to  its  maximum  at 
the  close  of  the  year. 

'Wheat. — The  trade  in  wheat  shows  a  marked  increase,  the  receipts 
during  1876  being  8,037,574  bushels,  against  7,604,26i^  bushels  in  1875. 
Saint  Louis  merchants  also  shipped  direct  from  countr  v  points  64,350 
bushels.  There  were  left  over  from  1875  772,866  bushels,  n">aking  a  total 
handled  during  the  year  of  8,874,790  bushels.  Of  thij^^  aggregate, 
2,630,007  bushels  were  shipped  direct  to  other  points,  64,t'^50  bushels 
from  points  outside  the  city,  and  5,609,477  bushels  ground  \'y  the  city 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  201 

mills  into  flour,  leaving  a  surplus  at  tho  close  of  the  jear  of  510,956 
bushels.  The  supply  of  wheat  from  the  West  shows  a  marked  increase. 
The  supply  from  that  quarter  rose  from  2,830,707  bushels  in  1875  to 
3,862,346  in  1876.  From  the  South  receipts  fell  off  about  700,000  bushels, 
and  from  Southern  Illinois  and  points  on  the  Ohio  Eiver  about  100,000 
bushels.  But  from  railroads  running  through  IsTorthern  and  Central 
Illinois  the  receipts  increased  from  1,104,273  bushels  to  1,613,048.  The 
east  and  west  zone,  of  which  Saint  Louis  maybe  called  thecenter,  greatly 
increased  its  contributions,  while  the  territory  to  the  north  and  south 
i'ell  oK  The  crop  of  1875  in  Missouri  fell  short  of  its  predecessor,  being 
11,160,000  bushels,  against  15,385,000  in  1874.  The  crop  of  1875  was 
saved  in  poor  condition,  but  that  of  1876,  covering  the  receipts  of  the  last 
half  of  the  year,  was  generally  satisfactory,  though  the  proportion  of 
No.  2  wheat  was  smaller  than  was  anticipated  at  harvest.  The  export 
demand  was  unusually  great,  causing  a  shipment  of  2,630,007  bushels, 
or  about  CO  per  cent,  greater  than  in  1875.  The  city  mills  converted 
into  flour  5,609,477  bushels.  Over  half  the  shipments  were  by  the  To- 
ledo, Wabash  and  Western  Eaiiroad,  and  less  than  200,000  bushels, 
north  and  south,  by  river. 

The  market  for  red  winter- wheat  No.  2  opened  January  3  at  $1.41^ 
<®  $1.42  per  bushel.  It  gradually  declined,  with  a  few  feeble  reactions, 
to  $1.38  <a>  $1.39  at  the  close  of  the  year.  No.  3  opened  at  $1.27,  and 
went  down  to  95  cents  in  July,  but  rallied  slowly,  reaching  $1.33J  ® 
$1.34  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

Corn. — The  great  increase  in  the  grain  trade  is  found  in  corn,  of  which 
the  receipts  in  1876  were  15,249,909  bushels,  against  6,710,263  bushels  in 
1875,  and  6,991,677  bushels  in  1874.  This  increase  was  mostly  by  the 
western  railroads  and  the  Missouri  Eiver,  which  together  brought 
12,095,646  bushels  in  1876,  against  2,337,342  bushels  in  1875.  The  Mis- 
souri, Kansas  and  Texas  Eaiiroad  increased  its  freight  from  18,407 
bushels  in  1875  to  1,147,390  bushels  in  1876.  The  receipts  by  eastern 
railroads  and  the  Illinois  Eiver  fell  off  1,274,350,  while  the  northern 
lines  of  rail  and  river  declined  over  a  million  bushels.  Besides  tho  city 
receipts,  the  amount  shipped  by  Saint  Louis  dealers  direct  from  points 
in  the  country  amounted  to  687,447  bushels.  There  were  from  1875 
412,508  bushels,  making  the  total  amount  handled  during  the  year 
16,349,954  bushels.  Of  this  aggregate  12,728,849  bushels  were  shipped 
to  various  points,  the  leading  lines  of  shipment  being  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi Eaiiroad,  which  took  4,133,057  bushels ;  the  Toledo,  Wabash 
and  Western  road  taking  2,865,798  bushels ;  the  New  Orleans  steamers 
taking  2,379,982  bushels ;  the  Indianapolis  and  Saint  Louis  road  taking 
1,662,905  bushels,  &c.  The  city  mills  ground  into  corn-meal  1,711,812 
bushels,  and  other  brunches  of  local  consumption  absorbed  668,774 
bushels,  leaving  a  surplus  at  the  end  of  the  year  of  553,072  bushels. 
Tho  corn-crop  of  Missouri  in  1875  was  very  large,  being  estimated  at 
128,000,000  bushels,  having  been  a  comparative  failure  in  1874.  The 
corn-meal  manufactured  amotinted  to  427,953  barrels  in  1876 ;  480,557, 
in  1875 ;  451,577,  in  1874 ;  422^534,  in  1873 ;  264,722,  in  1872 ;  213,418, 
in  1871 ;  165,231,  in  1870;  and  107,877,  in  1869.  This  branch  of  manu- 
facture, though  exhibiting  some  diminution  of  results  in  the  last  year, 
is  regarded  as  on  the  advance  in  re^il  prosperity,  and  as  promising  a  con- 
siderable enlargement  in  the  years  to  come.  Of  hominy  and  corn-grits, 
the  mills  turned  out  19,004  barrels  in  1876;  19,631,  in  1875;  20,488,  in 
1874;  20,573,  in  1873  ;  13,109,  in  1872 ;  12,615,  in  1871;  13,002,  in  1870; 
and  8,910,  in  1871.    The  receipts  of  corn-meal  from  without  amounted 


202  KEPOET    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   01'   AGRICULTURE. 

in  187G  to  17,7GS  barrels,  being  about  lialf  of  the  receipts  of  1874  and 
one-third  of  those  of  1872.    This  trade  is  declining. 

Corn  No.  2  mixed  opened  on  the  3d  of  January  at  37^  ®  38|  cents ; 
rose  to  its  maximum  quotations,  48^  ©  48i  cents,  in  April,  and  then, 
with  some  lluctuaiioiis,  fell  to  39  <a)  3DJ  cents  at  the  close  of  the  year. 
Corn-meal,  city  idhi-dried,  ranged  with  little  variation  during  the  year 
from  $2.10  to  $2.55  per.  barrel. 

Oats. — The  oats  trade  shows  a  considerable  decline  in  1876,  the 
receipts  being  only  3,GG0,912  bushels,  against  5,00G,850  bushels  in  1875. 
There  were  also  shipped  direct  from  country  points  8,3G0  bushels  ;  the 
surplus  left  over  from  1875  was  89,078  bushels,  making  the  total  amount 
handled  during  the  year  3,758,350  bushels.  Of  this  amount  1,932,982 
bushels  were  shipped  abroad,  1,GG2,805  were  taken  for  local  consump- 
tion, and  154,202  were  left  over  at  the  close  of  the  year.  The  decrease  in 
receipts  was  found  mostly  in  the  North  and  West ;  eastern  and  southern 
supplies  were  slightly  in  advance  of  last  year.  Nearly  all  the  exports 
went  South,  only  107,20G  bushels  being  sent  eastward.  The  crop  of 
1875  was  light  in  quantity  and  weight  throughout  the  West,  and  very 
unsatisfactory  to  both  buyers  and  sellers. 

Prices  showed  no  great  fluctuations ;  No.  2  mixed  opening  at  34J  <© 
35  cents  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  and  closing  at  32^  <©  33  cents,  with 
a  fall  to  29  cents  about  the  end  of  July. 

Rye. — The  receipts  of  rye  were  399,826  bushels,  against  275,200  in 
1875.  There  were  also  shipped  from  x^oints  in  the  country  345  bushels. 
Adding  2G,589  bushels,  the  surplus  remaining  over  from  1875,  the  total 
amount  handled  was  420,760  bushels.  Of  this  amouat  304,192  bushels 
were  shipped  to  other  points,  and  71,269  were  ground  in  the  city  mills, 
leaving  a  surplus  at  the  close  of  the  year  of  50,954  bushels.  Of  rye 
flour  there  were  manufactured  in  Saint  Louis  23,310  barrels  in  1876, 
19,303  in  1875,  21,432  in  1874,  19,475  in  1873,  14,000  in  1872,  19,307  in 
1871,  8,558  in  1870,  and  about  15,0.00  in  18G9.  Prices  of  rye  No.  2 
opened  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  at  67  cents  per  bushel  and  closed 
at  70^  cents,  the  lowest  point  being  59  cents,  in  July  and  August.  Eye- 
flour  was  very  uniform  in  price,  being  quoted  at  $4.25  ®  $4.75  per  bar- 
rel on  the  1st  of  January,  and  $4.50  ®  $5  on  the  1st  of  December ;  the 
minimum,  $4  ®  $4.50,  was  during  July  and  August. 

Barley. — The  barley  trade  was  larger  than  during  any  previous  year, 
the  receipts  reaching  1,492,985  bushels.  The  suri^lus  left  over  from 
1875  was  117,815  bushels,  making  the  total  amount  handled  during  the 
year  1,G10,S00.  The  receipts  w^ere  considerably  in  advance  of  those  of 
1875,  which  were  1,175,337  bushels.  Of  the  receipts  223,680  bushels 
were  shipped  to  other  points,  and  1,187,434  busl'.els  taken  for  city  con- 
sumption, leaving  a  surplus  at  the  end  of  the  year  of  199,686  bushels. 
Of  the  receipts  493,845  bushels  were  from  the  North,  being  grown 
mostly  in  Minnesota ;  458,783  bushels  were  'brought  from  the  Bast,  a 
small  proportion  coming  from  Canada ;  a  little  came  up  the  Mississippi, 
and  441,716  bushels  from  the  West.  Tho  receipts  from  Minnesota,  both 
in  quantity  and  quality,  surpassed  tho&'o  of  any  former  year,  excelling 
even  the  Canada  barle3\  The  fair  we'xther  of  October  and  good  prices 
prompted  the  farmers  to  market  their  stocks  with  great  fi'eedom. 
Brewers  also  purchased  large  suj>plies  for  storage,  filling  their  bins 
almost  to  their  utmoKt  capacity..  "  This  caused  a  slack  demand  after 
November  1  for  ail  inferior  grarles.  Tho  crops  of  Kansas  were  abun- 
dant, but  of  inferior  quality.  Iowa  barley  was  scarce  and  poor.  In  the 
latter  part  of  September  Te^^ns  sent  some  good  winter-barley  to  this 
market.    California  barley  iifM  of  better  quality  and  lower  price  than 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


203 


ill  1875.    The  amoimt  of  beer  manufactured  was  477,123  barrels,  and  of 
ale  1,99G  barrels. 

The  flour  and  grain  movements  at  Saint  Louis  for  the  last  five  years 
were  as  follows : 


Products. 


Flour barrels 

Wheat busbcls 

Corn '1«.. 

Corn-ineal barrels 

Flonr  and  wheat. .  .bushels 
Core  and  coru-mcal.  ..do. . 

Oats do.. 

Rye do.. 

Barley do.. 

Total 


Prodnctfl. 


1875. 


Keefjlpts.    Shipment*. 


1876. 


Receipts.    Shipments. 


Flour barrels 

Wheat bushels 

Corn do.. 

Com-meal ,  barrels 

Flour  and  wheat bushels 

Corn  and  corn-meal do. . 

Oats do.. 

Rye do.. 

Barley do.. 

Total 


J,  300, 381 

7,  604, 265 

C,  710,  263 

31,  706 


2,  430,  877 
1,  5G2,  453 

3,  523,  974 
420, 399 


1, 071,  434 

8,  037,  574 

15, 249, 909 

17,-708 


2,  217, 578 
2, 630,  007 

12,  728,  849 
383, 242 


14,  lOG,  170 
6,  837, 087 
5,  006,  850 
275, 200 
1, 171,  337 


13, 906,  838 

5,  205,  570 

2,  877,  035 

134,  900 

146,  330 


13, 394,  744 
15,  320,  981 

3,  060,  912 
399,  626 

1,  492,  985 


13, 717,  897 

14, 018, 817 

1,  932, 983 

;304, 192 

223,  680 


27,  396, 644 


22, 330,  733 


34, 269, 448 


30, 197, 569 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 


Flour. — The  flour  trade  and  manufacture  of  San  Francisco  has  rapidly 
increased  durin?^  the  last  few  years.  The  receipts  of  the  calendar  year 
1876  were  560,881  barrels,  against  513,586  barrels  in  1875.  The  barrel 
on  the  Pacific  slope  contains  2  centals,  or  200  i)ounds,  4  pounds  larger 
than  the  barrel  used  on  the  Atlantic  slope  or  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
The  exports  by  sea  for  1876  were  508,143  barrels,  the  declared  value  of 
which  was  $2^560, 759  -,  the  export  of  1875  was  497,163  barrels,  valued  at 
$2,476,151.  From  the  way  in  which  the  statistical  records  are  Kept,  it 
will  be  easier  to  give  the  receipts  and  exports  by  "  harvest  years"  than 
by  calendar  years.  The  harvest  year  closes  June  30  of  each  calendar 
year,  beginning  witli  July  1  of  the  preceding  year.  A  consolidated 
statement  of  the  receipts  and  exports  of  flour  and  wheat  will  be  found 
below. 

Flour  in  the  San  Francisco  market  is  arranged  mostly  in  three  grades : 
superfine,  extra-superfine,  and  family.  Superfine  and  lower  grades  are 
the  staple  export  to  China,  Japan,  and  the  Pacific  islands.  Different 
grades  of  extra-superfine  are  sent  to  England  and  to  Central  and  South 
America.  Family  flour,  especially  its  finer  grades  up  to  "  gilt-edged," 
is  mostly  taken  for  home  consumption  and  for  export  to  the  United 
Kingdom.  Of  the  508,143  barrels  exported  during  the  calendar  year 
1876,  213,621  barrels  went  to  England  against  254,066  barrels  in  1876  j 


204  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 

207,450  in  1874,  245,708  iu  1873,  and  0,091  in  1872.  •  This  direct  British 
expert  lias  rapidly  increased,  and  promises  to  become  a  permanent 
feature  of  the  tra'dc,  China  and  Ja])an  took  192,104  barrels  in  1870, 
121,174  iu  1875,  144,188  iu  1874,  135,457  iu  1873,  and  115,058  in  1872. 
These  are  the  larjjest  items  of  export.  The  coast-trade  to  Kew  York  has 
nearly  ceased,  only  520  barrels  having  been  sent  by  that  route,  against 
11,215  iu  1873.  In  the  local  terminology  of  the  market,  New  York, 
Great  Britain,  and  Australia  are  designated  as  casual,  and  other  coun- 
tries as  regular,  customers.  In  1870  the  casuals  took  220,415  barrels,  and 
the  regulars  287,728;  in  1875  the  casuals  took  203,118,  and  the  regulars 
234,035 ;  in  1872  the  casuals  took  only  31,238  barrels,  while  the  regulars 
took  215,850  barrels.  The  subsequent  equalization  of  the  figures  shows 
a  tendency  of  some  of  the  casuals,  especially  Great  Britain,  to  become 
regular  customers. 

The  prices  of  flour  during  1870  were  remarkably  uniform  ;  quotations 
of  superfine  made  at  the  beginning  of  each  month.ranged  from  $4  to  $5 
per  barrel ;  estra-superiine,  from  $4.50  to  $5.50 ;  family  and  fancy,  from 
$5  to  $0.50,  the  maximum  being  in  May  and  the  minimum  during  the 
last  four  months  of  the  year.  The  "gilt-edged"  llour,  made  by  the 
Golden  Age,  Golden  Gate,  and  Vallejo  Starr  Mills,  ranged  from  $7  to 
$7.50  per  barrel.  It  should  be  remembered  that  on  the  Pacific  coast 
business  is  regulated  by  the  specie  standard,  and  the  above  prices  rep- 
resent gold  values. 

Wheat. — The  California  wheat-crop  of  187G  was  the  largest  ever  raised 
in  the  State,  being  estimated  by  local  authorities  at  22,000,000  centals, 
or  over  30,000,000  bushels.  The  season,  on  the  whole,  was  favorable  to 
shippers,  the  immense  crop  having  attracted  a  large  number  of  ships 
for  its  transportation.  The  receipts  at  San  Francisco  duriiig  twenty- 
one  and  a  half  harvest  years  will  be  found  below. 

The  receipts  of  the  calendar  year  1870  were  10,030,840  centals,  or 
17,720,070  bushels.  Yet  of  this  immense  supply  there  were  left  over  in 
the  State  at  the  close  of  the  year  only  3,040,727  centals,  or  0,007,808 
bushels,  equal  to  only  one-sixth  of  the  crop  of  1870 ;  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  this  surplus  was  Oregon  wheat.  The  delay  of  the  regular  win- 
ter rains  at  the  close  of  the  year  caused  the  impression  of  a  short  crop 
in  1877,  and  to  a  considerable  degree  maintained  the  tone  of  prices, 
which  had  been  raised  by  the  prospect  of  a  general  European  war. 
Low  freights  also  enhanced  the  shipping  demand,  and  the  Pacific  coast 
farmers  disposed  of  their  immense  yield  at  very  good  prices.  The  mar- 
ket opened  in  January  at  $1.95  to  $2  per  cental,  but  began  to  decline  in 
the  spting,  reaching  $1.00  to  $1.05  iu  July,  the  new  crop  bringing  only 
$1.50  to  $1,571.  In  September  these  rates  began  to  advance,  reaching 
by  the  end  of^the  year  $2,15  to  $2.25.  The  quantity  sold  for  shipment 
during  the  year  was  11,000,000  centals,  or  over  18,000,000  bushels.  The 
special  feature  of  the  trade  was  the  immense  shipment  to  Europe ;  En- 
gland took  over  15,000,000  bushels,  Belgium  nearly  1,000,000,  France 
over  250,000. 

Corn. — The  receipts  of  1870  were  214,215  centals,  or  357,025  bushels, 
against  101,213  centals,  or  208,088  bushels,  iu  1875.  This  cereal  is  but 
of  limited  growth  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  crop  of  1870  was  unusually 
large  and  prices  fell  in  consequence  as  low  as  $1  per  cental,  but  rose 
again  to  $1.17^  to  $1.25  before  the  close  of  the  year. 

Bye. — This  grain  is  also  of  limited  culture  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The 
receipts  at  San  Francisco  during  1870  were  20,184  centals,  or  33,640 
bushels,  against  10,423  centals,  or  27,372  bushels,  iu  1875.    The  market 


REPORT   OF   TEE    STATISTICIAN. 


:^05 


opened  iu  July  at  $1.50  to  $1.52  i)er  cental,  and  closed  in  December  at 
$1.75  to  $1.80. 

Oats. — The  receipts  of  oats  iu  187G  were  344,972  centals,  or  574,953 
bushels,  against  346,898  centals,  or  578,163  bushels,  in  1875.  The  mar- 
ket in  July,  with  the  advent  of  the  new  crop,  was  weak,  closing  at  $1.20 
®  $1.75  per  cental,  having  reached  $1.50  ®  $1.85  in  August.  With  sub- 
sequent fluctuations,  the  year  closed  with  quotations  at  $2.05  fa)  $2.50. 

Barley. — This  crop  ranks  next  to  wheat  in  the  San  Francisco  grain- 
trade,  as  it  does  in  the  cereal  production  of  California.  The  crop  of 
1876  was  the  largest  ever  raised  in  the  State  ;  its  abundance  ran  down 
prices  to  an  unprccedentedly  low  figure.  The  receipts  of  1876  were 
1,907,953  centals,  or  3,179,922  bushels,  against  1,023,471  centals,  or 
1,705,785  bushels,  in  1875.  The  receipts  were  nearly  double  and  the 
shipments  more  than  double  those  of  the  previous  year.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  year  there  was  a  rise  in  prices,  which  partially  compensated 
the  low  rates  previously  prevailing.  California  brewing-barley  is  now 
shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world,  and  tbe  growing  demand  has 
made  barley -growing  one  of  the  most  promising  agricultural  industries 
of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  market  opened  in  July  at  90  cents  percental, 
and  closed  in  December  at  $1.15  ®  $1.40,  having  had  several  reactions 
during  the  intervening  months.  The  exports  of  1876  amounted  to 
357,887  centals,  or  586,478  bushels,  against  126,188  centals,  or  210,313 
bushels,  in  1875.  Of  the  exports,  124,446  centals,  or  207,408  bushels, 
were  sent  to  foreign  countries,  179,139  centals,  or  298,565  bushels,  to 
New  York  by  sea,  and  the  remainder  eastward  by  rail.  Tbe  declared 
value  of  the  shipments  for  1876  was  $414,481,  against  $215,984  in  1875, 

The  receipts  and  maritime  exports  of  flour,  wheat,  oats,  and  barley 
for  twenty-one  and  a  half  harvest  years  were  as  follows : 


Years. 


1856-57 

1857-'53 

lH58-'50 

1359-'(30 

18CO-'(51 

1861-'62 

1S62-'G3 

1863-61 

1864-65 

1865-'66 

1866-'67 

1867-'68 

1868-69 

1869 '--O 

1870'-71 

1871-'72 

187-2-'73 

1873-'74 

1874-'75 

1875-76 

July  1,  '70,  to 
Jim.  1,1877. 


lour,  l).;rioi9.     Wheat,  bushels. 


38,  H 


!i;0, 

r.Si, 

!81, 
:!00, 

"223 
180i 
123, 
139, 
222 
469! 
461, 
457, 

289, 265 


29(5,  629 


566,  717 
405, 087 
721,  670 
641,710 
601,  205 
268,  697 
107,  753 
076,  863 
879,  802 
678,  597 
332,  243 
386,610 
077, 250 
287,  725 
371,215 
986,110 
968,155 
049,  702 
346,  £93 
995,  480 


14, 32T,  653 


37,  0D5 
6,  33. 

20, 
636,  277 
549,  873 
419,740 
739,  420 
785,  487 
42  282 
732, 525 
060,317 
330,  CiO 
290,  873 
106,  485 
953,  077 
340,  637 
371,117 
122, 06-, 
655,  590 
227,  448 


Wheat  iind  flaurcoa- 
solidated.  liu.sh. 


Oats,  bushels. 


K      I   ■  W 


210,800 

32, 270 

103,  090 

931,107 

2,  535,  778 

1,  923, 000 

2,  403,  835 
2, 547,  302 

490, 677 
3, 130, 295 
8,  387,  002 


3, 
55317, 

3G7|l.5, 
518117, 
30512, 


4.55,  575 
559,  473 
871,295 
934, 172 
691.032 
()89, 372 
343,618 
068,  345  509, 
453, 1C3  3S9, 


13, 385, 207  1.5,  773,  978  14,  863,  352  281,  918     3, 13' 


13,  950 

179,  432 

364,  412 

1.51, 13 

194,11! 

257,  642 

66,  643 

151,610 

5,010 

189,  943 

148,  885 

9,475 

36,  55' 

23, 262 

22,  045 

19,  512 

9,  062 

40, 007 

95,  038 

5, 168 


Barley,  bushels. 


759, 
1, 062, 
1, 299, 

91.5, 
1,129, 
1,018, 

720, 
1,  018, 

730, 
1,  728, 
1, 216, 
1,  064, 
1,014, 
1. 254, 
1, 1C9, 
1,  320, 
1,  63,5, 

1,  878, 

2,  072, 
1,  903, 


2, 145, 418  419,  SCO 


110,613 
237,  0S7 
493, 060 
11.5,410 
•565, 893 
314,  362 
83,015 
67, 115 
23, 200 
583, 317 
236,  923 
52,  245 
152,  003 
500,  870 
230, 013 
27,  S47 
378,  212 
406, 363 
303,  570 
340, 227 


206  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


RECAPITULATION. 

The  comparative  receipts  and  shipments  of  flour  and  grain  at  the 
foregoing  points  may  be  tabulated  as  follows: 

Flour,  barrels. 


Citiea. 


New  York 

BostoTi 

Philadelphia . . . 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati' 

Chicago 

Milwaukee 

Saint  Louist  . .  - 
San  Franciscol. 


1872. 


Keceipts.  Shipments. 


3,  042,  907 
1,  586,  017 

9S7,  450 
1, 175,  967 

582,  930 
1,532,014 

834,  202 
1,  259,  933 


1, 202,  792 

217,  586 

113,  036 

282,  553 

410,  501 

1, 361,  328 

1,  231,  986 

2, 247, 040 

247, 088 


1873. 


Keceipts.  Shipments. 


3,  546,  568 

1,  795, 272 
954,  680 

1,312,612 
765,  469 

2,  487,  370 
1, 254,  821 
1, 296,  457 


1,  655,  331 
231,  361 
142,  386 
359,  566 
560,  829 

2,  303, 490 

1,  605,  200 

2,  506, 215 
479,  418 


1874. 


Eecoiiita.   |  Shipments. 


4, 017,  207 

1,  890,  487 
915,  6.36 

l,i»9,  237 
774,916 

2,  COO,  679 
1,  616,  338 
1,  683,  898 


2,  462,  723 
287,  718 


474.  758 

551,  774 

2, 306, 576 

2, 217,  579 

2, 981, 760 

535, 605 


Cities. 


New  York 

Boston 

Philadelphia.. 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati .... 

Chicago , 

Milwaukee 

Saint  Lonia  . . . 
San  Francisco 


1875. 


Receipts.     Shipments. 


3, 941,  331 

1,  637,  972 
922, 190 

1,  540,  905 
597,  578 

2,  625,  883 
1,  443,  801 
1, 300,  381 

513, 586 


1876. 


Keceipts.     Shipments. 


1,  953, 067 

271, 170 

160,  748 

453,  000 

473,  400 

2,285,113 

2, 163,  346 

2, 480,  877 

497, 163 


051,  605 
836,  985 
970,  781 
389,  538 
030,  504 
9.55, 197 
082,  688 
071,  434 
500,  581 


1,  914, 183 

268. 093 
192,  473 

426. 094 
396, 217 

2,  634,  838 
2,  654, 028 
2, 217, 576 

508, 143 


*  Commercial  years  ending  August  31. 

t  Keceipts  do  not  include  home  manufacture,  which  in  1871  amounted  to  1,294,798  barrels;  in  1872,  to 
1,294,798  barrels  ;  in  1873,  to  i,420,287  barrels;  in  1874, to  1,581,000  barrels;  in  1875,  to  1,424,821  barrels;  in 
1876,  to  1,441,944  barrels. 

X  Barrels  contain  2  centals,  or  200  pounds,  eachj  The  shipments  of  San  Francisco  include  only  exports 
by  sea. 

Wheat,  bushels. 


Cities. 

1872. 

1873. 

1874. 

Keceipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

New  York 

16, 238,  433 

402,  426 

4, 160,  800 

2,  456, 100 

762, 144 

12,724,141 

13,  618,  959 

6,  007,  987 

13, 299,  320 

151,  860 

412,  761 

88,  025 

323,  405 

12, 160,  046 

11,  £70,  575 
918,  477 

10, 118,  971 

35,  559,  870 

880,  747 

4, 372,  800 

2,  810,  917 

800,  454 

26,  266,  562 

28,  457, 937 

6, 185,  038 

27, 801,  829 

486, 126 

1,  938,  310 

1, 158,  097 

412,  722 

24,  455,  657 

24,  994,  266 

1,  210, 286 

15,  293,  266 

41,817,215 
1,  362,  017 
5,471,700 
6,  456,  834 
1, 221, 176 
29,  764,  622 
25,  628, 143 
8,  255,  221 

33,  541, 740 
1  06'^  366 

Boston 

3,  556,  848 

783, 990 

27,  634,  587 

22  255  380 

Chicago 

1  938  841 

13,  424,  450 

CitlM. 

1875. 

1876. 

Keceipts. 

Shipments. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

34, 214, 768 
1,  035, 109 
5,950,800 
4,  400,  670 
1,135,368 
24,  206,  370 
27,  878.  727 

26, 103,  (i93 

784,  941 

3,  302,  054 

2,  O'lO,  430 

GOO,  022 

23, 184,  349 

22  681  n-an 

27,  042, 104 

504,  767 

4, 485,  000 

3,  945,  247 

1,052,952 

10,  574,  058 

18.174,817 
8,  037,  574 

17,  726,  076 

24,358,295 
112  915 

Philadelphia 

2,  989,  704 

1,  659,  861 

558,  252 

14  301  950 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati 

16  804  394 

7,  004,  265  1     1,  562,  453 
13,  324,  088     12.  508  .^n.-i 

2,  630,  007 
16  013  235 

REPORT   OF   THJ5    STATISTICIAN. 


207 


Wheat,  including  flour,  reduced  to  hushels. 


Cities. 


New  York 

Boston 

Philadelphia . . 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati 

Chicago 

Milwaukee 

Saiut  Louis  ... 
San  rrancisco. 


1872. 


Receipts.     Shipments. 


31,452,9(38 
8,333,511 
9,  098,  050 
8,  335,  935 
3,  676,  794 
20,384,211 
17,  789,  9G0 
U,  307,  652 


19,  313, 280 
1, 239,  790 
977,  941 
1,500,790 
2,  375,  910 
18,966,686 
17,  730,  505 
12, 153,  677 
11,354,411 


1873. 


Eocoipts. 


53,  292,  710 
9,  857,  107 
9, 146, 200 
9,  373,  977 
4,  687,  799 
38,  703,  442 
34,  732,  042 
12, 667,  323 


Shipments. 


36,  078,  484 

1,  642,  933 

2,  650,  240 

2,  955,  927 

3,  216,  867 
35,  973, 107 
34,  020,  206 
13,741,361 
17,  690,  356 


1874. 


Receipts. 


61,  903, 250 
10,814,452 
10,  049,  880 
14,261,819 
5,  095,  756 
43,  098,  017 
33,  709,  833 
16,  674,  711 


Shipments. 


45,  855,  380 
2,  500,  956 


5, 930,  cax, 

3,  542,  8r.'J 
39, 167,  4'o7 
33,  34.',,  i75 
10,&'i7,C4l 
16,  102, 925 


1875. 


Cities. 


Receipts.     Shipments. 


le-rs. 


Kecei'^ts.     Shipments. 


New  York 

Boston 

Philadelphia. . 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati ... 

Chicago 

Milwaukee... 
Saint  Louis .., 
San  Francisco 


53, 921,  423 
9,  224, 909 
10,161,750 
12, 224, 295 
4, 623,  278 
37, 335,  785 
35,  097, 732 
14, 106, 170 
15,  892,  018 


35,  962,  028 
2, 140,  791 
4, 105,  794 
4,  311,  i^ij 
2, 967,  022 
34,  609, 914 
a'i,  407,  750 
13,  'J66,  838 
I'lr,  994, 148 


4",  300,  489 
9,  689, 692 
9,  338,  905 
10,  892,  937 
4, 235,  472 
31,350,043 
28,  588, 257 
13,  394, 744 
20,  528, 981 


33,  928,  210 

1,  453,  380 
3,  951,  809 
3,  790,  331 

2,  539, 337 
27, 536,  140 
30,  074, 534 
13,  717,  897 
19, 153, 950 


Corn,  hishels. 


Cities 


1872. 


Receipts. 


Shipments. 


1873. 


Ifoceipts. 


Shipments. 


1874. 


Eocoipts. 


Shipments. 


New  York  — 

Boston 

Phi)adelphia . . 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati 

Chicago 

Milwaukee.... 
Saint  Louis  . .. 
San  Francisco. 


40,  800,  939 
5,  090,  755 
8, 137,  380 
9,  045,  465 
1,  892,  SCO 

47, 366,  087 
2, 140, 178 
9,  479,  337 


25,  652,  60?. 

1,  673,  7r,0 

3,  402,  <,73 

5, 157, 235 

24(i.  632 


24,  576,  345 
3,  558,  363 
8, 233,  400 
8,  330,  449 
2,  259,  544 


47,  013,  552  I  38, 157, 232 
1,601,412  921,391 
ft,  079,  739   7,  701, 187 


15,  416,  787 

102,  729 

2,  002,  363 

6,003,618 

324, 183 

36,  754,  943 

197,  920 

5, 260,  916 


29,  329,  000 
3,  303,  641 
5, 954,  700 
9,  355,  467 
3,  457, 164 

35,  799,  638 
1,313,642 
6,  991,  677 


26,  447,  807 
380, 254 


5,  959,  757 

658,  718 

32,  705,  224 

556,  563 

4, 148,  556 


1875. 


Cities. 


I 

I 

!  Receipts. 

I 


Now  York  . . . 

Boston 

Philadelphia.. 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati  . . . 

Chicago 

Milwaukee... 
Saint  Lotiis  . . 
San  Francisco 


28,  488,  707 

5,  346,  340 
7, 130,  000 
9,  567, 141 
3,695,561 

28,341,150 
949,  005 

6,  710, 263 
268,  688 


Shipments. 


12,  955,  525 

1,  ,551,  776 

4,  001,  586 

6,  989, 807 

595,  915 

26,  443,  884 

226,  895 

3, 523,  974 


1876. 


Receipts.  Shipments. 


20,  699, 162 

9, 330,  435 

20,  201,  675 

24,  084,  230 

4, 115,  564 

48,  088,  640 

798,  458 

15,  249,  909 

357,  025 


16, 877, 251 
4,  521, 241 

16,  790,  691 

20, 953, 724 
1,  028,  325 

45,  029, 035 
96,  90S 

12,  728, 849 


208       rp:port  of  the  commissioner  of  agriculture. 

Oats^  hushels. 


1872 


1873, 


Cities. 


New  York  . . . 

>'oston 

x'hiladelphia. 

Bxlumore 

Ciuci.nnati ... 

Cliicag  o 

Milwaukee  .. 
feaint  Lou '8  . . 
Baa  Franci^^cc 


lieccipts.   I  Shipments.     Keceipts.    Shipments. 


J2,  4^2, 127 
•2,  725, 641 
5, 830,  4C0 
1,959,161 
1,169,053 

1.%  0(;i,  715 
1,  537,  726 
5,  467,  800 


33,  718 


^230, 963 

12, 255,  537 

1,  338,  028 

3,  467, 594 

31, 781 


11,235,420 
3, 303, 364 
5, 980,  565 
1, 25.5, 072 
1, 529, 979 

17,  888,  724 
1,  76.3,  058 
5,  359,  853 


49, 573 


324,718 

15,694,133 

990,  525 

3, 215, 206 

17,  S91 


Itecoipts.    ShipmcntB. 


10, 792, 919 
3, 037, 269 
4, 705, 000 
1, 149, 188 
1, 372,  464 

19, 901, 235 
1, 403, 889 
2, 296,  907 


122,528 


216,660 

10,  561, 673 

726,  039 

3, 027, 663 

132. 250 


Cities. 


1875. 


Receipts.  '  Shiitments. 

i 


New  York 10,636,078 

Boston I    2,833,544 

Philadelphia 3,820,400 

Baltimore - '        '"'"'♦ 

Cincinnati 

Chicago ■>--- 

Milwaukee 

Saint  Louis 

San  FrancLsco -• 


977,  514 
1,  323,  380 

12,  916,  428 

1, 643,  1.32 

5,  006,  850 

578, 103 


133,  508 
"'33,'8C6' 


193, 242 
279, 134 
160,  450 
677,  035 
8,928 


Receipts. 


12,251,265 

2,  622, 150 
4,  484, 000 

810, 212 
1,441,158 
13,  030, 121 
1,  745, 673 

3,  COO,  912 
574,  953 


Shipments. 


624,  431 


eCl,  176 


321,  755 

11,271,642 

1,  377,  560 

1,  932, 983 

6, 202 


JRye^  bushels. 


Cities. 


New  York 

Boston 

Philadelphia ... 

Baltimore , 

Cincinnati 

Chicago 

MilTv.aukco  . . . 
Saint  Louis... 
San  Francisco. 


1872. 


Keceipts.    ShipmLTita 


491,  851 

13,  989 

320,  940 

90, 938 

357, 309 

1, 129, 086 

409,  573 

377, 587 


1873. 


Receipts. 


^Shipments.     Receipts 


623,  SSJ  I 


110,  464 
776,  805 
209,  751 
150, 208 


905,  447 
33,  335 
270, 600 
100,519 
'i26, 660 
l,;fc6,464 
37«, 634 
35v',.580 


1874. 


1,  069, 140 


61,  577 
960,  613 
255, 923 
206,  652 


592, 114 
34, 273 
210, 191 
118,  634 
385,  934 
791, 182 
284,  522 
288, 743 


Shipments. 


641,661 


117,349 

335,  077 

74, 879 

166, 133 


Cities. 


Now  York  — 

Boston 

Philadelphi.T,.. 

Baltimore 

Cincinnati  — 

Chicago , 

Milwaukee... 
Saint  Louis  .. 
San  Francisco 


1875. 


1876. 


Receipts. 


STLipments.  1  Receipts. 


301,  654 
27,  878 
187,  550 
74,  529 
33(3,  410 
699.  583 
230,  834 
275, 20{r 
27  372 


iS)5, 898  I  1, 627,  007 

I  34,594 

I  679,100 

i  112,160 

93,24S  500,515 

310,502  I  1,447,917 

98,923  !  354,859 

131,900  I  399,826 

, 33.040 


Shipments. 


1,  .336,  423 


431, 223 


178,  403 

1,  433, 976 

220.  964 

304, 192 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 
Barley^  busJicls. 


209 


Cities 

1S72. 

1873. 

1874. 

Eeceipts. 

Shipments. 

Keceipts. 

Shipments. 

Eeceipts. 

Shipments. 

New  XTork ... . 

3,  964,  441 
539,  038 
730, 380 
1, 177,  300 
5,251,750 
1,  447, 078 
1, 263,  486 

17,  402 

2, 444, 206 
332,  849 
1,  006,  392 
1,228,245 
4, 240, 239 
1, 209,  474 
1, 158,  015 

40,  040 

2,  770, 000 
418,615 
1, 236,  392 
1,  084,  500 
2, 354,  981 
1, 083,  472 
1, 421, 406 

Boston 

Philadelphia 

Cincinnati 

2(1,  984 

5, 032, 308 

938,  725 

87,  506 
314,  559 

37,  456 
3,366,041 

688, 455 
125, 604 
465, 875 

90, 688 

2, 404, 538 

Saint  Louis 

464, 837 

San  Francisco 

379, 636 

1875. 

1876. 

Keceipta. 

Shipments. 

Keceipts. 

Shipments. 

New  York 

4,  710, 598 
503, 539 
1, 652,  700 
1, 109,  693 
3, 107, 297 
1, 286, 585 
1, 171, 337 
1,  705,  785 

110 

6, 779, 532 
789, 689 
1, 329, 200 
1,551,944 
4,  716,  360 
1,  857, 208 
1, 492,  985 
3, 179,  922 

87, 958 

Philadelphia 

Cincinnati 

82, 723 

1,  868,  206 

867,  970 

146,  330 

210,  313 

232,556 

2,  687, 932 

1, 235, 481 

223, 680 

586,  478 

Chicago 

Saint  Louis . 

San  rrancisco 

All  grains,  including  flour,  reduced  to  bushels. 


Cities. 


New  York  . . 

Boston 

Philadelphia 
Baltimore . . . 
Cincinnati .. 

Chicago 

Milwaukee.. 
Saint  Louis . 


1872. 


Receipts. 


89, 196, 926 
17,  068, 086 
24, 117, 150 
19,  431, 499 
8, 264, 328 
89, 192, 849 
23,  393, 524 
29,  700, 740 


Shipments. 


46, 221,  478 


2, 990,  953 

84,  m,  888 
21,818,421 
24, 878, 538 


1873. 


Keceipts. 


93, 390,  492 
17, 926, 202 
24, 697, 157 
19, 060, 017 
10, 122, 227 
100, 179, 101 
39,  002, 599 
27, 400,  670 


Shipments. 


53, 198, 360 


3,  964,  801 
92,  948,  837 
36, 153, 094 
23,  984, 683 


1874. 


Heceipts. 


106, 102,  639 
17,  996,  402 
22, 436, 163 
24, 699, 250 
11-,  395,  818 
96,  945.  053 
37,  795,  358 
30,  811, 884 


Shipments. 


73,  876, 503 


4, 626, 275 
85, 173, 979 
35, 165, 593 
26,  028,  895 


Cities. 


Now  York . . 

Boston 

Philadelphia 
Baltimore... 
Cincinnati  .. 

Chicago 

Milwaukee  ., 
Saint  Louis . 


1875. 


Eeceipts.    Shipments. 


91,  686,  000 
18, 299,  702 
22,  952,  400 
21, 988, 069 
11, 088, 322 
82,  400, 243 
39, 207, 888 
27,  396, 644 


49,  976, 097 


3, 938, 047 
73, 511,  730 
34,  852,  078 
22,  330,  733 


1876. 


Keceipts.    Shipments. 


95,  010, 563 
22,  476,  560 
30;  092,  880 
30,  499, 539 
11,844,653 
99, 213,  081 
35,  851, 988 
34, 269, 448 


53, 568, 157 


4, 300,  376 
88, 558, 725 
33,  344, 455 
30,197,569 


LIVESTOCK  MARKETS. 

NEW  YORK. 


The  trade  of  1876  was  not  satisfactory  either  to  western  shippers  or  to 
wholesale  butchers  in  the  city,  several  of  the  latter  having  been  com- 
pelled to  suspend  operations  during  the  year.    The  causes  of  disturbance 


have  not  been 
14  A 


abated,  nor  have  apprehensions  of  future  trouble  been 


210    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


allayed  by  the  developments  of  the  year.  What  is  called  the  "  carrying 
process  "  is  still  operative  to  a  serious  extent.  This  process  consists  in 
selling  to  obtain  money  to  pay  for  previous  purchases.  Tiie  solid  sub- 
stantial men  of  the  market  are  demanding  an  abatement  of  this  nuisance. 
The  abuses  of  tlje  credit  system  have  been  felt  in  this  market,  consider- 
ably affecting  the  normal  relations  of  the  trade.  It  is  hoped  that  in  the 
regular  development  of  business  these  abuses  will  disappear.  By  means 
of  refrigeratiug-steamers  transporting  slaughtered  animals,  a  large  in- 
crease of  the  export  trade  has  been  secured,  thus  enlarging  the  demand 
for  live  stock  at  this  point.  The  receipts  of  all  classes  of  animals  during 
1876  shows  increase,  except  milch-cows  and  swine.  The  steady  expan- 
sion of  the  trade  within  ten  years,  and  especially  since  the  close  of  the 
civil  war,  still  continues  to  be  one  of  its  marked  features. 

The  receipts  of  different  kinds  of  farm-animals  for  the  past  nine  years 
are  shown  in  the  following  table  : 


Animals. 


Beeves 
Cows . . 
Calves 
Sheep . 
Swine. 


1868. 


293, 101 

5,  .3S2 

82,  935 

,  400,  62;5 

976, 511 


325,  TCI 

4,830 

93,  984 

1,  479,  503 

901,  308 


356,  026 

5, 050 

116, 457 

1, 4«3,  878 


360,  934 

4,  c;fi 

121,937 
1,331,97" 


899,  6-25  I,  3:-4,  492 


I    442, 744 
■        4, 70! 


425, 275 
5,  089 
11.1,1301    116,015 


1874. 


454,  033:     4.';3,  060 

3,  C70'        5,  034 

104,719:     117,  .^irO 


1, 179,  5181. 206,  715  1, 165,  353  1, 228,  .530 
1,  922,  77711,  985,  389  1,  774,  228 1, 3S8,  511 


1676. 


477,  276 
3,  967 

125,  594 
1, 247,  820 
1, 282, 171 


Cattle. — The  receipts  of  1876  show  an  increase  of  24,216,  but  this  does 
not  fully  indicate  the  increased  beef  consumption,  as  the  receipts  of 
dressed'beef  from  the  West  have  also  greatly  enlarged.  An  important 
export  trade  in  dressed  beef,  which  was  iuangurated  during  1875,  has 
grown  to  unexpected  proportions.  Eefrigerating-steamers  have  been 
fitted  up,  and  toward  the  close  of  the  year  averaged  1,000  carcasses  per 
week  from  New  York  and  half  as  many  from  Philadelphia.  The  total 
number  shipped  from  New  York  during  the  year  was  22,500,  the  weekly 
average  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  being  much  smaller  than  at  its 
close.  If  this  number  had  been  thrown  on  the  home-consumption  market, 
it  would  have  created  great  disturbance,  by  increa.^ing  the  supplies 
beyond  the  utmost  limits  of  the  demand.  The  average  price  of  beeves 
of  all  grades  during  the  year  was  $9.95  per  cental,  or  $1.25  less  than  the 
average  of  1875.  Prices  reached  their  maximum  in  January,  but  declined 
gradually  till  May,  when  a  reaction  began,  but  it  was  again  followed  by 
depression.  The  arrival  of  holiday  stock  at  the  close  of  the  year  caused 
a  steady  enhancement.  The  January  range  of  prices  was  $7,50  to  $13.50 
per  cental,  and  the  average  $10.70;  February  range,  $7.50  to  $13.50, 
average  $  10.25 ;  March  range,  $8.25  to  $13,  average  $10.25  ;  April  range 
$8.25  to  $13,  average  $9.94;  May  range,  $7.50  to  $12,  average  $9.95; 
June  range,  $7  to  $11,  average  $9.50;  July  range,  $7.50  to  $11,  aver- 
age $9.60 ;  August  range,  $6.25  to  $10.50,  average  $9.14 ;  September 
range,  $6.50  to  $11.25,  average  $9.43;  October  range,  $0.75  to  $11, 
average  $8,96;  November  range,  $0.75  to  $11,  average  $9.51;  Decem- 
ber range,  87  to  $12.50,  average  $9.55.  Milch-cows  fell  oft'  1,067  from  the 
number  marketed  during  the  previous  year.  The  shipment  of  milk  from 
the  interior,  either  fresh  or  artificially  condensed,  is  superseding  the  use 
of  cows  in  the  city,  which,  in  too  many  cases,  are  fed  upon  distillery 
slops,  and  produce  an  unhealthy  and  even  poisonous  milk.  This  branch 
of  the  cattle  trade  has  been  for  some  years  declining.  Prices  have  a 
comparatively  narrow  range.  Calves  were  marketed  in  large  numbers, 
the  increase  over  the  preceding  year  being  8,014.  The  figures  in  the 
above  table  show  only  the  live  calves  sent  to  this  market.  A  large 
number  of  dressed  carcasses  are  also  imported,  adding  very  materially  to 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  211 

the  amount  of  veal  marketed.  The  veal  trade  is  annually  increasing, 
but  the  supplies  are  almost  entirely  for  city  consumption.  The  greatest 
supply  is  during  May  and  June,  when  the  prices  run  lowest.  At  the 
opening  of  187G  prices  ranged  from  $4  to  $10.50  per  cental,  but  gradu- 
ally fell  to  $3.50  ©  $7  during  the  midsummer,  after  which  a  gradual 
rise  was  noted,  which  continued  till  the  end  of  the  year,  the  closing 
quotations  being  $4  'g)  $9.50. 

Cattle  products. — Barreled  beef:  Receipts,  103,205  barrels  and  tierces, 
against  45,506  in  1875 ;  exports,  119,778  barrels  and  tierces,  against 
80,881.  Butter :  Receipts,  1,300,475  packages,  against  1,084,309  in  1875; 
exports,  107,151  centals,  against  42,341  in  1875.  Cheese:  Receipts, 
2,184,288  packages,  against  2,321,705  in  1875  ;  exports,  949,656  centals, 
against  921,137  in  1875.  TaUoio  :  Receipts,  67,448  packages,  against 
26,779  in  1875  ;  exports,  585,636  centals,  against  414,309  in  1875. 

iSheep. — The  number  of  sheep  and  lambs  marketed  during  1876  was 
1,247,820,  an  increase  of  19,290  over  1875.  Sheep  in  the  New  York 
market  have  two  elements  of  value,  one  in  the  weight  and  market-price 
of  their  fleeces,  and  one  in  the  quantity  of  mutton  in  the  carcass. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  year,  when  wool  was  low  and  of  dull  sale, 
sheep  were  not  very  profitable  stock  for  dealers  or  producers.  The  mut- 
ton demand  seemed  to  be  subject  to  very  rigid  limitations,  so  that  when 
a  surplus  was  thrown  upon  the  market  it  could  not  be  easily  disposed 
of  by  any  ordinary  reduction  of  prices.  Lambs  are  usually  marketed 
about  the  middle  of  April,  the  fust  arrivals  being  sold  at  15  cents  per 
pound,  or,  without  weighing,  at  $8  or  $9  per  head.  The  arrivals  of  fuU- 
grov.'n  sheep  are  unshorn  up  to  May  1,  after  which  they  are  mostly  de- 
nuded of  wool.  In  1876  prices  during  the  first  four  months  ranged  from 
$4  to  $8.50  per  cental.  They  then  began  to  decline,  ranging  during  sum- 
mer and  fall  from  $3.50  to  $6.50,  and  closing  the  year  at  $4  ©  $7.50. 
An  attempt  was  made  in  a  small  way  to  create  a  demand  for  American 
mutton  in  the  British  markets.  The  refrigerating-steamers  engaged  in 
the  bef  f  export  began  toward  the  close  of  the  year  to  stow  sheep  car- 
casses in  the  smaller  spaces  of  the  cooling-rooms,  and  thus  about 
2,000  dressed  sheep  were  sent  across  the  water.  In  this  way  it  is  hoped 
that  a  considerable  mutton  exj^ort  will  be  inaugurated,  which  may  grow 
into  a  permanent  trade.  The  sheep  traffic  during  the  year  was,  on  the 
whole,  quite  unsatisfactory. 

Sheep  products. —  Wool:  The  receipts  of  wool  during  1876  were  as  fol- 
lows :  Foreign  carpet,  40,110  bales,  equal  to  16,221,842  pounds  ;  foreign 
clothing,  3,188  bales,  equal  to  1 ,511,817  pounds ;  California,  27,494  bales, 
equal  to  15,121,700  pounds ;  Texas,  11,451  bales,  equal  to  3,435,300 
pounds  ;  New  Orleans,  21,431  bales,  equal  to  6,429,300  pounds  ;  other 
southern,  1,454  bales,  equal  to  541,200  j^ounds,-  interior  and  western, 
19,181  bales,  equal  to  3,830,200  pounds;  total,  124,309  bales,  equal  to 
47,097,459  pounds ;  total  for  1875,  129,335  bales,  equal  to  49,924.216 
pounds  ;  total  for  1874, 123,246  bales,  equal  to  40,583,881  pounds.  The 
exports  are  insignificant.  The  stock  left  over  at  the  close  of  1876  was 
7,912,000  pouudTs  ;  of  which  1,108,000  pounds  were  foreign,  and  the  re- 
mainder domestic. 

iSicine. — The  swine  trade,  during  1876,  continued  to  manifest  the  same 
declining  tendencies  which  had  characterized  it  during  1875.  The  total 
number  marketed  was  1,282,171,  a  decrease  of  106,370.  For  many  years 
the  number  of  marketed  animals  showed  a  tendency  to  increase,  reach- 
ing the  maximum,  1,985,389,  in  1873;  each  subsequent  year  has  pre- 
sented a  falling  off.  The  preparation  of  hog  products  for  foreign  ship- 
ment has  been  annually  prosecuted  on  an  increasing  scale  at  various 
points  in  the  West,  especiaUy  Chicago,  interfering  with  the  live-hog  trade 


212  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTDKE. 


of  New  York.  An  increasing  trade  in  dressed  carcasses,  however,  in 
some  measure  compensates  the  decline.  Trices  ruled  at  $9.25  ®  $11.50 
during  the  first  four  months  of  the  year,  and  subsequently  fell  to  $(5.50 
®  $7.75  in  October.    The  closing  quotation  of  the  year  was  88  ©  $8.25. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

The  receipts  of  all  kinds  of  farm-animals  at  Philadelphia  during  1876 
were  in  advance  of  the  figures  of  1875.  This  increased  supply  was 
doubtless  caused  in  part  by  the  increased  demand  for  fresh  meat  created 
by  the  great  Centennial  Exposition ;  but  the  increased  permanent  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  and  of  its  suburban  towns  requires  a  corresponding  en- 
largement of  the  supply  of  animal-food.  The  market  was  mostly  one  of 
consumption ;  comparatively  few  of  the  receipts  were  for  transmission  to 
other  markets.  The  facilitiesfor  handlinglivestockatthispointhavebeeu 
greatly  enhanced  within  a  year  or  two.  The  West  Philadelphia  stock- 
yards have  been  fitted  up  in  a  style  of  accommodation  equal  to  any  in  the 
country.  The  North  Philadelphia  Stock-yard,  on  the  line  of  the  North 
Pennsylvania  Eailroad,  was  started  during  1876,  and  before  the  year 
closed  the  sales  had  attained  the  figures  of  1,000  head  of  cattle,  1,500 
sheep,  and  900  hogs  per  week.  The  supplies  of  western  cattle  were 
larger  than  in  1875.  Cattle  from  Texas  were  received  in  increased 
numbers  and  of  greatly  improved  quality.  The  number  of  beef-cattle 
received  was  178,000  head,  against  141,000  head  in  1875.  Prices  ruled 
low  throughout  the  year ;  prime  beeves  opened  at  $7.12^  ®  $7.50  per 
cental  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  and  on  the  1st  day  of  December  were 
quoted  at  $6.12^  ©  $6.50,  the  minimum,  $5.75  ®  $6.25,  being  on  th  3  1st 
of  October ;  fair  to  good  beeves  opened  at  $5.50  'S*  67  and  closed  at 
$5.12^  <d)  $0,  reaching  as  low  as  $4.62^  ©  $5.50  on  the  1st  day  of  Octo- 
ber; common  stock  averaged  about  $3.50  ©  $5.50.  The  receipts  of 
cows  were  12,750,  against  11,830  in  1875  and  18,010  in  1874.  Sheep 
were  in  increased  numbers,  the  receipts  being  548,850  head,  against 
491,500  in  1875.  Prices  opened  moderately  and  closed  very  low^  rang- 
ing from  $4.50  ©  $8  i:)er  cental  in  January  to  $1  ®  $5.75  in  November 
and  December.  Of  hogs,  289,900  were  received  during  1876,  against 
243,300  in  1875.  Prices  of  these  animals  were  also  low,  falling  from  $10 
fa)  $12  per  cental  in  January  to  $7  ®  $8  in  December,  with  a  maximum 
of  $12.50  ®  $13.75  in  April. 

The  receipts  of  different  kinds  of  farm-animals  during  thirteen  years 
were  as  follows : 


Tears. 


Beeves. 


Cows. 


Sheep. 


Swine. 


1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1863 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
lcf74 
1875 
1876 


99,  850 

96,  450 

100, 500 

90, 1.^0 

90, 400 

99,  4S6 

117,  903 

125,  333 

1S4,  850 

165,  860 

167, 130 

141, 000 

178,  800 


7,  920 
6,540 

10,  830 
11, 464 

9,314 
8,085 
8,835 
11,150 
12,302 
18, 405 
18, 010 

11,  fr30 

12,  750 


295,  000 
306,  000 
512,  000 
368,  500 
417,  800 
536, 500 
682,  900 
790, 200 
749,  500 

756,  750 

757,  040 
491,  500 
548,  850 


140, 400 
136, 300 
122, 500 
175,  50O 
191,900 
176, 200 
189, 500 
199, 610 
210. 376 
344, 300 
339, 590 
243, 300 
289,  900 


The  later  years  show  a  large  increase  upon  the  earlier,  though  1875 
fell  off  from  the  very  high  figures  of  1873  and  1874,  in  consequence  of 
the  general  decline  of  trade  resulting  from  the  disastrous  financial  crisis 
of  1873.  The  number  of  cattle  in  1876  was  greater  than  in  any  former 
year;  the  number  of  cows  greater  than  any  other  year  except  1872  and. 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


213 


1873 ;  sheep,  though  increasing,  have  not  equaled  the  high  figures  of 
the  first  few  years  of  this  decade ;  svs'iue  are  also  recovering  their  pre- 
vious high  aggregates. 

BALTIMORE. 

Cattle. — ^The  annual  receipts  of  beef-cattle  at  Baltimore  for  the  last 
ten  calendar  years  were  as  follows :  1867,  55,713  head ;  1808,  75,891 ; 
1869,91,000;  1870,89,021;  1871,88,386;  1872,92,29-2;  1873,94,661; 
1874,130,946;  1875,  113,379;  1876,  109,854.  Of  the  receipts  of  1876, 
the  city  and  neighboring  butchers  took  about  70,000  head ;  a  consider- 
able number  were  taken  by  farmers  of  the  neighboring  counties  for  stock 
cattle ;  the  residue  were  shipped  eastward.  The  comparative  prices  per 
cental  of  all  grades  of  cattle  on  the  15th  of  each  month  of  the  last  three 
years  were  as  follows : 


Months. 


1876. 


January. . 
February. 
March..'.. 

April 

May 

June 

July 

Auguat. . . 
September 
October  ... 
November 
December 


00  to 

00  to 

50  to 

25  to 

37  to 

50  to 

50  to 

50  to 

50  to 

C-2  to 

75  to 

50  to 


$6  50 
6  50 

6  75 
G  50 
fi  75 

7  00 
6  50 
6  50 
C  00 
5  25 
G  50 
C  50 


l$4  00 

4  00 

5  50 
5  50 
5  00 
C  00 
5  50 

\    5  00 

3  50 

4  00 
4  00 
3  87 


to  $5 

to    5 

to    C 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 


$1  00 
4  00 
4  75 
4  62 
4  50 
4  75 
4  50 
3  75 
3  75 
3  25 
3  75 
3  25 


to  $5  25 
to  5  00 
5  75 
5  C2 
5  50 
5  62 
5  50 
4  75 
4  50 
4  12 
4  75 
4  37 


Cattle  products.— Butter. — No  record  of  receipts  has  been  kept.  The 
supplies  of  "glades"  butter  were  a  fair  average,  and  with  a  sharp  com- 
petition among  buyers,  very  good  prices  were  obtained  and  but  little 
■was  left  over  unsold.  Eeceipts  of  good  and  fair  stock  have  not  been 
equal  to  the  demand.  Prime  "Glades"  was  quoted  at  24  to  26  cents  per 
pound  during  the  first  eight  months  of  1870.  Subsequently  a  slight 
fluctuation  was  noted,  but  prices  fell  into  their  old  routine. 

Cheese. — ^The  market  for  cheese  tended  downward  from  January  to 
September,  but  subsequently  a  sharp  reaction  was  felt,  causing  an  ad- 
vance of  4  cents  per  pound  by  the  end  of  the  year.  For  prime  eastern 
factory,  the  year  opened  at  12^  ©  131,  declined  to  10^  ®  11|^  in  mid- 
summer, but  rose  in  the  middle  "of  December  to  14  ©  15.  Prime  west- 
ern factory  ranged  about  1  cent  per  pound  lower  all  the  year. 

Swine. — Receipts  of  hogs  for  seven  calendar  years  :  1870,  300,000 
head;  1871,307,430;  1872,400,874;  1873,392,734;  1874,357,547;  1875, 
277,496 ;  1876,  247,462.  The  receipts  of  1876  fell  behind  about  30,000, 
but  this  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the  unsatisfactory  condi- 
tion of  the  hog  trade  throughout  the  country  during  a  large  part  of  the 
year.  The  entire  receipts  were  required  by  the  city  butchers  for  home 
consumption.  The  prices  i)er  cental  of  live  hogs  on  the  15th  of  each 
month  lor  the  past  five  years  were  as  follows : 


Itlontha. 


1872 


1873. 


1674. 


1875. 


1S7C. 


January  . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October . . . 
November 
December . 


■;6  00  to  S7 
6  50  to  7 
6  50  to 
6  00  to 
5  50  to 

5  75  to 

6  CO  to 

6  50  to 

7  25  to 
6  50  to 
5  75  to 
5  00  to 


^5  50  to 
G  25  to 
7  00  to 
7  50  to 
7  CO  to 

6  25  to 
C  75  to 

7  25  to 
6  75  to 

6  00  to 
5  25  to 

7  00  to 


$6  00 

6  85 

7  75 

8  50 
7  37 
7  25 
7  25 
7  50 
7  25 
7  00 

6  00 

7  50 


S7  50 
7  37 
7  00 
7  50 
7  00 

7  50 
S  50 

8  00 

8  00 

9  50 

8  25 

9  00 


to  $7  87 
to  8  75 
to  7  67 
to  8  37 
to  8  00 
to  8  25 
to  9  25 
to  10  50 
to  10  50 
to  9  75 
to  9  00 
to  9  50 


9  50 
9  25 
11  00 
10  00 
9  75 
9  50 
10  25 
10  00 
10  00 
9  50 
9  00 


to  $9  75 
to  10  50 
to  10  00 
to  12  00 
to  11  50 
to  10  50 
to  10  50 
to  11  25 
to  11  50 
to  10  62 
to  10  25 
to  9  75 


610  00  to 

10  00  to 

U  00  to 

10  50  to 

9  75  to 

8  50  to 

9  50  to 
9  00  to 
8  00  to 
8  00  to 
7  25  to 
7  00  to 


$10  50 

10  75 

11  37 
11  50 
10  75 

9  00 
10  00 
9  75 
8  50 
8  75 
8  25 
7  75 


214         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Swine  products.— Of  ^^esteTn  pork,  produced  mostly  during  the  winter 
packing  season  of  1874-'75,  Baltimore  received  during  1876  132,578,840 
pounds,  against  140,000,000  in  1875,  124,000,000  in  1874,  111,568,000  in 
1873,  and  100,000,000  in  1872.     Of  lard,  the  foreign  exports  of  1876 


of  1873,  11,596,004;  of  1872,  12,022,649;  of  1871,  4,876,760:  of  1870, 
1,791,360;  of  1869,  1,864,140.  Of  bacon,  the  exports  of  1870  amounted 
to  5,482,000  pounds,  against  1,130,210  pounds  in  1875.  Of  barreled  pork, 
14,874  barrels  were  exported,  against  17,804  in  1875.  Prices  of  mess 
pork  opened  at  $21  ®  $21.25  in  the  middle  of  January-,  rose  to  $23  in 
March,  and  gradually  fell  to  $17.50  at  the  close  of  the  year. 


CINCINNATI. 

Cattle. — The  receipts  of  cattle  daring  the  commercial  year  ending 
August  31,  1876,  were  243,503  head,  an  increase  over  the  preceding 
twelve  months  of  16,053,  or  7  per  cent.;  shipments,  98,322,  a  decline  of 
6,116  head,  or  nearly  5  per  cent.  The  quality  of  the  animals  marketed, 
on  the  whole,  was  an  improvement  upon  the  previous  year,  but  during 
the  summer  an  unusual  amount. of  poor  stock  was  offered  for  home  con- 
sumption. The  supplies  of  Texas  cattle  are  constantly  becoming  more 
abundant  and  of  better  quality,  so  that  the  better  kinds  of  this  stock 
are  gaining  advantage  over  the  medium  grades  of  native  cattle.  The 
market  was  well  supplied,  and  buyers  ordinarily  had  very  little  difficulty 
in  obtaining  satisfactory  terms.  The  United  Railroads  Stock-yards  have 
resulted  in  a  great  benefit  to  this  trade,  and  buyers  from  distant  locali- 
ties have  been  attracted.  The  trade  of  the  Ohio  Valley  seems  to  be 
largely  concentrating  at  this  point.  But  while  buyers  have  had  ample 
reasons  for  satisfaction  generally,  sellers  have  found  the  business  exceed- 
ingly dull  and  unsatisfactory,  especially  from  early  spring  to  the  close 
of  the  commercial  year.  Feeders  also  found  little  or  no  profit  in  the 
year's  business.  The  usual  animation  of  the  spring  market  was  want- 
ing, and  prices  declined ;  the  market  became  very  dragging  and  unsatis- 
factory. The  low  rates  of  the  later  summer  months  were  maintained 
with  little  variation.  The  market  for  fair  to  medium  cattle  opened  at 
$3.50  ®  $4.50  per  cental  and  closed  at  $3  €>  $4,  with  an  occasional  fitful 
reaction  against  this  downward  tendency. 

The  annual  receipts  and  shipments  of  all  kinds  of  cattle,  together  with 
the  annual  average  prices  per  cental  of  prime  beeves  during  the  last 
nineteen  commercial  years,  were  as  follows : 


Commercial 
years. 


1857-'58 
1858-'59 
1859-'60 
1860-'61 
18Gl-'fi2 
1862-'63 
1863-'64 
1864-'65 
1865-'6C 
18C6-'67 


Heceipts. 

Shipments. 

Average 
prices. 

Per  cental. 

29, 566 

17,115 

^Z  78 

43, 100 

23,  615 

4  88 

43, 182 

'20,  593 

3  90 

40,  585 

19,  357 

3  30 

37,  004 

23,  467 

3  24 

31,915 

16,  739 

3  96 

39, 152 

14,  903 

5  74 

54, 424 

19,  070 

7  45 

79,  503 

31,  300 

7  55 

91,  496 

43, 079 

7  27J 

Commercial 
years. 


1867-'68 
1868-'69 
1869-'70 
ie70-'71 
1871-'72 
1872-'73 
1873-'74 
1874-'75 
1875-'76 


Eeceipts. 


87. 
107, 
107, 
125, 
1C9, 
149, 
199, 
227, 
£43, 


Shipments. 


Avei'age 
prices. 


43, 315 
40, 185 
54,  681 
53,  278 
70,  866 
53,  385 
79,  551 
103, 438 
98,322 


Per  cental. 
17  27 

5  62  1-2 

5  65 

5  05 

4  73  1-2 

4  99  1-6 

3  90 

4  30  7-10 
3  95  6-10 


The  average  gross  weight  per  head  of  cattle  received  at  the  stock 
yards  during  the  last  commercial  year  was  965.24  pounds,  against  944.63 
in  1874-'75,  and  952.22  in  1873-'74. 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN.  215 

Cattle  products. — Butter  :  Dealers  found  the  last  commercial  year 
unsatisfactory.  During  the  fall  and  winter  prices  were  low  and  the 
market  sluggish.  Holders  were  so  anxious  to  get  rid  of  their  stocks, 
that  early  in  March  it  was  discovered  that  the  country  was  generally 
bare  of  all  grades  of  butter.  The  Northwest  and  other  outside  districts 
were  drawn  upon  to  supply  the  deficiency,  and  prices  steadily  advanced 
almost  up  to  the  appearance  of  new  butter  in  May,  which  came  in  with 
a  good  demand,  choice  Central  Ohio  bringing  25  (a>  26  cents  per  pound 
and  common  18  <a)  20.  Buyers,  however,  became  cautious  and  prices 
began  to  recede  until,  in  the  middle  of  July,  choice  Central  Ohio  brought 
only  14  fa)  17  cents,  the  demand  from  the  South  having  given  way;  but 
by  the  close  of  August  this  class  of  butter  had  advanced  to  18  ©  20. 
The  average  price  of  this  grade  for  the  whole  year  was  23.16  cents 
per  pound,  against  2oJ  in  1874-'7o  and  27  in  1873-'74.  The  quality  of 
butter  marketed  in  Cmcinnati  is  constantly  improving,  a  result  trace- 
able mostly  to  the  creameries  of  Northeastern  Ohio.  The  distinction 
between  Western  Eeserve  and  Central  Ohio  is  fast  fading  away,  as  the 
latter  is  closely  approximating  the  market  qualities  of  the  former. 
Creamery  butter  sustains  its  price  better  than  other  kinds  under  a  strong 
competitive  demand  from  the  eastern  cities.  The  idea  of  refrigerating 
butter-cars  has  been  started  among  the  market-men  of  Cincinnati,  and 
would  doubtless  greatly  benefit  the  butter  trade  of  this  city.  The 
receipts  and  shipments  are  still  indicated  in  the  unmeaning  general  term 
"packages"  instead  of  "pounds,"  which  renders  it  impossible  to  give  the 
real  movement  of  the  trade.  The  annual  average  price  of  choice  Central 
Ohio  during  nineteen  commercial  years  was  as  follows :  1857-'58,  15 
cents:  1858-'o9, 19;  1859-'00, 14i ;  1860-'61, 13i;  1861-'62,12i;  1862-'63, 
Hi;  i803-'64,  29;  1804-'65,  35;  18G5-'66,  361 ;  18C6-'67,  26i;  1867-'68, 
361;  1868-'69,32|;  1869-'70, 281 ;  1870-'71,24;  1871-'72,20;  1872-'73, 
23  ;  1873-'74,  27  ;  1874-'75;  251 ;  1875-'76,  231. 

Cheese. — The  cheese  business  shows  an  increased  receipt  and  shipment, 
the  Ibrmer  embracing  183,745  boxes,  and  the  latter  128,214  boxes.  The 
receipts  increased  10,601  boxes,  or  6  per  cent. ;  the  shipments  9,927  boxes, 
or  nearly  9  per  cent.  The  annual  average  jnices  of  factory  cheese  for 
the  last  six  commercial  vears  were  as  follows:  1870-'71,  J 3i^- cents  per 
pound ;  1871-'72, 14i ;  1872-'73, 141  j  1873-'74, 14f ;  1874-'75, 14 ;  1875-'76, 
11.4  cents.  The  manufacture  ot  cheese  during  the  season  was  very 
large.  Pasturage  was  very  luxuriant  during  the  milking  season  and 
cheese  factories  more  numerous  than  during  the  previous  year.  The 
market  was  supplied  vrith  a  good  class  of  cheese,  but  the  demand  was 
only  fair. 

Tallow. — The  trade  ])resented  no  very  remarkable  feature  during  the 
year.  In  the  fall  of  1875  a  temporary  foreign  demand  depleted  the 
stocks  in  the  country,  but  the  effect  was  soon  lost  sight  of.  Prices  were 
somewhat  higher  than  during  the  previous  year,  but  the  receipts  show 
a  falling  oil,  being  28,009  tierces,  against  33,397;  the  shipments  were 
5,490  tierces,  an  increase  of  1,080.  Prime  city-rendered  tallow  was  quot- 
able at  the  beginning  of  the  year  at  8J  cents  per  pound,  but  under  the 
stimulus  of  the  foreign  demand  before  alluded  to  it  advanced  to  9  to  9i 
in  October.  After  November,  prices  shrunk  until  the  close  of  the  year. 
The  average  of  this  class  of  tallow  for  the  year  was  8.77  cents  per  pound, 
against  81  in  1874-'75,  7.4  in  1873-'74,  and  8.4  in  1872-73. 

Sides. — Heavy  competition  during  the  year  rendered  the  margin  of 
profits  in  hides  very  narrow,  and  consequently  gave  rise  to  great  dissat- 
isfaction among  dealers.  The  receipts  of  dry  hides  were  not  equal  to 
previous  years,  but  green  hides  show  a  considerable  increase.    The  in- 


216    KEPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

crease  of  facilities  of  transportation  has  increased  the  number  of  green 
hides  marketed,  and  tanners  are  annually  taking  a  larger  number  of  the 
latter.  A  large  part  of  the  Texas  hides  received  at  this  market  are  now 
green,  while  the  dry  hides  from  the  region  penetrated  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Eailroad  are  being  replaced  by  green  ones.  The  latter  also 
come  from  the  regions  around  Lake  Superor.  Many  light  hides  are 
shipped  from  the  West  by  way  of  Cincinnnati  to  Boston.  Dry  flint  hides 
averaged  14.3  cents  per  pound,  against  17.5  cents  the  previous  year.  The 
receipts  by  river  and  rail  were  188,808  pieces,  and  272,521  pounds,  against 
177,525  pieces,  and  213,812  pounds  the  previous  year ;  shipments,  144,214 
pieces  and  40,300  pounds,  against  128,961  pieces  and  102,720  pounds. 

Sheep. — Receipts  355,848  head,  an  increase  of  82,746,  or  30  per  cent. ; 
shipments,  278,320,  an  increase  of  106,313,  or  nearly  62  per  cent.  The 
•quality  of  the  animals  marketed  was  about  equal  to  those  of  the  pre- 
vious year.  The  demand  was  fair  and  prices  somewhat  lower.  At  the 
opening  of  the  year  prime  stock  was  quoted  at  $4.25  per  cental,  gross, 
with  a  gradual  advance  to  $6,  the  maximum,  in  March ;  then  a  decline 
commenced,  and  the  minimum,  $3.75,  was  reached  in  Julyj  the  year 
closed  at  $4.  The  average  quotation  for  the  year  was  $4.75  per  cental, 
gross,  against  $4.89  in  1874-'75  and  $4.50  in  1873-74.  The  receipts  and 
shipments  of  sheep  during  the  last  nineteen  commercial  years  were  as 
follows : 


Years. 

Receipts. 

Shipments. 

Te.11'3. 

Keoeipte. 

Shipments. 

Tears. 

Keceiptp. 

Shipments. 

1857-'58 

17, 896 

4,363 

1864-'65 

47,  023 

.■J,  815 

1870-'71 

134,892 

51, 109 

185&-'69 

29,  064 

6,025 

1865-^66 

73, 229 

13,  177 

1871-'72 

167,  522 

68,  541 

1859-'C0 

25, 069 

0,724 

18GC-"67 

91,987 

21,052 

1372-'73 

131,633 

C2, 755 

1860-'61 

22,  041 

6,000 

1867-'68 

73,  097 

19,  809 

1873-'74 

240,  ICl 

101,975 

1861-'C2 

27,  453 

7,433 

1868-'69 

117,548 

31,353 

1874-'75 

273, 102 

172,007 

1862-'C3 

25,  900 

4,745 

18C9-'70 

90,  205 

35,  581 

1875-'7G 

355,  848 

278,  320 

1863-'64 

35, 233 

4,077 

The  average  gross  weight  per  head  of  sheep  at  the  stock-yards  was 
80.9  pounds,  against  81.04  the  previous  year. 

The  above  figures  show  a  great  increase  both  in  the  consuming  and 
the  distributive  trade.  Cincinnati  has  become  one  of  the  leading  sheep- 
markets  of  the  country,  being  surpassed  in  the  extent  of  its  business 
only  by  New  York  and"  Chicago. 

Sheep  'products — Wool. — The  business  of  the  commercial  year  1875-'76 
was  more  satisfactory  than  that  of  any  previous  year.  The  ret^eipts  and 
shipments  show  smaller  aggregates;  but  this  is  from  a  declmc  in  the 
through  shipments,  which  do  not  properly  belong  to  the  business  of  this 
point.  The  year  opened  with  a  fair  demand,  which  conlinned  till  Iso- 
vember,  when  the  market  became  depressed,  and  decline,  dullness,  and 
doubt  characterized  the  winter  trade.  Large  auction  sales  of  woolen 
goods  unsettled  values,  to  that  it  was  difficult  to  make  quotations. 
Prices  went  down  to  8  and  10  cents  per  pound,  and  even  then  were 
mainly  nominal.  Manufacturers  wliose  necessities  compelled  them  to 
keep  their  machinery  in  motion  purchased  sparingly,  and  only  for  imme- 
diate consumption.  Several  large  eastern  manufacturers  failed  and 
involved  some  western  trader.^  in  their  fall,  though  none  of  these  were 
in  Cincinnati.  This  state  of  things,  inducing  great  caution,  resulted  in 
low  prices  for  the  raw  material.  In  May,  Oliio  tieece,  washed,  paid  the 
producers  only  27  ®  28  cents  per  pound,  a  decline  of  10  cents  from  the 
opening  of  the  commercial  year.  During  the  war  this  tieece  had  com- 
manded $1,  and  so  late  as  1871-'72  brought  75  cents.    But  these  low 


EEPORT    OP    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


217 


prioes  induced  an  enlargement  of  manufacturing  enterprise,  and  its  in- 
creased consumption  reacted  upon  prices,  which  had  greatly  stiffened  up 
at  the  approach  of  Jul}'.  This  continued  to  the  close  of  the  year,  the 
advance  in  ileece-washed  wool  being  7  ®  8  cents  over  spring  prices. 
Tubwasbed  and  unwashed  manufacturing  did  not  present  so  marked  an 
advance.  The  demand  has  steadily  been  for  better  grades  of  wool,  and 
the  range  between  high  and  low  grades  was  broader  than  usual.  The 
whole  trade  had  an  improved  tone,  an  increased  inquiry  for  wool  and 
more  liberal  purchases.  The  general  impression  was  that  the  wool 
market  had  passed  the  dead-point  of  depression,  and  that  the  business 
was  gaining  a  firmer  footing  than  for  many  years.  The  receipts  of  the 
year  were  14,242  bales,  against  14,G68  the  previous  year;  shipments 
11,870  bales,  against  14,260.  The  large  decline  in  the  shipments  indi- 
cates an  increased  amount  taken  for  local  manufacture. 

Sicine. — The  receipts  of  live  and  dressed  hogs  during  the  last  com- 
mercial year  amounted  to  about  880,000,  against  020,889  the  previous  year; 
shipments  185,206,  against  149,464.  Of  the  receipts,  672,055  were  weighed 
at  the  stock-yards,  and  their  aggregate  weight  was  169,350,795  pounds, 
averaging  252  pounds  per  head.  The  number  weighed  in  1874-'75  was 
705,637,  weighing  in  the  aggregate  180,042,495  pounds,  and  averaging 
255  pounds  per  head.  During  the  last  two  commercial  years  the  largest 
average  weight  was  in  January  and  the  smallest  in  April. 

The  number  of  hogs  packed  during  the  last  six  winter-packing  seasons, 
with  their  average  weight  and  yield  of  lard  per  head,  were  as  follows : 


•« 

^ 

.M 

'6 

o 

o  ci 

o 

n-6 

"^-"3 

o 

Tears. 

-3 

^5 

11 

^1 

M»< 

bcS 

«tt 

tCffl 

a 
5 

2S 

1- 

''A 

< 

<l 

•< 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

1870-71 

481,  500 
630,  301 
0-26,  305 
581,253 
500, 1G4 
5G3,  350 

298.  8 
289.  2 

4-2.  02 
41.02 

f4"36.'4 

143,  890, 128 
162,283,049 

1871-'7^ 

$7,  949, 362 
7,  491,  276 

187-2-'73 

304.  9 
2t0.7 
278.  25 
273. 68 

45.07 

39.7 

41.77 

37.8 

3  92.3 

4  58.2 

6  99. 17 

7  27.  53 

190, 900,  394 
163, 232,  500 
155,  804, 126 
154, 185, 385 

1873-'74 

7, 341, 953 

1874-'75    

10,  897, 584 
11, 217, 469 

1875-70    

During  the  year  business  was  very  unsatisfactory  to  all  concerned. 
During  the  winter  packing  seasou  hogs  commanded  prices  which  oper- 
ators considered  as  incompatible  with  profitable  investment,  and  hence 
some  remained  out  of  the  market  during  the  whole  season.  Prices  in 
September  and  October  ranged  from  S7  to  $8.50  per  cental,  but  fell 
slightly  at  the  opening  of  the  winter  packing  seasou.  Fair  to  good  hogs 
were  then  quotable  at  $7.10  ®  $7.30  per  cental  gross,  which  exceeded 
the  average  of  the  preceding  winter.  Prices  advanced,  with  occasional 
hesitation,  till  nearly  the  end  of  the  season,  closing  at  $7.40  ®  $7.90, 
which  were  considerably  below  the  highest  figures  reached.  The  aver- 
age of  the  prices  during  the  year  was  $7.27.53  against  $5.99.17  the  pre- 
vious year. 

During  the  summer  packing  season  of  1875,  embracing  part  of  the  last 
commercial  year,  the  Cincinnati  operators  packed  118,783  hogs,  with  a 
total  weight  of  27,931,258  pounds,  and  averaging  235.14  pounds  per 
head.  In  1874,  there  were  summer  packed  136,153  hogs,  with  an  aggre- 
gate gross  weight  of  31,626,076  pounds,  and  an  average  gross  weight  per 
head  of  232.28. 


218  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

Hog  products. — Barreled  porlv. — From  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  details 
of  the  reports  of  past  years,  it  would  be  difficult  to  give  a  comparative 
view  of  the  production' of  pork  in  its  various  forms  in  Cincinnati.  Dur- 
ing the  last  commercial  year  30,735  barrels  of  mess  pork  were  reported, 
against  38,262;  of  other  kinds  of  barreled  pork  G,994  were  produced, 
against  5,970  the  previous  year,  but  this  last  amount  is  evidently  too 
small,  as  in  that  year  no  note  was  made  of  several  kinds  of  pork  prod- 
uct. The  receipts  of  barreled  pork  during  the  last  commercial  year 
amounted  to  G,063,  the  smallest  within  a  half  century.  The  receipts  of 
1847-'48  were  09,828  barrels,  but  ever  since  that  time  this  branch  of  trade 
has  been  declining.  The  shipments  of  last  year  were  53,518  barrels,  some- 
what larger  than  last  year,  but  bearing  a  very  small  proportion  to  the 
great  export  trade  of  former  years,  which  in  1847-'4:8  amounted  to  196,186 
barrels.  The  average  price  of  mess  pork  during  the  last  commercial  year 
was  $20.92.1,  against  $20.46.8  the  previous  year,  and  $16.68.5  in  1873-'74. 
During  the  last  twenty-one  years  the  maximum  average  price,  $32.75, 
was  in  1804-'65 ;  minimum,  $10.70,  iu  1861-'62. 

Zard. — The  product  of  lard  last  commercial  year  amounted  to  64,312 
tierces,  405  barrels,  and  7,053  kegs,  against  70,343  tierces,  243  barrels, 
and  6,699  kegs  the  previous  year.  The  receipts  of  lard  were  13,951,721 
pounds,  against  11,586,129  the  previous  year ;  shipments  35,157,200 
pounds,  against  30,855,878.  Tlie  average  price  of  prime  steam  winter 
was  12.24  cents  per  pound,  against  13.72  the  previous  year ;  of  kettle 
winter  13.27  cents,  against  14.45.  During  the  last  twenty-one  years 
the  maximum  quotation,  21^  cents,  was  iu  1865-'66;  minimum,  7^,  in 
1861-'62. 

Porlc  and  bacon. — Receipts  of  last  year  25,244,229  pounds,  against 
25,530,475  pounds  the  previous  year;  shipments,  91,797,010  pounds, 
against  96,222,139. 

CHICAGO. 

The  total  value  of  all  kinds  of  live  stock  received  at  the  Union  Stock- 
yards of  Chicago  during  1876  was  $111,185,660,  against  $117,533,941  in 
1875,  a  decline  of  nearly  5^  per  cent.  This  decline  is  not  the  result  of 
a  decline  iu  business,  but  of  a  general  shrinkage  of  values.  The  num- 
ber of  animals  marketed  during  1876  was  greater  than  in  any  former 
year. 

Horses. — The  monthly  receipts  and  shipments  for  the  last  four  years 
were  as  follows : 


Months. 


Receipts.  ^^ 


^--ipts.  ^^l^ 


I^«Pt8-  S, 


1S7C. 


i^--p«-  s 


Jannary  . . . 
February . . 

Maxell 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . 

October 

November . 
December. . 


Total 


(ill 

U,  135 

4. 253 

2,013 

2,  GG6 

2,737 

1,104 

1,073 

1,  340 

779 

422 

1140 

20,  2fe9 


4C7 
1,978 
3,909 
2,  801 
2,  CC3 
2,  276 

984 
1,002 
1,  254 

eo9 

370 


18,  540 


688 

9,538 

3,838 

2,  739 

1,603 

1.807 

804 

653 

838 

1,251 

423 

206 

17,  588 


C04 
37G 
690 
072 
C07 
508 
839 
70!) 
8b8 
223 
250 
185 


16,  008 


483 
222 
784 
083 
370 
150 
(118 
410 
431 
2!).! 
271 
172 


11,  329 


5C2 

1,141 

2,  781 

1,835 

1,407 

1,096 

715 

414 

424 

323 

261) 

151 

11,109 


152 
726 
1,607 
1, 230 
030 
790 
445 
404 
953 
497 
244 
121 

8,159 


SCO 

017 

1,5^J 

1, 224 

8C3 
696 
440 
£9!) 
£81 
373 
156 
108 

6,809 


7^  P. 

KEPORT   OF 


THE   STATf^CllN. 


219 


This  branch  of  the  live-stock  trade  shows  a  marked  decline  during 
the  years  under  consideration,  the  numbers  being  reduced  nearly  two- 
thirds  since  1873. 

Cattle. — The  number  of  cattle  received  during  the  year  was  1,09G,745, 
an  increase  of  19  per  cent,  over  1875 ;  the  shipments  were  797,724,  an 
increase  of  14^  per  cent.  The  monthly  receipts  and  shipments  of  the 
last  six  years  were  as  follows : 


1871. 

1872. 

1873. 

1874. 

1875. 

1876. 

Montlis. 

ft 

G 
ft 

ft 
1 

1 

a 
ft 

3 

ft 
'S 
o 

© 
B 

ft 

1 

-♦J 
ft 
'S 
u 
a> 

M 

e 

ft 

1 

ft 
'S 
o 

e 

ft 

3 

CO 

ft 
o 

1 

a 
ft 

3 

January  ... 
February.. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . 

October 

November . 
December.. 

30,708 

43,  299 

44,  752 
48, 144 
59, 217 
52,  564 
50,  041 
50,  583 
53, 175 
37,  981 
42,  781 
29,  805 

16,  639 

28,  7i?2 
39,  578 

43,  522 
49,  455 

44,  637 
39,  754 
36,  007 
38,  528 
22,  759 

20,  378 

21,  393 

44,  990 

41,  087 
53,  705 
58,  393 
71,  700 

63,  449 
58,  439 

64,  463 
66,  744 
64,  957 
55,  884 
40,  799 

33,  047 
36, 146 
43,  170 
52,  474 
67,039 
52,  335 
41,928 
47,  21 1 
43,  179 

34,  388 
32,  468 
26, 105 

50,  520 
4.5,  019 
03,  836 

84,  249 
81,  602 

85,  380 
73, 207 
67,  731 
6.5,  394 
63,  845 
37,712 
42,  933 

30,  564 
35,  509 
56,  477 
68,531 
80,261 
68,  818 
54,  505 
49,  726 
44,  301 
34, 162 
23,  351 
27,  976 

59,  438 
52,  775 

72,  542 
77,  346 
77,  373 
89,  27(1 
65, 118 

73,  308 
73,761 
85,  193 
65,  530 
52,  308 

44, 771 
43,  719 
59,  935 
66,  733 
72,  993 
68,  728 
48, 209 
50,541 
45,  854 
50, 161 

37,  643 

38,  552 

64,  951 

58, 142 
80, 149 
92,  374 
80,  736 
90,  481 

65,  471 
85,  943 
82,  495 
84,  763 
72,  003 
63,  330 

43,  694 
44, 113 
65,  314 
82,  888 
72, 170 
70,  384 
52,  624 

61,  924 
55,  294 

62,  301 

42,  4t>2 

43,  342 

71,  062 

79,  938 
100,  972 

97,  796 
115, 140 

92,  739 

89,  765 
90, 176 

101,816 
88, 004 

90,  646 
78,  091 

45,  771 
56,  835 
78, 115 
88,  717 
97,  301 
74,  972 
70,  644 
65, 279 
73, 308 
54, 2.44 
52, 537 
40,001 

Total .. 

543,  050 

401,  432 

684,  610 

509, 400  761,  428 

574, 181 

843,  966 

627,  929 

920,  843 

096, 534 

1, 096,  745 

797, 724 

The  cattle  trade  of  1876  was  by  far  the  largest  on  record,  and  was 
steady  and  uninterrupted  during  the  year.  The  immense  corn-crop  of 
1875,  far  exceeding  the  demand  of  the  market  for  this  grain,  induced 
northwestern  farmers  to  go  extensively  into  stock-feeding.  A  sufficient 
number  of  hogs  could  not  be  obtained  for  its  consumption,  and  hence 
cattle-feeding  was  resorted  to  for  the  disposal  of  the  surplus.  Hence, 
during  the  fall  months  of  1875,  a  larger  number  of  cattle  were  got  to- 
gether upon  farms  dependent  upon  the  Chicago  market  than  ever  before 
known.  Kovember  and  December  of  that  year  were  remarkably  mikl, 
and  the  grass  continued  green  and  fresh  to  an  unusually  late  period. 
It  soon  became  apparent  that  an  immense  beef-production  was  going 
forward,  and  that  the  supply  of  cattle  would  be  unprecedentedly  large. 
The  Chicago  market  veritied  these  indications  by  the  receipt  of  a  very 
large  number  of  cattle  in  January,  a  month  in  which  transactions  are 
usually  limited.  Prices  for  the  season  opened  at  $2.75  ©  $6  per  cental, 
but  gradually  receded  till  at  the  beginning  of  April  the  best  cattle  in 
the  market  commanded  only  $4.75.  In  the  first  week  of  May  prices 
rallied  to  $5  ©  $5.25  i'crv  choice  animals,  but  they  gradually  fell  off  till 
in  the  closing  months  of  the  season  the  maximum  was  quoted  at  $4.60 
©  $4.75.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year  another  rally  is  noted,  bringing 
up  the  highest  grade  of  beeves  to  $5  ©  $5.50.  Lower  grades  did  not 
shrink  so  heavily.  While  choice  and  extra  beeves  averaged  at  least  $1 
per  cental  lower  than  in  1875,  the  decline  ia  the  less  valuable  stock 
was  only  50  ©  75  cents.  A  large  number  of  consumers  were  driven  by 
financial  considerations  to  the  use  of  cheaper  beef  than  they  had  been 
accustomed  to. 

The  largest  number  ever  marketed  here  during  any  single  month, 
115,140,  was  in  May,  1876,  while  every  month  indicated  a  great  advance 
upon  the  corresponding  month  of  1875.  All  the  States  and  Territorieg 
supplying  this  market  except  Texas  showed  a  greater  or  less  increase, 
especially  tlie  regions  west  of  the  Missouri  Eiver.     Colorado,  Wyo- 


S20         EEPOET   OP  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

miug,  Montana,  Utah,  Oregon,  and  the  Indian  Territory  greatly  en- 
larged their  quotas  of  supply.  These  extreme  western  cattle,  which  at 
first  were  suspiciously  regarded  under  the  name  of  "half-breeds,"  rapidly 
grew  in  favor  and  began  to  supersede  the  natiyes  of  the  same  weight 
and  flesh,  with  ordinary  feeding.  The  bulk  of  these  far-west  receipts 
was  taken  by  local  butchers  and  packers,  either  for  home  consumption  or 
for  export  as  beef. 

Cattle  products. — Beef. — The  excess  of  receipts  of  cattle  over  shipments 
amounted  to  299,021,  against  224,309  in  1875.  Of  this  aggregate,  about 
70,000  head  were  taken  by  the  beef  packers  and  pressers.  A  direct 
export  of  dressed  beef  from'Chicago  to  Europe  had  been  inaugurated  in 
1874,  and  had  increased  its  operations  during  1875,  but  it  still  was 
largely  of  an  experimental  character.  During  1876  this  business  de- 
veloped a  permanent  relation  to  the  demands  of  the  English  market,  and 
became  one  of  the  established  features  of  Chicago  trade.  A  large 
amount  of  capital  has  been  invested  in  sea-going  vessels  with  refrigerafr 
ing  apparatus,  and  orderly  methods  have  been  introduced  into  the  busi- 
ness which  have  greatly  secured  its  success.  Among  the  precautions 
for  the  delivery  of  the  beef  in  good  order  in  the  English  markets  is  the 
inclosing  of  each  quarter  in  cotton-sheeting,  thus  protecting  it  from  dirt 
in  handling.  On  the  day  following  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  at  Liver- 
pool the  cargo  is  shipped  by  rail  to  London,  the  largest  meat-consuming 
market  in  the  world.  A  considerable  amount  of  dressed  beef,  embracing 
last  season  60,000  carcasses,  was  shipped  to  the  manufacturing  towns  of 
New  England  and  New  York.  Some  of  this  is  from  the  smaller  towns 
and  rural  districts  of  the  Northwest,  which  is  sent  to  Chicago  for  ship- 
ment eastward.  This  trade  somewhat  interferes  with  the  business  of 
the  city  butchers. 

During  the  last  eleven  years  the  numbers  of  cattle  annually  packed  at 
this  point  were  as  follows  :  1865-'66,  27,172  ;  186G-'67, 25,996  ;  1807-'68, 
35,348;  1868-'69,  26,950;  1869-'70,  11,963;  1870-'71,  21,254;  1871-'72, 
10,080;  1872-'73,  15,755;  1873-'74,  21,712;  1874-'75,  41,192;  1875-'76, 
75,000.  The  heavy  increase  in  the  slaughter  of  beeves  at  Chicago  is 
due  especially  to  the  development  of  the  canned  beef  trade,  which  is 
supposed  to  absorb  at  least  four-fifths  of  the  beef  annually  packed  here. 
This  new  article  has  found  its  way  to  many  points  in  Europe,  and  Chi- 
cago packers  claim  a  fair  average  profit  from  their  operations.  The  can- 
packers  do  not  slaughter  their  own  cattle,  but  procure  dressed  carcasses 
either  from  wholesale  firms  in  the  city  or  from  parties  at  neighboring 
points.  The  regular  barrel-packing  business  is  on  the  decline,  as  the 
business  can  be  more  profitably  carried  on  nearer  the  base  of  supply  of 
the  raw  material,  and  hence  it  is  pursued  more  largely  in  the  far  West. 
Only  one  firm  in  Chicago  during  1876  pursued  the  old  method  of  bar- 
reling. Of  barreled  beef,  the  receipts  during  1870  amounted  36,162 
barrels,  against  26,949  in  1875  ;  36,670  in  1874;  7,158  in  1873 ;  14,512  in 
1872;  53,289  in  1871;  20,554  in  1870,  and  1,478  in  1869;  showing  a 
very  irregular  supply  from  other  points.  The  shipments  amounted  to 
72,004  barrels  iu  1876,  60,454  in  1875,  72,562  in  1874,  33,938  in  1873, 
39,911  in  1872,  89,452  in  1871,  65,369  in  1870,  and  48,024  in  18G9,  show- 
ing a  great  fluctuation  iu  the  dispatching  trade.  The  prices  of  mess 
beef  at  the  beginning  of  each  month  in  1876  ranged  from  $8.50  Q  $9 
in  March  to  $10.75  ®  $11  from  May  to  October,  falling  to  $9.50  ®  $9.75 
at  the  close  of  the  year.    Extra  mess  ranged  about  $1  per  barrel  higher. 

Tallow. — Receipts  5,305  tons,  against  3,259  in  1875,  3,374  in  1874,  and 
4,203  in  1873 ;  shipments  6,209  tons,  against  3,701  in  1875, 4,051  in  1874, 
and  5,787  iu  1873. 


KEPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


221 


Sheep. — The  receipts  of  sheep  were  304,095  head,  a.  decline  of  54,843 
from  the  receipts  of  1875;  the  shipments  were  195,925,  or  44,679  fewer 
than  in  1875. 

The  monthly  recepts  and  shipments  for  six  years  were  as  follows : 


Months. 


January  

JFobrnary 

March 

April 

May 

June 

Jnly 

August 

September . . . 

October 

November  . . . 
December.  .. 

Total  .... 


1871. 


316, 053 


23, 235 

25,  348 

29,  495 

17,323 

5, 945 

3,493 

2,471 

3,937 

5, 622 

7,  349 

7,417 

13,  37G 


1873. 


M 


39,  751 
27,  729 
31,061 
75,  570 
21, 030 
20, 202 
17, 697 
19,  921 
16,  794 
27,  871 
18,  506 
17, 042 


20, 7Q7 

24, 728 

23. 020 

12,  798 

8,653 

5,506 

784 

1,152 

1,975 

5,472 

4,566 

5,  794 


1874. 


rt 


29, 173 
41,  586 
34,  866 
26,  100 
20,  218 
17,  538 
16, 035 
21, 920 
23,  268 
30,  837 
30,  765 
46, 353 


330, 211 145,  016  333,  234  115, 235  338,  655  180,  555  418,  948  240,  604 


15,  621 

27, 545 

26,  630 

19,  233 

11,319 

5,501 

2,991 

6,879 

6,768 

11,657 

14, 229 

32, 182 


M 


53, 162 
42,  571 
50, 985 
41, 952 
16,476 
16,  639 
12,  626 
24, 386 
28,  2r ' 
31,916 
40,  667 
54,  282 


1876. 


M 


50,  249 
45,  201 
39,  334 
29,  3S6 
17,  745 
15, 956 
13,  874 
19,  051 
25,  946 

36,  341 
33,  67r 

37,  339 


364,  0^5 


33,  803 

30,  607 

27, 295 

20,  491 

9,839 

5,252 

2,821 

5,204 

10,  889 

18, 305 

15,  449 

15, 970 


195.,  925 


The  sheep  trade  during  the  year  was  remarkable  for  its  steadiness. 
During  the  first  half  of  the  year  there  was  a  strong  healthy  demand  for 
shipment,  but  with  the  close  of  the  spring  season  and  after  shearing 
time  the  shippers  generally  withdrew,  leaving  the  market  to  the  local 
butchers.  This  reacted  upon  the  supply,  which  fell  oft',  with  a  partial 
fitful  revival  at  different  times  in  the  closing  months  of  the  year.  The 
character  of  the  receipts  became  perceptibly  lower  as  the  year  drew  to 
its  close,  especially  the  increasing  import  from  Texas.  Prices  opened 
at  $5  ®  $5.50  per  cental  in  January,  and  advanced  to  $6  for  choice 
sheep.  During  the  subsequent  months  extra  grades  rose  to  $7.75  iu 
May,  but  a  subsequent  reaction  carried  prices  down  as  low  as  $4.12^  for 
the  best  in  market  on  the  1st  day  of  December. 

Swine. — Keceipts  4,190,006,  an  increase  of  277,886  over  the  previous 
year.    The  shipments  were  1,131,635,  a  decline  of  451,008. 

The  monthly  receipts  and  shipments  at  the  Union  Stock-yards  during 
the  last  six  years  were  as  follows : 


Months. 


.Tanuary  . . . 
February  . . 

March 

April 

May 

Juno 

July 

August 

September . 

October 

November  . 
December. . 

Total 


1871. 


KeceiptB.    Shipments, 


300,  697 
139,  342 
97, 058 
71,  632 
137, 521 
197,  499 
165,  631 
118, 975 
164,  749 
161,212 
386, 766 
456, 831 


2,398,113 


26, 
47, 
75, 
63, 
111, 
160, 
134, 
98, 
125, 
131, 
113, 
67, 


1,161,406 


1872. 


Receipts. 


361,  935 
268, 236 
170,  785 
169, 149 
265, 259 
254, 714 
212,  030 
219,  406 
214,728 
229,  304 
373,  963 
513,114 


3,  252, 623 


Shipments. 


78, 377 
104, 668 
144,  209 
145, 151 
196,  451 
206,  940 
172,  934 
198,  077 
186,010 
175,  241 
132, 381 

95, 195 


1,  835, 634 


1873. 


Receipts. 


Shipments. 


561,  245 
378, 760 
271,  626 
292, 903 
261,361 
245,  800 
244,  550 
234, 145 
2:i9,  512 
325,  716 
616,301 
605,  771 


4,  337,  750 


95, 237 
163, 140 
224, 194 
225,  715 
217,914 
189,586 
201, 682 
188,  776 
191,241 
196,  569 
156,  926 
146,  577 


2, 197,  557 


222 


REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICOLTURE. 


Months. 


Jannary  . . . 
Febrnary  . 

March 

April 

May 

Juue 

July 

August 

September . 

October 

No  vein  her  . 
Deceiabor.. 

Total 


Receipta.     Shipments. 


457, 088 
303,341 
238,  728 
311,945 
328,  838 
310,  072 
231,  416 
205,  904 
2f.l,  123 
350,  812 
727,  407 
531,  705 


4,  25S,  379 


146,  435 

163,  980 
2C2,  317 
245,  945 
2(>5, 140 
2;JS,  396 
183,  450 

147,  355 
ir.8,  628 
242,  350 
203, 437 
119,  928 


2, 327,  361 


Eeceipts.  Shipments. 


508,  347 
421,  833 
240,  797 
259,  569 
272,  887 
299,  051 
290, 137 
190,  788 
165,  919 
301, 255 
431,  393 
470, 134 


3,  912, 110 


135,  509 

127,  532 
147,  778 
171,505 
164, 090 
16.5, 184 
157,  781 
111,378 
119,  181 
135,  073 
94,  428 
53,  204 


1,  582,  643 


1376. 


Becaiptfl.     Shipments. 


446,  061 
360,  444 
211,  .389 
226,  602 
307,  2.S0 
369,  581 
261,  504 
224,  006 
278,  999 
392,  946 
569, 195 
541,  969 


4, 190,  006 


48, 394 
74,959 

105,  756 
94,  02G 

127, 890 
125, 188 
125, 529 
111,736 

106,  833 
100,  800 

71,  218 
39,  406 


1, 131,  635 


The  excess  of  receipts  over  shipments  was  3,058,371,  or  728,904  greater 
than  the  excess  of  1875.    This  is  accounted  for  by  the  great  increase  in 
summer  packing  during  the  summer  of  1876.    Feeders  and  shippers,  on 
the  Avhole,  were  satisfied  with  their  share  of  the  trade,  as  they  found  all 
through  the  year  a  good  deujand  for  their  stock.    The  year  opened,  how- 
ever, under  no  bright  promise..    Two  months  of  the  winter  packing  sea- 
sou  had  passed,  and  the  supply  of  hogs  had  shown  a  material  falling  oflf, 
compared  with  the  corresponding  months  of  the  previous  season.    Eeports 
of  immense  losses  from  cholera  in  prominent  swine-raising  districts  were 
rife  in  the  market,  creating  the  impression  of  a  short  supply.    These  re- 
ports had  elevated  prices  during  November  and  December,  1875.    Janu- 
ary opened  at  high  figures,  in  spite  of  a  combination  of  buyers  to  reduce 
them  to  a  normal  level,  the  range  being  from  $6.70  to  $7.25  per  cental. 
The  upward  pressure  continued  through  the  month,  working  the  quota- 
tions slowly  up  to  $7.50.    The  unwillingness  of  buyers  to  pay  such  prices 
caused  a  reduced  stock,  the  receipts  of  January  falling  62,286  short 
of  January,  1875.    February,  the  closing  month  of  the  winter  packing 
season,  brought  no  reaction  against  the  pressure.    The  receipts  fell  off 
61,389  short  of  February,  1875,  and  prices  advanced  to  $7.90  ®  $8.50. 
By  the  close  of  the  season  it  seemed  evident  that  the  number  packed  in 
the  West  i  a  1875-'76  would  fall  largely  short  of  the  previous  season.    The 
final  footings  showed  a  reduction  of  086,041.     In  March  an  effort  was 
made  by  packers  to  keep  up  the  price  of  hogs  by  keeping  their  estab- 
lishments ruuniug  after  the  close  of  the  winter  season  at  from  half  to 
three-fourths  of  their  capacity.    The  object  of  this  movement,  it  was  sug- 
gested, was  to  prevent  a  fall  of  prices  in  barreled  pork  until  they  had 
marketed  their  product.    The  receipts  for  the  month  fell  29,408  short  of 
March,  1875,  making  a  decrease  for  the  first  quarter  of  the  year  of  153,083 ; 
prices  ranged  from  $7.90  to  $8.40.    Packers  continued  to  operate  in  this 
way  to  sustain  their  high  figures  for  winter-packed  pork  through  the 
first  ten  days  of  April,  and  until  it  was  found  that  consumers  showed  a 
determination  to  take  less  of  the  high-priced  pork,  which  began  to  de- 
cline, causing  a  decline  in  the  price  of  hogs,  which  continued,  until  at  the 
close  of  June  quotations  were  $6  to  $7.10.    The  receipts  of  April  com- 
pared with  the  previous  year  fell  off  32,967;  but  May  and  June  increased 
respectively  34,363  and  70,530,  making  the  net  increase  for  the  second 
quarter  71,926,  and  reducing  the  net  decline  for  the  first  two  quarters  to 
81,157.     During  the  last  half  of  July  receipts  fell  off  considerably,  and 
prices  temporarily  rose  to  $6.50  to  $6.70 ;  but  during  August  and  Sep- 
tember hogs  arrived  in  increased  numbers,  and  prices  of  all  grades  ranged 
from  $G  to  $8.75.     Eeceipts  fell  off  28,573  in  July,  but  increased  33,218  in 
August  and  113,080  in  September,  making  the  net  increase  of  the  third 


REPORT   OP  THE   STATISTICIAN. 


223 


quarter  117,715,  and  the  net  increase  of  the  first  three  quarters  36,568. 
October  opened  with  a  steadiness  of  prices  which  it  did  not  maintain. 
A  full  supply  at  the  first  caused  a  fall  of  25  to  30  cents  per  cental,  but  re- 
ceipts began  to  fall  off  and  prices  again  rallied.  In  November  the  winter 
packing  season  re-opened,  but  many  packers  had  continued  operating  all 
through  the  intervening  months  and  their  movements  had  a  regulating 
influence  upon  the  houses  that  had  suspended  operations  during  the 
summer.  Prices  for  packing-hogs  during  the  month  ranged  from  $5.70 
to  $5.90.  The  trade  of  December  was  remarkable  for  steadiness,  with  a 
strong  tendencey  to  high  prices  toward  the  close,  caused  by  a  falling 
oft'  in  the  receipts.  The  arrivals  increased  91,691  in  October,  77,802  iia 
November,  71,825  in  December  ;  during  the  fourth  quarter,  241,318 ; 
during  the  year,  277,886. 

The  average  gross  weight  per  head  of  hogs  received  during  the  year 
was  239  pounds,  against  233f  pounds  in  1875,  and  218  pounds  in  1874. 
The  monthly  average  weights  per  head  during  the  last  five  years  were 
as  follows : 


Months. 


January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

Juue.,. 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

General  average 


1872.       1873. 


286f 

263* 

227J 

225J 

223 

227i 

234 

233i 

257i 

264t 

272 

2831 


263 


289i 
2691 
22l| 
213 
217| 
230 
2111 
235J 
241.6 
252J 
2fiti 
270i 
-#■ 


246.6 


1874. 


252f 
211 J 
201J 
19ii 
•  lOOJ 
203.7 
297.  9 
208J 
20!)i 
221i 
244 
253i 


218 


1875.   1876. 


261 

251 

217 

2064 

210 

218 

223 

222 

230 

239 

256i 

271 


233i 


281 
262 
220 
217 
223 
233 
234 
242 
245 
258 
202 
270 


239 


From  the  above  tables  it  appears  that  during  the  present  decade  the 
largest  annual  receipt  was  in  1873,  and  the  largest  average  weight  per 
head  in  1872.  The  very  great  receipts  of  1874,  being  of  comparatively 
light  weight,  did  not  yield  a  net  product  in  proportion  to  their  num- 
bers. The  largest  amount  of  live  pork  marketed  in  any  one  year  was 
1,069,689,150  pounds,  in  1873  ;  the  next  largest  aggregate,  991,411,434 
pounds,  was  in  1876.  The  total  value  of  the  hogs  packed  in  1876  was 
$48,974,000,  an  increase  of  $9,224,000  over  1875. 

Hog  products.— Pork.— Receipts  of  1876,  43,911  barrels;  1875,  58,270; 
1874,  40,381;  1873,  43,758;  1872,  121,023.  Shipments,  1876,  315,448 
barrels ;  1875,  311,170  ;  1874,  233,764  ;  1873,  191,144  ;  1872,  208,664. 
The  city  product  of  the  winter  packing- season  of  1875-'76  was  263,430  bar- 
rels; 1874-'75,  261,675 ;  1873-'74,  195,917;  1872-'73,  102,986;  1871-'72, 
152,012;  1870-'71,  148,050;  1869-'70,  118,599. 

Nummary. — The  annual  receipts  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine  during 
eleven  years  were  as  follows  : 


Tears. 

Cattle. 

Sheep. 

Swine. 

Total. 

1866      ...     .       

393,  007 
329, 188 
324,  524 
403, 102 
532,  964 
543,  050 
684, 075 
761,  428 
843,  966 
9211,  843 
1, 090,  745 

207,  987 
180,  888 
270,  891 
340,  072 
349,  853 
315,  053 
310,211 
291,  734 
333,  655 
418,948 
364,  095 

961. 746 
1,  696,  738 
1,  700,  782 
1,  661,  869 

1,  693, 158 

2,  3.-0,  083 

3,  252,  623 
4, 337,  750 

4,  258, 379 
3,912,110 
4, 190,  006 

1, 562, 740 

1867      .        

2,206,814 

1868         

2,  302, 197 

1869    

2,  405,  043 

1870    

2,  575,  975 

1871    

3, 233, 186 

1872              

4, 246,  909 

1873                     

5, 390, 912 

1874     

5,  435, 997 

1875     

5,  251,  901 

It76    

5,  650,  846 

224  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

SAINT   LOUIS. 

Horses  and  mules. — Tho  receipts  of  horses  and  mules  were  22,721  in 
1876,  against  27,516  ia  1875,  and  27,175  in  1874.  The  shipments  were 
26,301  in  1876, 28,675  in  1S75,  and  30,202  in  1874.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
in  each  of  the  three  years  the  shipments  are  more  numerous  than  the 
receipts.  This  apparent  discrepancy  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
receipts  are  contiued  to  rail  and  steamer  and  take  no  account  of  the 
animals  brought  into  the  city  from  the  immediate  neighborhood.  The 
range  of  jirices  per  head  for  all  grades  on  the  first  day  of  each  month  for 
the  past  four  years  was  as  follows  : 


Months. 


January  . . . 
February  . . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

J'uly 

August 

September . 

October 

November  . 
December . 


1874. 


Horses.   Mules.   Horses.   Mules. 


$50  to: 
50  to 
40  to 
40  to 
40  to 
40  to 
40  to 
40  to 
25  to 
40  to 


»00  885 
200  85 


to  6200 
to  200 
to  175 
to  200 
to  200 
to  225 
to  225 
to  225 
to  175 
to  225 


•«30  to  $175 

30  to  1C5 

30  to  165 

30  to  105 

SO  to  165 

40  to  170 

40.  to  200 

40  to  200 

40  to  180 

40  to  170 

40  to  170 

40  to  170 


1875. 


Horses.   Mules, 


560  to  §200 

50  to  200 

."JO  to  200 

50  to  200 

50  to  200 

65  to  200 

70  to  190 

75  to  200 

75  to  200 

75  to  200 

75  to  200 

75  to  200 


•540  to  $180 
40  to  180 
40  to  180 
40  to  180 
40  to  160 
40  to  180 
40  to  ISO 
40  to  180 
40  to  180 
40  to  200 
25  to  200 
20  to  200 


1876. 


Horses.   Mules. 


•!75  toS200 

75  to  200 

75  to  200 

75  to  200 

75  to  ISO 

75  to  200 

75  to  180 

75  to  2l;0 

75  to  200 

85  to  200 

80  to  200 

80  to  200 


?2o  tosaco 

25  to  200 

25  to  200 

25  to  200 

25  to  200 

25  to  250 

25  to  250 

25  to  250 

25  to  250 

25  to  250 

25  to  250 

25  to  250 


p30to$200 
80  to  200 
SO  to  200 
SO  to  170 
80  to  170 
85  to  185 
85  to  135 
85  to  185 
85  to  185 
85  to  185 
85  to  185 
85  to  1S5 


This  trade  is  mostly  with  the  South,  and  is  not  very  remunerative,  as 
its  declining  aggregates  indicate.  The  largest  source  of  supply  is  West- 
ern Missouri  and  Kansas,  full  half  the  receipts  coming  from  that  region. 
A  large  number  come  down  the  Mississippi  Eiver  on  steamers.  Illinois 
furnishes  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  and  a  few  come  from  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Kentucky. 

Cattle. — The  receipts  of  cattle  amounted  to  349,043  head,  an  increase 
of  4  per  cent,  over  1875,  but  not  equal  to  1874.  Shipments  220,430,  an 
increase  of  nearly  2  per  cent. 

The  aggregate  receipts  and  shipments  of  the  last  twelve  years  \\  t  re  as 
follows . 


Tears. 

Receipts. 

Ship-  '. 
ments. 

Years. 

Receipts. 

Ship- 
ments. 

Years. 

Receipts. 

Ship- 
ments. 

1865 

94,  .307 
103, 259 

74, 1)6 
115,  352 

46,  712  1 

24,  462 
26,  799 
37, 277 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

.  124,565 
201,  422 
199, 527 
263,  404 

59,  867 

129,  748 

130,  018 
164,  870 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

279,  678 
360,  925 
335, 742 
349,  043 

180,  662 
226, 078 
216,701 
220. 430 

1866 

1867 

1868 

The  above  figures  show  a  rapid  augmentation  of  the  cattle  trade  of 
Saint  Louis,  especially  since  the  immense  production  of  Texas  and  the 
southern  trans-Mississippi  region  began  to  find  its  way  to  the  eastern 
markets  through  the  IPacific  railroads.  The  maximum  receipts  are 
noted  in  1874,  but  the  reaction  of  1875  was  partially  comijensated  by  the 
increased  receipts  of  1876.  The  new  transportation  arrangements  with 
the  east-bound  railways  will  inure  to  the  advantage  of  this  trade,  as  well 
as  to  the  flour  and  grain  movement,  and  it  is  believed  that  both  receipts 
and  shipments  will  go  on  increasing  in  the  future. 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


225 


The  follovdug  table  shows  the  range  of  prices  per  cental  at  the  begin- 
ning, of  each  mouth  for  the  last  six  years  : 


Months. 


January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . . . 

October 

November  . . . 
December  . . . 


1871. 


12 


50  toS 

50  to 

75  to 

75  to 
6-2i  to 

00  to 

00  to 

75  to 

25  to 

50  to 

25  to 

50  to 


(i50 
6  50 
C5U 
6  00 
G75 
5  00 
5  1)0 
4  75 

4  50 

5  00 
4  73 


1872. 


$2  25  to  1 
3  25  to. 
3  50  to 

3  50  to 

4  37i  to 
2  50  to 


I  75 
1  75 
1  25 
1  50 


1  37i  to 


>5  .50 

5  75 
G75 

6  75 
C50 
6  50 
6  50 
G25 

5  75 

6  00 
6  00 
5  50 


$1  50  to 
1  50  to 
1  .50  to 

1  75  to 

2  00  to 
1  75  to 
1  75  to 
1  -5  to 
1  50  to 
1  40  to 
1  25  to 
1  25  to 


|6  00 
6  00 
6,37^ 
6  621 

fi  m 

6  00 
5  60 
(>  50 
5  30 
5  00 
5  00 
5  00 


50  to  $6  50 

50  to  6  25 

75  to  6  00 

00  to  ()  2j 

75  to  C  00 

00  to  6  25 

25  to  6  25 

00  to  6  00 

00  to  5  75 

75  to  5  75 

00  to  5  50 

75  to  5  75 


S2  CO 
2  00 
2  00 
1  75 


to  f  G  00 

to  6  00 

to  0  00 

to  6  25 

to  6  75 

to  6  75 

to  6  75 

to  6  75 

to  6  25 

to  6  25 

to  5  50 

to  6  12 


1S76. 


$2  40  to  ! 
2  CO  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 
2  (10  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 
2  00  to 


;G25 
6  00 
5  50 
5  50 
4  50 
4  50 
4  75 
4  90 
4  90 
4  90 
4  90 
4  90 


Cattle  prochicts. — Beef. — The  trade  in  barreled  beef  is  small,  the  receipts 
of  1876  comprising  only  12,869  barrels  and  tierces;  shipments  17,202; 
the  excess  of  shipments  shows  that  beef-packiugin  the  city  about  covers 
home  consumption,  with  a  small  surplus  for  export. 

Butter. — Receipts  125,309  packages,  against  110,074  in  1875,  74,937  in 
1874,  64,607  in  1873,  and  51,250  in  1872.  It  is  still  a  matter  of  regret 
to  the  general  statistician  that  this  unmeaning  designation  should  be 
used,  rendering  it  impossible  even  to  estimate  the  quantity  of  butter 
marketed  at  Saint  Louis.  Supposing  that  these  packages  average  from 
year  to  year  about  the  same  weight,  the  report  indicates  a  gradual 
increase  in  the  trade.  The  majority  of  the  receipts,  67,725  packages, 
come  from  the  East,  by  the  Vandalia  and  Terre  Haute  Railway.  A  very 
small  portion  comes  from  Missouri  and  the  territory  westward.  The 
shipments  are  too  small  for  notice  in  the  city  statistics,  the  receipts 
being  almost  entirely  absorbed  by  the  home  demand. 

The  range  of  prices  per  pound  of  butter  of  good  to  choice  grades  at 
the  beginning  of  each  month  of  the  last  six  years  was  a,s  follows  : 


Months. 


January  . . 
February . 

March 

April , 

May 

Jcuo 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October  — 
November 
December 


1871. 


Gents. 
20  to  32 
15  to  29 
15  to  30 
15  to  CO 
15  to  29 
12  to  20 
12  to  20 
14  to  20 
14  to  21 
18  to  26 
17  to  27 
11  to  20 


1872. 


Cent?. 
23  to  26 
19  to  33 

19  to  37 

20  to  40 
18  to  25 
Hi  to  20 

15  to  19 

16  to  24 
16  to  30 
20  to  33 
18  to  30 
20  to  29 


Cents. 
20  to  2S 
20  to  28 
20  to  32 
25  to  35 
15  to  9.2 

15  CO  22 

14  to  20 

16  to  24 

19  to  27 

20  to  30 

15  to  32 
24  to  30 


Cents. 
25  to  32 
27  to  37 
27  to  37 
27  to  34 
20  to  30 
20  to  30 
18  to  28 
20  to  28 
20  to  23 

25  to  35 

26  to  33 
26  to  36 


1875. 


Cents. 
25  to  33 
23  to  33 
23  to  33 

18  to  33 
]5  to  28 

15  to  28 
14  to  28 

16  to  28 
18  to  28 
20  to  28 
20  to  30 
20  to  30 


1876. 


Cents. 
20  to  30 

16  to  30 
18  to  30 
25  to  35 
22  to  26 
13  to  20 
13  tc  18 
13  to  20 
13  to  20 
20  to  30 
18  to  30 

17  to  28 


Cheese. — The  receipts  of  cheese  during  1876  amounted  to  83.905 
boxes,  against  69,013  in  1876,  80,579  in  1874,  58,790  in  1873,  and  84,345 
in  1872 ;  the  shipments  of  1876  were  24,536  boxes,  against  52,045. 
Allowing  65  pounds  per  box,  the  receipts  amounted  to  nearly  five  and  a 
half  million  pounds.  The  great  mass  of  these  receipts  was  from  the 
States  north  of  the  Ohio  River;  a  considerable  share  was  from  the 
Middle  States ;  very  little  came  from  the  region  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
15  A  ' 


226  REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 


The  range  of  prices  at  the  beginning  of  each  month  of  the  last  six 
years  was  as  follow : 


Months. 


Jannary . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

Jaly 

August . . . 
September 
October . . . 
November 
December , 


1871. 


Cents. 
15J  to  16J 
15J  to  24 
15  to  24 
ISJ  to  2.3 
17  to  27 
14J  to  16 
12  to  20 
1C4  to  12 
9i  to  10 
13i  to  14 
14  to  Ui 
14J  to  15 


1672. 


Cents. 
Ui  to  15 
14i  to  15 
16i  to  17 
Ih'i  to  22 
17  to  19 
13  to  13i 
114  to  12i 
104  to  11 
124  to  134 
14i  to  1,4 
154  to  16 
14i  to  15 


Cents. 
14|  to  15 
144  to  15 
15  to  16 
15  to  154 
15  to  15i 
!5  to  15i 
15  to  154 
104  to  11 
13  to  14 
13  to  14 
134  to  144 
134  to  14 


1874. 


Cents. 
IS4  to  14 
15  to  16J 
to  164 
to  184 
to  184 
to  184 
to  184 
to  18i 
to  18 
to  14 
to  134 
to  134 


1875. 


Cents. 
13  to  134 
to  134 
to  134 
to  134 
to  134 
to  134 
to  134 
to  134 
tx)  134 
to  134 
124  to  14 
13  to  14 


1876. 


Cents. 
13  to  14 

124  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 
12i  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 
124  to  14 


The  steadiness  of  these  prices,  especially  during  1875  and  1876,  is 
especially  remarkable.  The  quotations  represent  the  better  factory 
brands  of  both  eastern  and  western  manufacture.  Formerly  a  consider- 
able amount  of  western  cheese  was  marked  with  counterfeit  eastern 
brands  and  sold  as  eastern  cheese,  but  the  rising  character  of  the  west- 
ern manufacture  has  gradually  removed  the  motives  to  this  fraud. 

Hides, — The  receipts  of  hides  during  1876  amounted  to  21,261,245 
pounds,  against  19,851,947  pounds  in  1875  exports  29,520,487  pounds, 
against  32,457,805  pounds  in  1875.  The  course  of  the  market  during  the 
last  year  was  very  remarkable,  on  account  of  the  singular  interplay  of 
supply  and  demand.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  large  supplies  of 
both  hides  and  leather  created  a  very  dull  market,  and  the  imipression 
was  widely  disseminated  that  the  business  had  been  overdone.  This 
lasted  during  the  winter,  spring,  and  summer;  but  in  September  reports 
came  from  the  great  consuming  markets  of  the  world  that  the  general 
stocks  of  both  hides  and  leather  had  been  greatly  reduced.  A  sudden 
demand  from  all  quarters  electrified  the  trade,  and  a  wild  speculative 
excitement  took  possession  of  the  market,  which  did  not  culminate  till 
in  December.  Some  classes  of  stock  rose  to  prices  fully  50  per  cent, 
greater  than  those  of  spring  and  summer.  Light  dry  flint  hides,  for 
instance,  rose  from  13  cents  per  pound  in  June  to  21  centf  in  December. 
At  the  close  of  December  there  was  a  decline  of  about  5  per  cent,  from 
the  maximum  quotations,  and  sine  the  year  closed  a  still  further  decline 
is  noted.  Commercial  authorities  are  still  undecided  whether  this  reac- 
tion is  permanent  or  transitory.  As  it  hinges  to  a  considerable  extent 
upon  the  political  complications  in  Europe,  the  question  is  likely  to  re- 
main for  some  time  an  open  one.  The  hide  trade  of  Saint  Louis  is  be- 
coming quite  important.  The  excess  of  shipments  over  receipts  indi- 
cates a  very  considerable  number  of  hides  thrown  upon  the  market  by 
city  butchers  in  excess  of  the  demand  of  the  home  leather  manufacture. 

Sheep. — The  sheep  trade  shows  a  marked  increase,  the  receipts 
being  157,831  head  in  1876,  against  125,679  in  1875,  114,913  in  1874, 
and  86,434  in  1873 ;  shipments  67,886  in  1876,  37,784  in  1875,  35,577  in 
1874,  and  18,902  in  1873.  The  great  mass  of  the  receipts  was  from 
Missouri  and  the  regions  west  and  southwest.  Three-fourths  of  the 
shipments  were  eastward  by  rail,  a  few  southward,  and  the  remainder 
to  neighboring  localities.  The  increased  production  of  the  trans-Missis- 
sippi region  is  shown  by  the  rapid  enlargement  of  the  Saint  Louis  trade. 


REPORT   OF  THE   STATISTICIAN. 


227 


The  range  of  prices  per  cental  on  the  first  day  of  each  month  for  the 
last  four  years  was  as  follows : 


Months. 


1873. 


1875. 


1876. 


January.. 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . .  - 
September 
October. . . 
November 
December . 


$4  60 
3  00 
3  00 
3  00 
3  50 

3  00 

2  50 

4  25 

3  20 

2  90 

3  00 
1  75 


t» 

to  $5  25 
to  5  25 
6  00 
6  75 
6  50 
4  25 


3  50 

4  12.^ 

3  62i 

4  25 


$3  75  to 

to 

to 

2  50  to 
4  25  to 
4  00  to 
2  50  to 
2  50  to 
2  00  to 
2  25  to 
2  50  to 
2  25  to 


|5  00 

4  50 

5  00 

5  60 

6  10 
6  00 
6  00 
6  00 
4  25 

4  25 

5  25 
4  75 


$2  25  to 
2  25  to 

2  50  to 
4  00  to 

3  75  to 
3  75  to 
3  75  to 
3  75  to 
2  85  to 

2  85  to 

3  00  to 
2  75  to 


H  75 

4  75 

5  00 

6  25 
()  25 
C  25 
C  25 
6  25 
4  25 
4  25 
4  75 
4  90 


52  75 
2  75 
2  75 
2  75 

2  75 

3  75 
3  75 
2  .50 
2  50 
2  50 
2  50 
2  50 


to  $4  90 

to  5  50 


5  50 
5  50 
5  25 
5  25 
5  25 
4  50 
4  50 
4  50 
450 
4  50 


Sheep  products. —  Wool. — The  wool  trade  of  Saint  Louis  during  1876  was 
quite  satisfactory  to  dealers.  Etibrts  have  been  made  of  late  years  to 
provide  facilities  for  marketing  and  storing  this  commodity.  The  result 
has  been  that  this  trade  has  risen  from  comparative  insignificance  to 
aggregates  surpassed  by  onl^^  one  or  two  eastern  cities.  The  clip  of 
1876  tbund  a  stagnant  and  comparatively  demoralized  market,  the  wool 
manufacture  being  in  a  very  depressed  condition  ;  15  per  cent,  of  the 
looms  were  idle,  and  the  remainder,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  run- 
ning either  on  short  time  or  at  a  dead  loss.  Woolen  goods  were  a  drug 
in  the  market,  and  were  selling  below  cost  of  production.  Bankruptcies, 
in  which  creditors  realized  but  small  percentages  on  their  claims,  were 
of  frequent  occurrence,  while  several  important  mill  properties  were 
sold  under  the  hammer  by  legal  process  at  less  than  one-fourth  of  their 
value.  The  prospect  of  marketing  any  great  proportion  of  the  clip  with 
the  slack  demand  then  prevailing  was  gloomy  indeed,  unless  producers 
would  accept  of  j)rices  low  enough  to  warrant  an  extensive  export  to 
foreign  countries.  Samples  of  the  better  grades  were  sent  to  England 
and  Germany  for  comparison  with  the  ruling  grades  in  those  countries, 
and  for  designating  the  limit  of  safety  in  purchase  of  supplies  for  those 
markets.  Eastern  dealers  were  also  solicited  to  send  orders,  but  they  gen- 
erally declined,  alleging  that  the  wool  interest  was  in  a  more  demoralized 
condition  than  even  in  1860,  when  unwashed  wools  sold  as  low  as  16 
©  17  cents  per  pound,  and  tub-wools  25  ®  27.  Supposing  that  the  con- 
ditions producing  the  depression  were  of  a  permanent  character,  they 
expected  to  hold  the  dictation  of  prices;  but  Saint  Louis  dealers, 
knowing  that  ruling  rates  were  below  cost  of  protraction,  believed  that 
sooner  or  later  those  causes  of  depression  would  be  removed,  and  that 
trade  would  resume  its  normal  course.  They  made  extensive  purchases 
at  market-rates,  almost  exclusively  for  cash,  and  accumulated  quite  ex- 
tensive stocks  during  the  period  of  low  prices.  The  wisdom  of  this 
policy  demonstrated  itself  as  the  season  passed  on.  About  the  close  of 
June,  eastern  operators  appeared  in  the  Saint  Louis  market,  purchasing 
at  a  slight  advance  upon  opening  prices.  In  spite  of  all  efforts  to  mask 
their  operations,  the  real  state  of  the  gcHeral  markets  soon  became 
known,  holders  became  firmer,  and  price.%went  up.  During  the  remain- 
der of  the  season  an  active,  steady  demand  caused  a  brisk  movement  of 
stocks.  In  May  unwashed  wool  was  quoted  at  20  ®  21  cents,  and  the 
best  tub-washed  brought  only  31  ©  33  ;  but  in  October  unwashed  had 
reached  29  ©  34  and  tub  washed  42  ©  43,  an  advance  of  25  ®  40  per 
cent,  upon  the  opening  figures.  The  receipts  amounted  to  6,025,108 
pounds,  against  4.249,307  pounds  in  1875,  4,963,417  in  1874,  3,956,213  in 


228 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE, 


1873,  and  3,756,212  in  1872 ;  the  shipments  in  1876  were  5,887,979  pounds; 
in  1875,  3,756,518. 

The  range  of  prices  per  pound  of  wool  of  all  grades  at  the  beginning 
of  each  month  of  the  last  six  years  was  as  follows  : 


Months. 


1872. 


1873. 


1874. 


1875. 


1876. 


January . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

Jane 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October... 
November 
December . 


Cents. 
30  to  48 
30  to  48 

32  to  .51 

33  to  ivl 
33  to  53 
27  to  58 

41  to  64 

42  to  60 

42  to  68J 

43  to  69 
42  to  70 
42  to  68 


Cents. 
42  to  70 
42  to  Ip 
42  to  78 
45  to  78 
45  to  70 
40  to  70 
40  to  70 
40  to  65 
36  to  62 
30  to  .95 
30  to  55 
36  to  62 


Cents. 
39  to  60 

33  to  eo 

28  to  60 
18  to  54 

lejto  50 

18  to  52 
ISito  47 
18^to  48 
18  to  51 
17ito  47 
13Jto  47 
15  to  46 


Cents. 

29  to  52 

30  to  51 

32  to  52 

33  to  53 
28  to  50 
28  to  50 
27  to  51 
27  to  51 
27  to  52 
27  to  53 

27  to  53 

28  to  54 


Cents. 
28  to  54 
28  to  54 
28  to  54 
28  to  55 
28  to  55 
28  to  55 
28  to  55 
30  to  53 
30  to  51 
27  to  50 
25  to  50 
30  to  50 


Cents. 
20  to  52 
20  to  46 
20  to  46 
20  to  48i 
26  to  45 

26  to  37 

27  to  37 J 
20  to  36 
20  to  36 
24  to  40 
24  to  40 
24  to  40 


The  stock  of  wool  left  over  at  the  close  of  1876  was  460,000  pounds, 
of  which  275,000  pounds  were  from  Colorado  and  New  Mexico,  25,000 
pounds  unwashed  Texas,  90,000  pounds  of  other  unwashed,  tub-washed 
45,000  pounds,  pulled  25,000  pounds. 

The  wool  business  of  Saint  Louis  is  mostly  on  a  cash  basis.  Eegular 
connections  with  mills  in  the  East  have  been  established,  and  arrange- 
ments have  been  made  for  keeping  stocks  for  the  constant  supply  of 
western  mills,  which  are  annually  depending  more  and  more  upon  the 
Saint  Louis  market  for  supplies.  Dealers  encourage  the  marketing  of 
unwashed  wool. 

Stcine. — The  receipts  of  1876  were  877,160  head,  an  increase  of  nearly 
40  per  cent,  over  1875,  but  still  below  the  maximum  receipts  of  1874. 
The  shipments  were  232,876  head,  an  increase  of  over  80  per  cent,  com- 
pared with  1875,  though  but  little  over  half  of  the  aggregate  of  1874. 
The  receipts  of  the  last  twelve  years  were  as  follows :  1865,  99,663 ;  1866, 
217,622;  1867,  298,241;  1868,  301,560;  1869,  344.848;  1870,  310,850; 
1871, 633,370;  1872, 759,076;  1873, 973,512;  1874, 1,126,586;  1875,  628,569; 
1876, 877,160.  Shipments  for  the  same  twelve  years :  1865, 17,869 ;  1866, 
13,365;  1867,  28,627;  1868,  16,277;  1869,  39,076;  1870,  17,156;  1871, 
113,913 ;  1872,  188,700  ;  1873,  224,873 ;  1874,  453,710  ;  1875,  126,729 ; 
1876,232,876.'  Over  two-thirds  of  the  supply  of  1876  was  from  Mis- 
souri and  the  regions  west  and  south.  A  large  adjacent  section  of 
Illinois  on  the  east  contributed  considerable  numbers,  with  a  few  from  the 
north.  Of  the  shipments,  all  were  sent  eastward  by  rail  except  about  2 
per  cent.,  which  were  taken  mostly  to  local  points  near  Saint  Louis.  A 
few  were  shipped  southward. 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


229 


The  following  table  shows  the  monthly  movement  of  hogs,  as  pur- 
chased by  packers,  butchers,  and  shippers,  during  187G,  together  with 
their  average  weight  per  head  and  value  per  cental : 


Montha. 


Taken  by  packers. 


Number. 


Average 

weight 

per  Lead. 


Taken  by  butchers. 


Nnmber. 


Average 
■weight 
per  head. 


Taken  by  shippers. 


Number. 


Average 
weight 
per  head. 


ToUl. 


Number. 


Average 
weight 
per  head. 


;^  !-<  e 

o  <u  S 


January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

Jnly 

August 

September*. . 

October 

November... 
December . . . 


95,  365 

39, 533 

19,  783 

11,451 

18,  940 

16,  565 

14,  372 

9,240 

14,  111 

26,  696 

113,  414 

177,  281 


Pounds:^ 
276.  64 
278.4 
229.  6 
230. 1 
228. 35 
221.  35 
218.  55 
226.  7 
237.2 
235.6 
269.6 
268. 45 


13,  900 
7,  692 
5,276 
3,561 
7,035 
5,  875 
5,081 
4,619 
7,893 
11,674 
1-2,  540 
14, 324 


Pounds. 
274.  9 
275.6 
245.  C 

240. 2 

251. 3 
233.4 
241.  65 
237.4 
242. 1 
255.  62 
280.4 
277. 75 


24,  870 
16,  760 

15,  033 
24,  421 
24,  980 
28,  061 
22,  236 
22,  564 
22,  043 

16,  889 
6,  625 

11,610 


Pounds. 
229.4 
228.  7 
210.4 
203.7 
196.2 
198.5 
179.3 
187.8 
183. 10 
191.25 
188. 20 
199. 10 


134, 
63, 
40, 
39, 
50, 
50, 
•11, 
36, 
44, 
55, 
132, 
203, 


Pounds. 
270.4 
271.7 
236.8 
227.  9 
239.6 
22a  7 
226.  35 
229. 15 
226. 45 
231.  4 
272. 35 
270.  85 


$7  14 
7  54 
7  89 
7  31 
6  38 
5  40 

5  70 

6  08 
5  88 
5  61 
5  72 
5  96 


The  grand  total  of  the  above  figures  shows  892,213  hogs,  weighing, 
as  a  whole,  228,585,380.25  pounds,  or  114,293  tons,  with  an  aggregate 
value  of  $14,566,729.21.  The  averageweightper  head  was  250.28  pounds, 
and  the  average  price  per  cental  $0.38. 

The  range  of  prices  per  cental  for  hogs  at  the  beginning  of  each  month 
of  the  last  four  years  was  as  follows  : 


Months. 


January . . 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October . . . 
November 
December 


1873. 


$3  30 

3  85 

4  25 


to  $3  70 
to  4  25 
5  00 
5  50 
5  35 
4  60 


3  70 

4  00 


4  25 
4  40 
4  50 
4  00 
4  25 
4  25 


1874. 


$2  81 
4  90 
4  90 

,5  00 
4  50 

4  80 

5  00 
5  50 
4  00 

4  50 
3  25 

5  50 


to  $5  37J 
to  5  65 
5  30 
5  25 
5  45 

5  60 

6  00 

7  25 
7  50 
7  25 

6  25 

7  50 


$4  00  to 

4  50  to 

5  00  to 

5  00  to 
....  to 

6  60  to 
6  00  to 
6  00  to 
6  00  to 
6  00  to 

5  25  to 

6  90  to 


$6  00 
7  00 
7  25 

7  25 

8  00 
8  00 
8  00 
8  00 
8  00 
8  00 
7  25 
7  00 


1876. 


$6  00  to 
5  75  to 
7  40  to 
7  50  to 
7  20  to 
5  40  to 

5  50  to 

6  10  to 
6  10  to 
5  50  to 
5  50  to 
5  50  to 


$7  50 

7  25 

8  10 
8  50 
7  55 
5  90 

5  75 

6  50 
6  35 
6  25 
6  25 
6  25 


Siciiie  products. — The  receipts  for  sixreen  years  and  the  shipments  for 
twelve  years  of  leading  preparations  of  swine  flesh  were  as  follows : 


Teara. 

rOEK. 

BACON  AND 

CUT  MEATS. 

LARD. 

Eeceipts. 

Shipments. 

Eeceipts. 

Shipments. 

Eeceipta. 

Shipments. 

1861            

Parrels. 
116,  445 
51, 187 
34, 256 
71,550 
66,  822 
56, 740 
92,071 
85, 127 
78, 236 
77,  398 
88,  442 
60,  207 
57,  476 
55,  453 
46,  547 
45,  632 

Barrels. 

Pounds. 
54,  277,  390 
40,  340,  850 
49, 387,  870 
45, 291,  770 
34,  781,  570 
31, 278, 150 
47,  623,  450 
46,  753, 380 
47, 225, 140 
44,  494,  770 
57,  804,  350 
63,  434,  860 

50,  071,  760 
52, 104,  380 

51,  556, 146 
50, 290,  716 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 
12,  252,  734 
11,592,940 
9,  501,  930 
9, 057,  2'jO 

6,  391,  030 
5,  004,  870 

7,  229,  670 

5,  941,  650 

7,  778,  410 

6,  215,  150 

10,  093,  460 

11,  288,  890 

8,  981,  820 
6,  877,  560 
6,  732, 320 
6, 067,  325 

Pounds. 

1602            .             

1863                         

1864            

1865 

109,  702 

92,  595 

138, 226 

130, 268 

120,  002 

115,  236 

131,732 

114,329 

105,  876 

90,  343 

95,  503 

86, 141 

64,  910, 870 
49, 897, 050 
70,  095, 130 
58, 229, 270 
75,  755,  450 
77,  501, 130 
123,  665,  060 
147,141,960 
184,  392,  770 
133,  486,  380 

105,  809,  598 

106,  803,  076 

9,  569,  830 

1866  

7,  462,  230 

1867  

14,  318, 210 

1868 

12,  945,  490 

1869 

n,  322,  900 

1870 

15,  507,  840 

1871 

30,750,470 

1872 

33,  943,  860 

1873  

37, 156,  810 

1874 

27, 112, 270 

1875 

24, 145, 176 

1876 

29,  292,  879 

230 


EEPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Of  the  above  receipts,  the  majority  were  from  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  except  lard,  the  greater  portion  of  which  was  from  the  west.  Of 
the  shipments,  nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  pork,  bacon,  and  cut  meats  went 
south.  A  little  over  half  the  lard  went  eastward  ;  the  larger  portion  of 
the  latter  was  ship})ed  to  eastern  markets  for  export  to  foreign  countries. 

Wintei'  porlc-pacMng. — The  number  of  hogs  winter-packed  at  Saiut 
Louis  during  the  last  sixteen  seasons,  together  with  their  average  net 
weight  per  head,  and  the  average  net  yield  of  lard  per  head,  for  six 
years,  were  as  follows  : 


Seasons. 

CI 

5 
"A 

o  S 

c  £  o 
< 

Seasons. 

s 
1^ 

ill 

Pi 

1861-62 .           

89,  093 
178,  750 
244,  600 
191,  890 
123,  335 
183,543 
237, 160 
231,  937 

Founds. 
224. 5    ; 
207 

179       : 
178.5 
208.91 
222.34 
193.91  ; 

'189. 27 

1869-'70 

241,  316 
305,  600 
419,032 
538,  000 
463,  793 
462,  246 
329,  R95 
414,  747 

Pminds. 
190.5 
216 
263. 15 
200 
261.  53 
240 

26t*.  47 
206.  42 

Pounds. 

1862-'63 

1870-'71 

1863-'64 

1671-'72 

35.17 

1864-'65 

1872-'73  

34.  50 

1865-'66 

lg73-'74 

34.  Id 

1866-'67 

1874-"75 

30 

1867-'68 

1875-'76 

1876-'77 

36.56 

1868-'69 

32.55 

During  the  summer  packing  season,  from  March  1  to  November  1, 1876, 
there  were  packed  at  this  point  90,351  hogs,  averaging  226.43  pounds 
per  head;  in  1875.,  102,424  hogs,  averaging 220  pounds;  in  1874,  150,962 
hogs,  averaging  209  pounds ;  in  1873,  132,155  hogs,  averaging  244.26 
pounds ;  in  1872,  98,720  hogs,  averaging  233.03  pounds. 

The  total  number  of  hogs  cut  by  Saint  Louis  packers  is  estimated  at 
over  a  million.  Over  half  of  this  outside  product  is  shipped  direct  to 
eastern  markets,  the  remainder  being  brought  to  the  city.  The  capital 
invested  in  pork-packing  in  Saint  Louis  is  over  $7,000,000.  The  city 
packers  also  control  a  large  number  of  establishments  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts, in  which  are  packed  more  than  doable  the  amount  packed  in  their 
city  houses. 

POEK  PACKING 

IN  THE  WEST. 

Winter  packing. — The  Cincinnati  Price-Current  has  kept  a  record  of 
pork-packing  in  the  West  for  twenty-seven  seasons,  showing  the  num- 
ber of  hogs  packed  in  each  season,  as  follows  :  1849-'50,  1,652,220  head; 
1850-'5],  1,332,867;  1851-'52,  1,182,846;  1852-'53,  2,201,110;  1853-'54, 
2,534,770;  1854-'55,  2,124,404 ;  1855-'56,  2,489,502  ;  1856-'57,  1,818,486; 
1857-'58,  2,210,778 ;  1858-'59,  2,465,552 ;  lS59-'60,  2,350,822 ;  1860-'61, 
2,155,702;  iS01-'62,  2,893,666 ;  1862-'63,  4,069,520;  1863-'64,  3,261,105  ; 
1864-'65,  2,422,770  ;  1865-'66,  1,785,955 ;  1866-'67,  2,490,791 ;  1867-'68, 
2,781,084;  1868-'69,  2,499,873 ;  1869-'70,  2,635,312  ;  1870-'71,  3,695.251; 
187 W72,  4,831,558;  1872-'73,  5,400,394;  lS73-'74,  5,466,380;  1874-'75, 
5,566,226  ;  18'.5-'76,  4,880,185  ;  1876-'77,  5,072,330. 

'j?he  operations  of  the  last  winter  season  show  a  gratifying  advance 
upon  its  predecessor,  though  the  aggregates  are  not  up  to  the  maximum 
of  1874-'75.  The  enlarged  figures  of  later  years  are  in  part  attributa- 
ble to  a  more  perfect  system  of  statistics,  embracing  each  year  a  larger 
number  of  packing  points,  but  allowing  a  sufficient  margin  of  increase 
to  this  source, a  great  annual  development  of  the  pork-packing  business 


REPORT  OF  THE    STATISTICIAN.  231 

is  one  of  the  prominent  facts  of  the  times.  The  business  is  enlarging 
in  the  South,  a  section  hitherto  mainly  dependent  upon  the  West  for  its 
meat  supplies.  To  a  large  extent  the  demands  of  home  consumption  there 
are  now  supplied  by  home  production.  This  southern  packing  has 
not  yet  assumed  any  very  imposing  visible  proportions,  but  the  habit  of 
putting  up  pork  on  the  farm  is  growing  in  that  quarter,  creating  an  invis- 
ible supply,  which  is  felt  in  lessening  the  market  demand,  if  it  does  not 
add  sensibly  to  the  published  figures  of  production.  Canada  has  also 
enlarged  her  pork-packing  operations  to  an  extent  which  indicates  a  hope 
of  supplying  her  own  home  demand.  The  movement  for  the  export  of 
fresh  meat  to  Europe  has  also  assumed  great  importance,  and  may  result 
in  the  preoccupation  of  the  foreign  market  at  least  for  a  portion  of  the 
demand  hitherto  manifested  for  winter-packed  pork.  Our  summer- 
packed  pork  has  found  increasing  favor  in  the  South,  in  Canada,  and  in 
Europe.  All  these  circumstances  indicate  a  change  in  the  arrangements 
of  production  and  marketing  of  preserved  pork.  The  present  aggre- 
gates cannot  be  maintained  unless  an  increased  consumption  can  be 
secured  either  in  markets  in  which  it  is  now  disposed  of  or  new  markets 
be  opened.  Questions  of  this  character  are  exercising  the  minds  of 
intelligent  operators,  but  none  seem  to  apprehend  any  sudden  or  abrupt 
change  disturbing  the  business  as  it  now  subsists. 

During  the  past  two  seasons  a  new  feature  of  the  business  has  been 
remarked  in  the  receipt  of  a  considerable  number  of  hogs  from  Texas. 
These  receipts  were  mostly  at  Saint  Louis,  of  which  many  were  stock- 
hogs.  The  latter  were  shipped  largely  to  Iowa,  where  they  are  reported 
to  have  developed  into  excellent  market  animals,  being  unusually  free 
from  diseases  and  distempers  common  to  hogs  raised  in  many  other  sec- 
tions. This  Department  estimated  the  number  of  hogs  in  Texas  at  the 
close  of  1876  at  1,144,500  head.  The  production  of  swine  in  that  State 
has  greatiy  increased  in  numbers  and  improved  in  quality.  The  old 
"  razor-backs  "  of  the  generation  passing  away  are  giving  place  to  mod- 
ern improved  breeds,  especially  in  Northern  Texas,  where  hogs  may  be 
found  equal  in  value  to  any  now  raised  in  the  IsTorthern  States.  There 
are  no  regular  packing  establishments  of  any  magnitude  in  that  State, 
but  farmers  generally  pack  enough  to  supply  their  own  wants  and  those 
of  the  local  markets,  and  send  their  surplus  to  the  North  and  East.  If 
there  should  arise  in  the  Southwest  a  shipment  of  hogs  to  the  general 
markets  of  the  country  analogous  to  the  famous  eruption  of  Texas  cat- 
tle, it  would  only  realize  the  sanguine  expectation  of  many  leading  swine- 
raisers  in  Northern  Texas.  Quite  a  number  of  these  are  propagating  on 
a  large  scale  the  best  strains  of  Poland  China,  Chester  white,  Berk- 
shire, &c. 

Packers  entered  upon  their  operations  tor  the  last  season  with  the 
idea  that  prices  must  rule  lower,  and  many  dealers  undertook  to  make 
contracts  for  supplying  hogs  at  prices  based  upon  an  original  cost  of 
$4.50  to  $5  per  cental  for  hogs,  but  tT-ey  were  unable  to  buy  at  any  such 
prices  after  the  winter  season  fully  set  in ;  hence  many  of  them  met 
with  serious  losses.  As  the  domestic  consumptive  demand  in  the  hog- 
raising  States  was  unusually  languid  in  November  and  December,  1876, 
and  the  weather  unusually  favorable  for  packing,  the  high  prices  offered 
by  packers  attracted  a  large  nusnber  of  hogs,  causing  the  larger  part  of 
the  business  at  the  interior  points  to  be  completed  during  the  first  half 
of  the  season ;  but  the  larger  cities,  excepting  Louisville,  Ky.,  continued 
operations  to  the  close  as  actively  as  the  decreasing  supply  of  hogs  ad- 
mitted. This  continued  activity  was  based  largely  upon  the  liberal 
foreign  export,  which  netted  a  loss  to  the  trade,  as  they  went  out  of  the 


232  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 

country  at  prices,  on  the  whole,  rather  lower  than  the  cost  of  production. 
This  export  was  checked  by  an  unfortunate  speculative  excitement, 
arising  about  the  middle  of  January.  The  center  of  this  speculative 
movement  was  Chicago,  where  it  lasted  about  three  weeks.  It  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  steady  decline  from  the  exaggerated  figures  reached,  and  the 
reaction  carried  prices  at  the  close  of  the  season  below  the  average 
cost  of  the  season. 

Numbers  paclced. — The  following  table  showsthe  number  of  hogs  packed 
during  each  of  the  last  five  winter  packing  seasons  in  the  States  of  the 
West  and  Northwest : 


States. 

1872-'73. 

1873-'74. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

187C-'77. 

Ohio                 

885,  827 
610,  900 
1,  834,  611 
325,  417 
894, 334 

40,  885 
324,  072 

24,  550 

20,  220 
3Se,456 

39,  300 
-  49,  306 

28, 450 

906,  804 

715,  703 

1,  887, 328 

369,  278 

740,  360 

64,  037 

333,  514 

32,  700 

29.  085 

257, 259 

26,  577 

71,  549 

26,  000 

870, 971 

666,  575 

2,113,845 

426, 258 

707,  310 

49,  5m 

269,  408 

20,  950 

26,  950 

308,  063 

22,  639 

02,  836 

20,  820 

819, 602 

575,  433 

1,  915,  830 

361,  746 

556, 143 

30,  725 

217,  426 

18,  750 

26, 190 

263,  748 

22.  818 

53,  837 

17,  887 

791, 185 

529,641 

1,  905, 219 

419,  442 

644,  699 

31,  775 

JiOe,  861 

23, 235 

40, 190 

254,  986 

50,  770 

86, 899 

21,  447 

Total 

5,  400, 394 

5,  466,  200 

5,  566, 226 

4,  880, 135 

5,  072,  349 

65, 806 

100,  026 

192,  204 

686, 091 

*  Incudiug  Pittsburgh,  and  a  few  points  in  the  S  outhern  States. 

The  States  bordering  on  the  Ohio  Eiver  show  a  decline  from  the  pro- 
duction of  the  previous  season,  but  all  the  others  have  increased  their 
aggregates.  The  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver  and  Tennessee 
show  a  marked  increase,  a  fact  which  indicates  the  future  diffusion  of 
the  hog-raising  business  and  an  increasing  percentage  of  the  annual  pro- 
duction in  the  far  West  and  the  South.  This  branch  of  farm  produc- 
tion will  in  such  case  only  show  the  same  tendencies  as  the  wheat  crop, 
which  is  annually  shifting  its  center  westward  while  extending  itself  in 
the  South. 

Average  net  weight — The  average  weights  per  head  of  the  hogs  packed 
during  the  last  five  seasons  were  as  follows : 


states. 

1872-'73. 

1873-'74. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

1876-'77. 

Ohio 

Pounds. 
242.  51 
230.  25 
239.21 
229.  55 
214. 12 
244. 18 
230. 45 
227.27 
240. 71 
225.84 
207. 11 
237.94 
237.  94 

Pounds. 

233.  49 
207.22 
219. 02 
204.  67 
207.  01 
220.64 
210,  89 
229.36 
214. 65 
213.  87 
200.  42 

234.  02 
207.  94 

Pounds. 
222. 73 
208.8 
213.  76 
198. 07 
189.  74 
171.  63 
212. 48 
237.  40 
193.  30 
209.  00 
192.  39 
234. 27 
197.  08 

Pounds. 
215. 14 
210.41 
231. 46 
215. 81 
215.  85 
232.03 
215.8 
248.63 
218.57 
215. 92 
214.  81 
229.7 
220. 92 

Pounds. 
218.81 

Indiana 

199. 41 

Illinois . 

218  C9 

Iowa 

207  75 

Missouri 

213.  33 

Kansas 

240.4 

Wisconsin 

226.  67 

Minnesota..... .. 

249  94 

Nebraska 

220. 39 

Kentucky  

Tennessee 

222.  52 
208. 04 

Michiffan 

232  35 

MiBcellaneous 

211.  70 

2(32.43 

214. 97 

209.  77 

217.  71 

215.  98 

The  average  weight  of  1876-'77  was  215.98  pounds,  or  1.73  pounds  less 
than  in  the  previous  season.    The  general  average  of  the  last  twelve 


EEPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


233 


season.s  is  218.79  pounds,  leaving  the  average  of  the  last  winter  season 
2.81  pounds  short.  A  marked  increase  in  weight  is  shown  in  Kansas, 
Wisconsin,  and  Kentucky,  and  a  smaller  increase  in  Ohio,  Minnesota, 
Nebraska,  and  Michigan ;  the  other  States  show  a  decrease,  especially 
Indiana,  Illinois, .  Iowa,  and  Tennessee.  The  average  weight  of  Ohio 
was  reduced  by  the  poliey  of  the  Cleveland  packers  choosing  only  light 
hogs,  and  attracting  them  by  special  inducements  from  Chicago  and 
Michigan ;  the  same  policy  at  Indianapolis  enhanced  the  shortage  of  In- 
diana. 

Average  yield  of  lard. — The  average  yield  of  lard  per  head  for  the  last 
five  winter  packing  seasons  were  as  tbllows : 


states. 

1872-'73. 

1873-'74. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

1876-'77. 

Ohio 

Pounds. 
43.  85 
33.  89 
43.21 
37.44 
375.03 
37.50 
39?55 
39.  36 
39.70 
39.78 
31.21 
38.95 
38.95 

Pounds. 
39.04 
29.66 
37.23 
33.88 
33.  86 
35.  83 
30.  SO 
36,41 
34.59 
29.66 
34.16 
38.26 
31.03 

Pounds. 
39.66 
29.83 
36.66 
33.52 
29.19 
25.43 
31.63 
29.83 
26.88 
29.  79 
29.2 
35. 15 
28.27 

Pounds. 
36.07 
32.06 
36.85 
34.10 
30.  82 
37.7 
31 

30.6 
39.  01 
32.  67 
31.87 
33.66 
33. 12 

Pounds. 
30.22 

29.09 

Illinois 

35. 19 

Iowa 

33.26 

Missouri 

Kansas    

33.88 
.37. 16 

Wisconsin 

30.73 

Minnesota 

29.3 

Nobrasbft 

38.1 

Kentucky 

33.1 

Tennessee ..   .   .. 

31.48 

Michigan 

r,%  9 

Miscellaneous ....  • 

32.05 

40.08 

35.02 

34.20 

35.45 

34.03 

The  smaller  averages  of  the  last  few  years  are  due  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  the  hogs  packed  are  smaller  than  formerly.  At  many  points  only 
lighter  animals  are  in  request.  The  only  States,  that  increased  their 
average  yields  during  the  last  season  were  Ohio  and  Kentucky ;  of  the 
other  States,  the  most  marked  reduction  is  in  Indiana  and  Missouri, 
where  the  average  has  fallen  off  nearly  3  pounds  per  head. 

Average  coat. — The  average  cost  per  cental  of  hogs  packed  in  the  dif- 
ferent States  was  as  follows : 


states. 

1872-'73. 

1873-'74. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

1876-'77. 

Oliio 

|4  82.  59 
4  43.  96 
4  67.1 
4  31.29 
4  63.  3 
4  01.1 
4  T2.  48 
4  81 

3  70 

4  88 

5  13.5 
4  94. 2 
4  94.2 

$5  57. 24 
5  29. 63 
5  43.25 
5  19.  03 
5  36.  63 

4  77.  58 

5  72. 16 
5  68.  52 

4  64. 17 

5  44.45 
5  72.  23 
5  51.  3 
3  58.1 

18  64.  3 
8  14.  96 
8  35.6 

7  87.  58 

8  19.1 

7  59 

8  56.  04 
7  28. 90 

7  22 

8  67.  51 
8  81 

8  15.88 
8  64 

8.96 

8.81 
8.93 
8.24 
8.70 
7.66 
8.76 
7.72 
7.79 
9.05 
8.29 
8.  CO 
8.92 

7.20 

7.02 

niinois 

7.42 

Iowa 

e.82 

Missouri 

7.05 

Kansas 

e.61 

C.73 

Minnesota 

C.49 

7.11 

G.92 

6.99 

6.74 

Miscellaneous 

7.16 

4  65.8 

5  43. 15 

8  33.  03 

8.82 

7.18 

average  prices  paid  by  packers  were  lower  in  1876-'77  than  in  the 
iasons  immediately  previous,  but  are  still  greatly  in  advance  of  the 


The 

two  seasons ..  x 

seasons  of  1872-'74.  There  is  a  falling  off  in  price  in  all  the  States 
but  not  greater  than  is  observable  in  all  other  branches  of  production, 
agricultural  or  manufacturing,  the  reduction  being  only  5  per  cent,  on 
the  whole.  Considering  the  general  reduction  of  prices,  it  appears  that 
the  price  of  hogs  holds  its  own  in  relation  to  other  kinds  of  merchandise, 


234         REPORT   OF    THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Bhowing  that  this  branch  of  produotion  and  trade  has  not  been  over- 
done, nor  has  the  supply  outstripped  a  permanent  and  healthy  demand. 
Recapitulation. — The  following  table  showsthenumber  of  hogs  packed, 
their  aggregate  net  weight,  yield  of  lard,  and  cost,  during  the  last  twelve 
winter  packing  seasons : 


Seasons. 


18C5-'66 
1866-'67 
1867-'63 
1868-'69 
1869-'7l) 
1870-'71 
1871-'72 
1872-'73 
1873-'74 
1874-'75 
1875-'76 
lS76-'77 


Number 
packed. 


Pounds. 
231.3 
232. 14 
201 

206.  75 
20.5.  75 
2;30. 14 
227.  62 
232.  43 
214.97 
209.  77 
217.  71 
215.  98 


Aggregate 
weight. 


Potinds. 

413,001,391 

588, 212, 222 

558,  997,  tH4 

516,848,742 

512,215,444 

850, 425,  065 

1,  099,  783, 385 

1,257.519,283 

1, 175,  126,  971 

1, 167,  639,  457 

1,  062,  456,  021 

1,  095,  547,  777 


Aggiogate 
yield  of 
lard. 


Pounds. 
41.  52 
39.66 
29 

32.  33 
31.84 
40.19 
38.54 
40.08 
35.  02 
34.2 
35.  45 
34.03 


Pou7ids. 

74, 152,  851 

98,801,376 

80,  651,  436 

80,  829,  227 

83,  908,  334 

148,  512, 137 

168,603,317 

216,84.5,385 

191,444,035 

190,  380,  607 

173,  C16.  560 

172,  623,  696 


H  Co.  8 
5  43. 15 
8  33.  63 
S  82 
7  18 


Aggregate 
cost  of 
hogs. 


58, 575, 148 
63,  827,  021 
97, 337,  928 
93,  709, 621 
7»,  658,  607 


T)ie  operations  of  the  last  year,  compared  with  its  predecessor,  show 
an  increase  in  the  number  of  hogs  packed  of  192,204  head,  or  4  per  cent. 
The  reduction  in  the  weight  per  head  of  hog.s  packed  has  partly  neutral- 
ized the  increased  number,  the  aggregate  weight  being  only  33,067,756 
pounds,  or  a  little  over  3  i)er  cent,  greater  than  last  year.  The  hogs 
packed  in  1876-'77  were  equivalent  to  only  5,031,890  hogs  of  the  weight 
of  the  previous  year.  The  aggregate  yield  of  lard  is  reduced  403,884 
pounds,  the  average  yield  per  head  having  fallen  from  35.45  pounds  to 
34.03,  a  decline  of  4  per  cent,  in  one  year.  The  average  cost  of  hogs  to  the 
packer  fell  from  $8.82  to  $7.18  per  cental,  a  reduction  of  18.6  per  cent., 
involving  a  reduction  in  the  aggregate  amount  paid  for  hogs  of 
$15,050,014,  or  10  per  cent.,  notwithstanding  the  increase  of  the  num- 
ber. 

FaoJcing  in  the  principal  cities. — Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  hogs  are 
packed  at  six  leading  cities,  viz  :  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Saint  Louis,  In- 
dianapolis, Milwaukee,  and  Louisville,  The  numbers  packed  at  these 
points  during  the  last  five  winter  seasons  were  as  follows  : 


Packing  points. 

1872-'73. 

1873-'74. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

1870-'77. 

Chicago 

1,  425,  079 
626, :  .05 
533,  000 
196,  317 
303,  500 
302,  246 

1,  520, 204 
581, 253 
463,  793 

295,  766 
294,  054 
226,  947 

1,  090,  348 
560, 104 
462, 246 
278, 339 
236,  596 
273, 118 

1,  592,  065 
563,  350 
329,  895 
333, 184 
223, 147 
181,  972 

1  618  0*4 

Cincinnati 

5C5, 576 
414  747 

Saint  Louis 

Indianapolis 

294,198 
225,59s 
214,868 

Milwaukee 

lioaisviUe 

Total  for  the  six  cities 

3,  391,  447 
2, 008,  947 

3,38i  017 
2,  084, 183 

3,  500,  811 
2, 065,  415 

3,  213,  G'^.2 
1,  606,  513 

3, 2t»l,  065 
1  791  274 

Other  points 

Grand  total 

5,  410,  394 

.5,  466,  200 

5  566, 226 

4,  880, 135 

5,  072,  339 

Per  cent,  of  the  cities 

62.68 

61.87 

62.  89 

65.81 

64  88 

The  per  cent,  of  the  packing  at  these  points  declined  somewhat  during 
the  last  season,  their  number  having  increased  but  77,443  head,  or  2 
per  cent.,  while  the  number  packed  at  other  points  increased  114,761 
head,  or  about  7  per  cent.  This  relative  increase  of  the  other  points  is 
in  part  attributable  to  the  increased  number  of  those  points  from  which 
statistics  are  gathered. 


REPOET    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


235 


The  average  net  weigiit  and  yield  of  lard  per  head,  per  cental  at 
those  cities  during  the  last  three  seasons  were  as  follows : 


Packing  points. 

Average  weight  per  head. 

Average  yield  of  lard  per  head. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

18T6-'77. 

1874-'75. 

1875-'76. 

187&-'77. 

Chicago 

Pounds. 
212. 42 
220.6 
192 
196 

209.  27 
203.56 

Pounds. 
217.  32 
218. 95 
214.73 
201 

215. 15 
209.  83 

Pounds. 
215.  97 
219.  77 
206. 42 
182.5 
221. 73 
221. 12 

Pounds. 
37.3 
41.77 
30 

29.5 
29.  87 
31.15 

Pounds. 
36.32 
37.8 
36.56 
31 

32.4 
30.  63 

Pounds. 
35  10 

Cincinnati 

38  2 

S.iint  Louis 

32  55 

Indianapolis 

20  5 

Milwankeo 

30.25 

Louisville 

32.  02 

General  average  of  the  cities 

General  average  of  other  points  . . 

209.  47 

210.  27 

215. 13 
2i2.  69 

213. 11 
221.  38 

35.43 
32. 21 

35.47 
35.41 

34.41 
33.33 

General  average  of  the  whole 

209.  77 

217.  71 

215. 98 

34.20 

3,").  45 

34.03 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  hogs  packed  iit  Cincinnati  during  these  three 
seasons  show,  respectively,  the  greatest  average  both  of  weight  per 
head  and  of  lard  per  head.  The  hogs  packed  at  these  sis  cities,  although 
averaging  in  weight  considerably  below  those  packed  at  other  points, 
show  a  larger  yield  of  lard. 

PorJc  product. — The  amount  of  barreled  pork  produced  in  the  six  cities, 
in  the  interior  and  in  the  whole  of  this  pork-packing  region,  was  as  fol- 
lows: 


Six  cities. 

Interior. 

Total. 

Six  cities. 

Interior. 

T»taJ. 

MesBpork 

Barrels. 

349,  987 

35,  942 

37,  701 

2, 2-26 

4,593 

Barrels. 

138,  782 

21,  829 

10,  480 

9,084 

7,087 

Barrels. 

488,  769 
57,  771 
48,  241 
11,310 
11, 685 

Barrels. 
11,  696 

Barrels. 
7,795 

Barrels. 
19, 491 

Totall876-'77.... 
Tntall875-'76.... 
Total  1874-'75.... 

Extra  prime 

442, 210 
363,  555 
411,  747 

195,  J57 
146,  055 
157,  721 

637  267 

509, 610 
569,  468 

Of  the  barreled  pork,  69.4  per  cent,  was  made  at  the  six  cities  in 
1876-'77,  against  71.3  percent,  in  1875-'76,  and  72.3  per  cent,  in  1874-75. 
This  fact  indicates  that  the  interior  points  are  gaining  in  tiieir  propor- 
tion of  the  more  elaborate  preparations  of  pork.  Of  the  442,210  barrels 
of  all  kinds  made  by  the  six  cities  in  1876-'77,  Chicago  claims  290,493 
barrels,  or  65  per  cent.;  of  the  363,555  barrels  made  in  1875-'76,  Chicago 
made  263,430,  or  72  per  cent.;  Cincinnati  turned  out  46,944  barrels  in 
1876-'77,  against  43,729  in  1875-'76 ;  Saint  Louis,  47,826,  against  32,799 ; 
Indianapolis,  1,350,  against  1,480 ;  Milwaukee,  44,250,  against  33,172 ; 
Louisville,  11,297,  against  15,945.  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Saint  Louis,  and 
Milwaukee  greatly  increased  their  product,  but  Indianapolis  and  Louis- 
ville declined. 

Summer  pacliing. — The  number  of  hogs  packed  during  the  summer 
season,  or  tiom  March  1  to  November  1,  of  the  last  three  calendar  years 
was  as  follows : 


Packing  points. 


Chicago 

Cincinnati 

Saint  liOuis 

Indianapolis 

Milwaukee 

Total  for  five 

cities  

Cleveland,  Ohio 


1874. 


446, 368 
136, 153 
150, 962 
204,  426 
12,  600 


950,509 
117, 136 


187*. 


728, 781 

118,783 

102,  424 

89, 162 

2,632 


1, 041, 782 
106, 304 


1876. 


1, 315,  402 
121, 173 
131,158 
283,  621 
60,  627 


1,  912, 181 
187, 392 


Packing  points. 


Cantoii,  ni 

Charleston,  Ul 

Kansas  City,  Mo. . . 

Detroit,  Mich 

Des  Moines,  Iowa.. 
Cedar  Kapids,  Iowa, 
other  points 


Gij,nd  total... 


1874. 


17, 000 
10,  000 
10,  000 


73,  839 
12, 900 


1, 200,  404 


3,720 
7,000 


9,000 


72, 133 
16,  404 


1, 262, 343 


1876. 


6,837 


16, 754 
24,000 
28,CC9 
105,  580 
10, 263 


2, 291,  616 


236  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRKKJLTURE. 


During  the  last  summer  season  the  number  of  hogs  packed  was  nearly 
double  that  of  the  previous  season.  Summer-cured  pork  is  received  with 
increasing  favor  in  both  domestic  and  foreign  markets.  The  summer  of 
1876  was  one  of  general  depression  to  holders  of  winter-cured  pork,  as 
the  large  supply  of  hogs,  induced  by  the  abundant  supply  of  corn, 
stimulated  summer  curing,  the  product  of  which  suffered  little  or  no 
loss  from  shrinkage ;  hence  it  could  be  sold  at  prices  entailing  a  loss  on 
winter-cured  pork.  These  facts  rendered  the  increased  aggregates  of 
the  winter  season  of  1876-'77  still  more  remarkable,  and  showed  the 
existence  of  an  increased  demand  for  the  winter  product  of  the  West. 
The  prospects  for  the  summer  season  of  1877  are  very  fair,  the  supply  of 
hogs,  from  all  indications,  being  about  equal  to  what  it  was  last  summer. 
Operators  at  various  points  since  the  close  of  the  winter  season  of 
1876-'77  find  the  supplies  somewhat  in  excess  of  last  year. 

The  average  net  weight  of  the  hogs  packed  in  the  West  during  the 
summer  of  1876  was  184.03  pounds  per  head,  against  177.33  pounds  in 
1875,  and  164  pounds  in  1874.  Aggregate  net  weight,  421,738,051  pounds 
in  1876,  223,845,720  pounds  in  1875,  and  196,872,810  pounds  in  1874. 
Average  yield  of  lard,  30.36  pounds  per  head  in  1876  and  29.25  pounds 
in  1875;  Aggregate  yield  of  lard,  69,528,486  pounds  in  1876  and 
36,923,533  pounds  in  1875. 

Summer  and  icinter  pacMng. — The  results  of  the  summer  and  winter 
packing  of  the  five  years  ending  March  1, 1877,  may  be  summarized  as 
follows : 


Seasons. 


1872-'73 
1873-'74 
18Tl-'75 

1875-'76 
l876-'77, 


Number  packed. 


Summer.        Winter, 


r)05,  500 
1,  062,  916 

1,  200,  444 
1, 262,  343 

2,  291,  616 


5,  410,  ?14 
5,  466,  20O 
5, 566, 226 

4,  880, 135 

5,  072,  339 


Total. 


5,  915,  814 

6,  529, 116 
C,  766, 670 
6, 142,  478 

7,  363, 955 


Aggregate  net 
weight. 


Pounds. 
1,  353,  5C4,  283 
1,  3C9,  640,  599 
1,  304,  512,  267 
1,286,301,741 
1,  517,  285, 282 


Aggregate 
yield  of 
lard. 


Pounds. 
232, 212,  585 
222,  566, 195 
221, 880,  256 
208,  831,  900 
242, 151, 910 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  production  of  the  last  year  was  the  largest  on 
record  in  regard  to  the  number  of  animals  and  their  aggregate  weight 
and  yield  of  lard. 

IN  THE  EAST. 

Annual  receipts. — The  receipts  of  hogs  on  the  seaboard  are  to  a  small 
extent  for  packing  purposes,  the  larger  portion  being  taken  by  butchers 
for  the  supply  of  fresh  meat.  The  packing  business  is  rising  to  some 
importance  in  New  York  and  Boston,  but  it  is  still  on  so  small  a  scale 
and  so  unsystematized  that  definite  statistics  cannot  be  obtained.  The 
number  of  live  and  dressed  hogs  received  at  four  leading  Atlantic  cities 
during  the  last  three  years  were  as  follows  : 


Cities. 

1874. 

1875. 

187G. 

Boston 

013,  874 

1,  877,  419 

419, 134 

;>57,  547 

416,657 

1,  413, 167 

3r..3,  677 

299,fi3l 

431  784 

New  York 

1  '""93  •'7-^ 

Philadelphia 

341  860 

Baltimore 

27k!  402 

Total 

3, 268,  774 

2, 485, 132 

2,  ^39, 384 

REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


237 


Of  the  receipts  of  1876,  200,614  were  dressed  carcasses. 
Summer  receipts. — The  receipts  from  March  1  to  ISTovember  1, 1875,  and 
1876  were  as  foUows  : 


Cities. 

1875. 

1876. 

Live. 

Dressed. 

Total. 

Live. 

Dressed. 

Total. 

216,  !i9l 
885,  269 
190, 900 
175,  447 

16, 362 
6,097 

13, 465 
5,000 

233,  353 
1-91, 366 
204, 365 
180,447 

233,  562 
757, 144 
201,  600 
175, 631 

6,  638 
7  222 

lei  400 

5,000 

240, 250 
764,  366 
220, 000 

Philadelphia 

Baltimoro 

180,  631 

Total 

1,  509, 531 

1  405  247 



1 

Winter  receipts. — The  numbers  of  live  and  dressed  hogs  received  at 
these  four  cities  during  the  last  three  winter  packing  seasons,  respect- 
ively, were  as  follows : 


Cities. 

1874-'75. 

1875. 

1876. 

Total. 

Live. 

Dressed. 

Total. 

Live. 

Dressed. 

Total. 

248,  949 
687, 425 
117, 260 
112,  500 

100, 199 

457, 855 

92,  650 

94,  328 

61, 213 
33,046 
28,100 
15,  000 

161,  412 
490,  901 
120,  750 
114,  328 

126, 762 

469,  042 

95,  840 

88, 445 

66,  436 
6r),  880 
31,  340 
20,000 

193, 195 
534, 922 
127,  180 

108,  445 

Total 

1, 166, 134 

887,  391 

963,  742 

For  the  twelve  months  ending  March  1,  1877,  and  including  the  last 
summer  and  winter  seasons,  the  receipts  of  these  four  cities  amounted 
to  2,368,989  head,  against  2,396,922  head  received  during  the  previous 
twelve  months. 

The  increase  in  the  last  winter  season  of  76,351  head  was  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  decline  of  104,284  in  the  receipts  of  the  previous 
summer  season. 

At  Buffalo,  jS".  Y.,  the  receipt  of  hogs  during  the  winter  season  of 
1876-'77  was  373,000,  against  459,800  the  previous  season.  Of  the 
receipts  of  1876-'77,  there  were  shipped  294,850  head,  leaving  78,210  head, 
of  which  56,450  head  were  packed;  the  shipments  of  the  previous  year 
amounted  to  377,500,  leaving  a  net  supply  of  82,300,  of  which  60,000 
were  packed.  The  receipts  of  the  calendar  year  1876  were  1,150,210 
head,  shipments  936,700,  leaving  a  surplus  of  213,510,  of  which  134,000 
were  packed.  Daring  1875  the  receipts  were  1,067,300  and  the  ship- 
ments 907,800,  leaving  159,000,  of  which  142,000  were  packed.  Daring 
the  last  summer  season  there  were  packed  here  78,800  head,  making 
135,250  for  the  twelve  months  ending  March  1,  1877. 

ON  THE  PACIFIC  SLOPE. 

A  growing  demand  for  prime  pork  to  be  exported  to  China,  Japan, 
the  Pacific  islands,  Russian  Asia,  and  South  America  is  noted  in  San 
Francisco.  Grain  was  very  abundant  in  California  in  1876,  inducing 
farmers  to  breed  and  fatten  an  increased  number  of  hogs.  This  caused 
an  enlargement  of  the  packing  business  of  San  Francisco  from  90,000 
hogs  in  i875  to  175,000  in  1876.    The  total  number  packed  in  California 


238  REPORT    OP   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

is  estimated  at  230,000  in  1876,  against  170,000  in  1875,  and  390,000  in 
1874.  California  hogs  are  liglit,  compared  with  those  raised  upon  the 
Atlantic  slope  or  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Those  packed  at  San  Fran- 
cisco in  l'87(i  averaged  but  185  pounds  gross  weight  per  head  and  but 
15J  pounds  per  head  of  lard.  The  average  cost  was  $6.37J  per  cental, 
gross,  in  coin.  The  introduction  of  the  Berkshire  breed  of  hogs  is  said 
to  have  already  enlarged  the  size  of  market  animals,  and  other  improve- 
ments in  the  character  of  the  stock  are  noted.  The  average  net  weight 
per  head  in  1875  was  121  pounds,  and  in  1874  115  pounds.  The  best 
bogs  came  from  the  corn-raising  counties  of  Los  Angeles  and  Ventura, 
though  some  excellent  wheat-fed  animals  were  brought  from  the  Sacra- 
mento Valley,  and  some  good  acorn-fatted  hogs  from  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley.  The  rise  in  the  price  of  grain  seems  to  indicate  a  reduced  hog- 
erop  for  1877.  The  amount  of  barreled  pork  of  all  kinds  made  at  San 
Francisco  in  1876  was  5,230  barrels.  In  Oregon,  the  packing  is  mostly 
done  at  Portland;  estimates  of  the  number  packed  in  1876  range  from 
60,000  to  80,000  head.  Oregon  raises  heavier  hogs  than  those  indicated 
by  the  San  Francisco  average. 

CANADA. 

Canadian  pork-packing  for  market  is  mostly  confined  to  the  province 
of  Ontario.  The  business  has  been  somewhat  variable  in  its  extent, 
but  it  seems  to  be  growing,  though  several  of  the  prominent  packers  of 
this  region  have  found  it  profitable  to  transfer  their  operations  to  Chi- 
cago. During  the  last  eighteen  months  the  pork-packing  facilities  of 
Ontario  have  been  enlarged  by  the  erection  of  nev/  i)ackiug-houses  and 
by  the  extension  of  market  arrangements  generally.  As  the  corn  area 
of  Canada  is  limited  and  not  very  productive,  and  as  other  kinds  of 
grain  bear  good  prices,  Canada  farmers  cannot  be  depended  upon  for  a 
large  supply  of  hogs.  Hence  the  Canadian  packers  look  to  the  United 
States  for  the  bulk  of  their  material,  especially  from  Michigan  and 
Illinois ;  Chicago  furnishes  a  very  large  i)roportion  of  the  animals 
slaughtered.  The  home  demand  for  bacon  and  hams  is  mostly  supplied 
by  Canadian  farmers,  but  the  production  of  barreled  j)ork  in  the  Do- 
minion is  not  adequate  to  the  demand,  nor  is  it  of  a  very  high  character. 
Canadian  pork  is  lighter  than  in  the  IJnited  States,  and  put  up  in  poorer 
barrels;  h^'uce  it  is  less  in  favor  with  lumbermen  and  other  large  con- 
suming classes,  whose  wants  are  supplied  mostly  from  the  Chicago  and 
Cincinnati  markets.  Canadian  packers,  however,  are  improving  in  their 
methods  and  turning  out  a  much  better  pro  luct  than  formerly.  Some 
of  them  find  greater  profit  in  exporting  fresh  meat  to  Europe,  and  are  con- 
templating a  transfer  of  their  capital  and  enterprise  to  that  trade,  but 
others  regard  this  as  a  very  doubtful  policy.  During  the  winter  season 
of  1876-'77  there  were  packed  at  36  different  points  in  Canada  186,198 
hogs,  an  increase  of  66,209  head  over  the  previous  season.  The  average 
net  weight  of  the  hogs  packed  was  203.77  pounds  per  head.  About 
30,000  barrels  of  pork  of  all  kinds  were  among  the  results  of  the  season's 
operations.  The  number  packed  during  the  summer  season  of  1876  was 
54,544,  nearly  all  being  at  Toronto  and  Hamilton.  The  aggregate  num- 
ber packed  in  Canada  during  the  twelve  months  ending  March  1, 1877, 
was  244,742. 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


239 


RECAPITULATION. 

Tlie  number  of  hogs  packed  during  tbe  last  two  summer  and  winter 
packing  seasons  were  as  follows : 


1875-'76. 

1876-'77. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Total. 

Winter. 

Summer. 

Total. 

In  the  West 

4,  880, 135 

126, 738 

85,  000 

119,  989 

887,  391 

1,262,343 

88,  324 

170,  000 

40,  000 

1  509  531 

6, 142,  478 
215, 002 
2.'.5,  000 
159,  989 

9  anfi  Qoo 

5,  072,  339 
101,  450 
105,  000 
186, 198 
963,  742 

2, 291,  616 

82,  800 

200, 000 

58,  544 

1,405,247 

7,  363,  955 
184, 250 
305,  000 
244,  742 

2, 368, 989 

Buffalo,  Albany,  and  Troy 

Pacific  slope 

Cauada 

Grand  total 

6, 099, 253 

3,  070, 198 

9, 169,  451 

6,  428,  729 
329,  476 

4,  038,  207 
968, 009 

10,  466, 936 
1, 297, 485 

Increase 

PORK  PRODUCT  OF  \YINTER  PACKINO. 

The  Cincinnati  Price  Current  estimates  the  aggregate  pork  product  of 
the  last  two  winter  seasons  as  follows : 


1875-'76. 


1876-'77. 


Green  sides pounds 

Green  shoulders do.. 

Green  hams do.. 

Total  green  meats 

Sides  put  into  barrels pounds 

Sides  remaining do.. 

Shoulders  put  into  barrels do. . 

Shoulders  remaining do.. 

Sides  and  shoulders,  excluding  barreled  pork do. . 

Sides,  shoulders,  and  hams,  excluding  barreled  pork do.. 


424, 982,  403 
169,  992,  963 
148,  743,  643 


743, 719, 214 


88,  825,  900 
336, 156,  508 
8, 000,  000 
161, 922,  903 
498, 149,  471 
646, 893,  314 


438, 218,  892 
175,  287,  556 
153, 370, 612 


706, 883,  060 


108,  080,  700 
332, 138, 192 
15, 000,  000 
160,  287,  536 
492,  425,  748 
645,  802, 360 


Exclusive  of  barreled  pork,  the  production  of  meats  shows  a  slight 
reduction,  being  1,090,954  pounds  less  in  1876  than  in  1875. 


EXPORTS  OF  HOG  PRODUCTS. 


During  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1876,  we  exported  327,730,172 
pounds  of  bacon  and  hams,  with  a  declared  value  of  $39,661,456;  54,195,- 
118  pounds  of  barreled  pork,  valued  at  $5,744,022;  and  168,405,839 
pounds  of  lard,  valued  at  $22,429,485 ;  total  exports,  550,331,129  pounds, 
worth  $67,837,963,  or  about  lO^  per  cent,  of  onr  total  domestic  export. 
Deducting  from  the  exports  gold  and  silver  coin  and  bullion,  our  export 
of  hog  products  amounts  to  over  Hi  per  cent,  of  the  merchandise. 

The  distribution  of  this  mass  of  material  is  very  irregular.  Europe 
takes  311,319,716  pounds,  or  95  per  cent.,  of  the  bacon  and  hams ;  15,310,- 
048  i>ouads,  or  29  per  cent.,  of  the  barreled  pork ;  and  128,296,831  pounds, 
or  76  per  cent.,  of  the  lard;  all  these  are  valued  at  $56,010,651,  or  82§ 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  export  of  hog  products.  Of  the  amount  sent  to 
Europe,  the  United  Kingdom  took  over  two-thirds,  including  281,176,650 
pounds  of  bacon  and  hams,  14,272,923  pounds  of  barreled  pork,  and  50,- 
771,281  pounds  of  lard,  valued  at  $42,053,774.  Our  next  best  customers 
on  that  continent  were  Germany,  which  took  64,880,453  pounds  of  hog 
l^roducts,  valued  at  $8,295,569 ;  France,  which  took  13,952,985  pounds, 
valued  at  $2,460,777;  aud  Belgium,  which  took  9,107,248  pounds  of  bacon 


240    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

and  hams,  valued  at  $1,100,128.  The  Germans  and  Frencli  took  most  of 
their  quota  in  lard. 

The  West  ladies  took  10,767,183  pounds  of  bacon  and  hams,  19,411,909 
pounds  of  barreled  pork,  and  18,648,373  pounds  of  lard,  all  valued 
at  $0,013,110.  These  islands  took  more  of  our  barreled  pork  than  any- 
other  quarter  of  the  world,  absorbing  a  third  of  our  entire  export.  It 
is  noticeable  that  Cuba  deals  with  us  almost  exclusively  in  bacon, 
hams,  and  lard,  vrhile  the  other  islands  invest  most  largely  in  bar- 
reled pork. 

South  America  took  038,739  pounds  of  bacon  and  hams,  3,523,571 
pounds  of  barreled  pork,  and  13,755,713  pounds  of  lard,  all  valued  at 
$2,521,030.  Our  largest  customer  in  this  quarter  is  the  United  States 
of  Colombia,  which  took  5,280,002  pounds  of  hog  products,  mostly  lard, 
valued  at  8708,110;  next,  Brazil  took  4,556,733  pounds,  nearly  all  lard, 
valued  at  $751,759. 

The  neighboring  countries  of  North  America  took  4,742,290  pounds 
of  baeon  and  hams,  14,440,127  pounds  of  barreled  pork,  and  7,019,227 
pounds  of  lard,  valued  together  at  $3,0515271.  Of  this  amount  Mexico 
and  Central  America  took  about  2  per  cent.,  the  remainder  going  to  the 
different  portions  of  British  North  America,  and  especially  to  the  province 
of  Quebec.  A  small  export  was  sent  to  Africa  and  to  various  islands 
in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceiins. 

COMPARATIVE  EXPORTS. 

The  exports  of  different  items  of  hog  product  during  the  fiscal  years 
of  the  current  decade  have  been  as  follows  : 


Piscal  year- 


BACON  AND  HAMS. 

18-0-'71 I  71,'146,?54 

1871-72 240,203,143 

l872-'73 395,331,737 

1873-'74 347,405,405 

1874-'75 250,28(1,549 

1875-'7G I  327,730,172 

I 

LAKD.  I 

1870-'71 1  80,037,297 

1871-'72 1  19!),  651,060 

1872-'73 .1  230,5:^207 

1873-74  i  205,527,471 

1874-'75 100,869,393 

1875-'76 103,405,839 


1870-'71. 
1871-'72. 
1872-'73. 
1873-'74. 
1874-'75. 
1875-'76. 


187()-'71. 
1871-'72. 
1872-'73. 

187a-'74. 
1874-'75. 
167»-'76. 


39,  250,  7o0 
57, 109,  513 
04,  147,  401 
70,432,379 
56, 152,  3^1 
54, 195, 118 


190,  734,  901 
503, 020, 321 
090, 063,  405 
023,  415,  255 
473,  308,  273 
55L1,  361, 129 


Aggregate 
value. 


Value  per 
pound. 


S8, 126,  683 
21, 126,  592 
35,  022, 137 
33,  383, 908 
28,  C12,  613 
39,  6b^,  456 


10,  563,  020  , 
20, 177,  619 

21,  245,  815 
19, 308, 019 
22, 900, 522 

22,  429, 485 


4,  302,  320 
4, 122,  308 

5,  007,  035 
5,  808,  712 
5,  G71,  495 
5,744,022 


22, 992,  023 
45, 420,  519 
61.  274,  987 
58, 500,  039 
57,  184,  030 
67, 637,  963 


eo  11. 4 

08.6 
08.9 
09.6 
11.4 
12.1 


13.2 

10.1 
09.2 
00.4 
13.7 
13.3 


10.9 
07.2 
07.8 
08.2 
10.1 
10.6 


12.0 
09.3 
08.9 
09.4 
12.1 
12.3 


The  above  figures  indicate  a  decline  from  the  maximum  of  quantity 
exported  in  1872-'73,  with  a  considerable  reaction  during  1875-'70.    The 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  241 

aggregate  value  of  the  exports  of  the  last-named  year  exceeded  that  of 
any  former  year. 

To  meet  the  increased  foreign  demand,  there  has  been  an  enlargement 
of  production  both  in  the  visible  amount  gathered  by  statisticians  and 
the  invisible  amounts  made  for  home  consumption.  The  aggregate  net 
weight  of  hogs  packed  in  the  West,  including  summer  and  winter  pack- 
ing seasons,  was  230,983,541  pounds  greater  in  the  packing  year  last 
closed  than  in  its  predecessor ;  the  amount  of  lard  was  33,320,001  pounds 
greater.  If  the  same  accurate  statistics  could  be  gathered  of  the  pork- 
packing  operations  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  slopes,  and  of  Canada, 
this  surplus  would  be  still  further  increased. 

It  is  well  known  that  vast  improvements  have  been  made  both  in  the 
breeds  raised  and  in  the  methods  of  breeding,  raising,  and  fattening 
animals  for  market.  Many  farmers  in  all  parts  of  the  West  and  some 
in  the  South  have  found  it  more  profitable  to  grow  the  new  breeds, 
which  will  in  twelve  months,  if  intelligently  managed,  produce  as  much 
pork  as  the  old  breeds  do  in  twenty  months.  The  economic  value  of 
time  in  production  is  thus  better  appreciated,  and  its  results  are  mani- 
festing themselves  in  increased  production  and  in  better  margins  of 
profit. 

The  immense  enlargement  of  exportation  of  swine  products,  without 
any  adequate  evidence  of  equivalent  decrease  in  the  rate  of  home  con- 
sumption, has  only  been  accomplished  by  increase  of  average  weight, 
or  large  increase  of  numbers  in  proportion  to  population.  It  is  easily 
proved  that  weight  has  increased,  especially  of  hogs  of  equal  age;  and 
statistics  do  not  show  increase  of  numbers.  One  fact  should  be  con- 
sidered relative  to  enumerations  of  swine.  Millions  advance  from  pigs 
to  pork  between  one  enumeration  and  another,  making  decrease  of  num- 
bers more  appare«it  than  real  in  comparison  with  former  years. 

Notwithstanding  the  average  age  of  killing  is  much  reduced,  the 
average  weight  is  increased.  Mr.  Charles  Cist,  in  1851,  made  the  aver< 
age  weight  of  hogs  killed  in  Cincinnati  200  pounds  ;  it  was  about  220 
for  the  past  three  years,  an  increase  of  10  per  cent.  He  made  the  num- 
bers for  ten  years,  between  1848  and  1858,  slaughtered  in  that  great 
swine  mart  385,000.  For  five  years  past  the  average  packed  has  been 
670,949.  This  is  an  increase  of  48  per  cent.,  and  new  packing-points 
have  sprung  up,  not  only  throughout  the  West,  but  in  several  towns  in 
Ohio. 

16  A 


242  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

MARKET  PEICES  OF  FAEM 

The  following  quolaihns  rqn'csent,  a,i  nearly  as  pracHcahle, 


Products. 


January. 


NBW  YORK. 

Flour: 
Superfine,  State  and  west- 
ern   bbl . 

Extra  State do. . 

Extra   to   choice   west- 
ern  bbl. 

Common  to  fair  southern 

extras bbl. 

Good  to  choice  southern 
extras bbl. 

Wheat : 

No.  1  spring bush . 

No.  2  spring do.. 

"Winter,  red,  -west'n . .  do . . 
Winter,  amber,  west.  do. . 
Winter,  white,  west.  do. . 

Corn do.. 

Oats do.. 

Eye do-. 

Barley do.. 

Hay: 
Baled,  first  quality  ..ton. 
Baled,  second  quary.do.. 

Beef: 

Mess bbl 

Extra  mess do.. 

Pork: 

Mess bbl. 

Extra  prime do. . 

Prime  mess do . 

Lard lb 

Butter: 

Western lb 

State  dairy do. 

Cheese : 

State  factory lb 

Western  factory do 

Sugar,  fair  to  prime  refin- 
ing   lb 

Cotton : 
Ord'y  to  good  ord'y  . .  .lb 
Low    middling  to  good 
middling lb 

Tobacco : 

Lugs lb 

Leaf do 

Wool: 
American  SXX  and  pick- 
lock  lb. 

American  X  and  XX .  do 
American  combing . . .  do 

Pulled ....do 

California  spring  clip .  do 
California  fall  clip do 

Flour:       ^O^™^" 
Superfine,  spring,  west- 
ern  bbl. 

Com.  spring  extras  .  .do. 
Good  to  fancy,  northwest- 
ern spring bbl 

Good  to  fancy,  western 

winter bbl 

Southern  family do 

Wheail bush 

Corn do.. 

Oats do.. 

Eye do.. 

Barley do.. 

Hay,   eastern   and   north- 
ern , ton 

Beef: 

Mess bbl 

Extra  mess do 

Family do 

Pork: 

Prime bbl 

Mess do 


54  25  to  «4  50 

4  t;0  to  5  90 

4  80  to  9  00 

4  80  to  6  40 

6  50  to  8  75 

1  29  to  1  33 

1  23  to  1  25 

1  16  to  1  45 

1  16  to  1  45 

1  32  to  1  50 

66  to  70 

41  to  50 

87  to 


85    to    120 


2100    to  23  00 
16  00 


1100    to  11  50 
12  00    to  12  50 


20  75 

15  £0 

19  50 

12i  to       13i 

17    to       34 

23    to       35 


7    to 
6    to 


8    to 
104  to 


13i 

m 

Si 

11 


February. 


J4  25    1o|4  60 
4  85    to    5  90 

4  85    to    9  00 

4  80    to    6  30 

6  40    to    8  75 

1  31  to  1  38 
1  19  to  121 
to 
to 
to 
57i  to 
44  to 
86  to  89 
84    to    1  18 


1  18 
1  18 
135 


147 

1  47 
1  55 

654 
51? 


2100   to  23  00 
1700 


10  50    to  11  50 
12  00    to  12  50 


2125 

16  00 

19  75  to  22  00 
12  J  to   13i 


12J  to 

14 

7  to 

9 

9i  to 

15J 

48  to 

57 

40  to 

48 

60  to 

62 

20  to 

47 

18  to 

33 

15  to 

25 

4  00  to 

4.50 

4  75  to 

550 

5  25  to 

9  25 

6  00  to 

9  00 

6  50  to 

9  00 

1  00  to 

150 

65  to 

68 

42  to 

54 

95  to 

1  00 

90  to 

130 

15  00  to 

2100 

12  00  to  12  50 

13  00  to  13  50 

16  50  to  17  00 

16  to 

26  to 

7  to 
6  to 

7ito 

9J  to 
12ito 

6  to 

8i  to 


50  to 

43  to 

55  to 

27  to 

18  to 

15  to 


34 

36 

13i 
12i 

H 
13} 


March. 


April. 


^lav. 


■4  35  to  $4  CO 

4  90  to  5  60 

4  90  to  9  00 

4  80  to  6  25 

6  30  to  8  75 

1  33  to  1  37 

1  24  to  1  27 

1  22  to  1  47 

1  22  to  1  47 

1  35  to  1  50 

60  to  70 

45i  to  53 

82'  to  88 


85  to  125 

18  00  to  21  00 
15  00  to  16  00 

10  50  to  12  00 
12  50  to  13  50 

22  65  to  22  80 

1850 

20  50  to  21  50 
134  to   13J 


4  00  to  4  50 

4  75  to  5  50 

5  00  to  9  25 

6  00  to  9  00 
6  50  to  9  00 
100  to  i:;0 

64^  to  66* 

43  to  57 

95  to  1  00 

90  to  1  30 


12  00  to  12  50 

13  00  to  13  50 
16  50  to  17  00 


15  CO  to  15  50  15  00  to  16  00  18  00  to  18  50 
21  50  to  21  75  21  50  to  22  00  123  00  to  23  50 


16  to 

24  to 

7  to 
6  to 

7ito 

9  to 

Hi  to 

5  to 

8  to 


50  to 

43  to 

55  to 

27  to 

18  to 

15  to 


i4  50  to  $4  75 

5  10  to  5  C) 

5  10  to  9  00 

5  25  to  6  45 

6  50  to  8  75 


134 
122 
1  15 
1  15 
1  36 
65 
42 


to  139 
to  1  29 


1  47 

1  47 

1  30 

68 

50 

97 

.108 


18  00  to  21  00 
15  00  to  16  00 


12  50  to  13  00 
12  50  to  13  50 


23  20  to  23  25 


2150 

144  to   14| 


)4  10  10  $4  50 

4  90  to  5  50 

4  90  to  9  00 

5  00  to  6  23 

6  25  to  8  75 

1  26  to  1  30 

1  18  to  1  2-2 

1  05  to  1  50 

1  03  to  1  .30 

1  32  to  1  45 

60i  to  61, 

41  to  53 

80  to  95 

Nominal.... 


20  00  to  22  00 
15  00  to  16  00 


12  00  to  12  50 

13  00 


36 

38 

14 
13 

71 

lOJ 

13f 


4  00  to  4  25 

4  75  to  5  25 

5  00  to  9  25 

6  00  to  9  00 
6  ,30  to  9  00 
1  06  to  1  55 

65  to  68 

43  to  55 

95  to  1  00 

85  to  1  20 


13  00  to  20  00 

12  00  to  12  50 

13  00  to  13  50 
16  50  to  17  00 


17  to 

32  to 

7  to 
7  to 

7ito 

94  to 

12Jto 

4Jto 

7  to 


45  to 

■38  to 

48  to 

25  to 

17  to 

13  to 


35 
43 

131 
13 

7i 

Hi 

14i 

7 
lOi 


21  45  to  21  70 

17  50 

Nominal 

13  to   13J 

22  to   32 
25  to   32 


4  00  to  4  50 

5  00  to  5  50 

5  50  to  9  50 

6  00  to  9  00 
6  50  to  9  00 
1  05  to  1  35 

72  to   75 

44  to   56 

90  to   95 

85  to  1  20 

15  00  to  21  00 

12  00  to  12  50 

UiOO  t»  13  50 

16  50  to  17  00 


6  to 
3  to 

gHo 

Hi  to 

4J  to 
T  to 


45  to 

38  to 

48  to 

25  to 

21  to 

16  to 


13 
12i 

^i 
101 

12* 

7 

lOJ 


4  00  to  4  25 
4  50  to  5  00 


5  00  to  9  50 


6  00  to  9  00 

6  50  to  9  00 

1  03  to  1  60 

62  to 

42  to 

90  to 


6^ 

.02 
85  to  1  iO 

15  00  to  fU  00 


12(10 

13  50 

15  50  '1:01650 


19  00  to  20  00  19  Oa  to  19  50 
23  75  to  24  00  22  5/)  to  22  75 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 

PEODUCTS  FOR  1876. 

the  state  of  the  market  at  the  leginmng  of  each  month. 


243 


June. 

July. 

Ajigust. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

14  00  to  $4  90 
4  90  to  7  00 

13  40 
4  50 

to  84  00 
to  5  15 

13  60  to  $4  35 
4  40  to  6  50 

$3  50  to  $4  25 
4  25  to  6  50 

$4  20 
5  00 

to  $4  75 
to  6  30 

$4  GO 
5  20 

to  $4  90 
to  5  65 

$5  00 
5  60 

to  $5  30 

to  6  90 

4  90  to 

9  00 

4  50 

to 

8  75 

4  40  to  9  00 

4  30  to  8  50 

5  00 

to 

9  50 

520 

to 

8  50 

6  55 

to 

8  25 

4  90  to 

6  15 

4  85 

to 

6  00 

4  65  to  5  00 

4  50  to  5  90 

5  10 

to 

6  25 

5  25 

to 

6  60 

5  40 

to 

5  80 

615  to 

9  00 

6  05 

to 

8  75 

5  05  to  8  50 

6  10  to  8  50 

6  30 

to 

8  00 

6  65 

to 

8  75 

6  65 

to 

8  75 

128  to 
116  to 
1  13  to 

1  30 

1  22 

1  40 

140 

150 

59J 

47 

96 

120 
1  12 
85 
93 
125 
56 
34 
80 
90. 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

130 

1  17 

1  45 

145 

1  45 

61 

42 

95 

1  12  to  1  25 

94  to  1  12J 
70  to  1  25 
70  to  125 

1  15  to  1  35 
54  to   59 
35  to   38 
50  to   78 

Neglected  . . . 

14  00  to  18  00 
12  00  to  13  00 

9  00  to  11  00 
10  00  to  12  00 

19  40  to  19  60 
Neglected  . . . 
Neglected  . . 
llj  to   llj 

1  05  to  1  20 
98  to  1  10 
90  TO  1  27 
90  to  127 

1  14  to  1  28 
50  to   57 
35  to   45 
70  to   85 

1  18 

1  10 

1  05 

105 

1  15 

56 

30 

70 

97J 

20  00. 
12  00. 

8  00 
10  00 

16  70. 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

1  30 

1  22 

130 

1  30 

130 

5iM 

47| 

87 

1  25 

125 

1  22 

122 

133 

133 

56 

31 

72 

108 

to 
to 

130 
125 

133 

128 

130 

134 

134 

53J 

37 

80 

80 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

135 
132 
135 

1  13  to 

145 

135  to 
40  to 
32  to 
85  to 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

135 

6U 
49' 

88 
1  l« 

145 
61 
49 

95 
85 

17  00  to'. 

30  00 

16  00 
13  00 

10  00 
12  00. 

19  75 

to  19  00 
to  14  00 

to  11  00 

14  00  to  18  00 
12C0 

14  00 

12  00 

8  00 
10  00 

16  00 

13  50 

to  18  00 

14  00 
12  00 

10  50 
12  00 

17  00 

to 

18  0 

16  00 

1100 

8  00  to  10  00 
10  00  to  11  00 

16  50  to  16  75 

to  10  00 
to  11  00 

to  10  00 
to  11  00 

to  17  00 

to 
to 

1150 

1200  

12  50 

18  80  to 

19  25 

to  19  85 

"in 

19  50..... 
lljto 

"in 

Ne^rlected . . . 
9i  to   lOi 

19  50. 
9| 

101  to 

to 

105 

94  to 

10 

93 

to 

lOJ 

16  to 
19  to 

25 

27 

16 

18 

to 
to 

27 

28 

13  to   27 
22  to   30 

14  to   30 
22  to   32 

18 

29 

to 
to 

37 

38 

19 

24 

to 
to 

28 
38 

16 
24 

to 
to 

26 
38 

8  to 

ejto 

111 

101 

7 
6 

to 
to 

11 

9i 

6Jto    9J 
6i  to    8J 

5  to   lOJ 

7  to    8J 

10 

8 

to 

to 

131 
114 

OJto 
11  to 

14 
13 

11 
10 

to 
to 

14i 
13| 

7  to 

8 

8 

to 

8J 

8i  to    9J 

9  to    9J 

ejto 

9A 

9gto 

95 

9}  to 

lOJ 

81  to 

lOi 

8Jto 

10 

8 A- to  ith^d 

9ito  10-^,j 

'■>h 

to 

IOtV 

91  to 

lOi 

lOJto 

lU 

11  to 

12| 

11  to 

12J 

llT^^to  121 

11  to  12^^ 

tOf^ 

to 

"^. 

lOito 

llj 

llgto 

12f 

6  to 

8  to 

8 
10 

6 

8 

to 
to 

8 
10 

6  to    8 
8  to   15J 

6  to    9i 
91  to   13^ 

5i 

8 

to 

to 

9 

13J 

5 

8 

to 
to 

8 
11 

5 

8 

to 

to 

8 
11 

•d6  to 
38  to 
48  to 
23  to 

48 
44 
58 
40 
25 
16 

38 
48 
25 
19 
13 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

48 
44 
58 
40 
25 
16 

38  to   40 
30  to   36 
45  to   52 
25J  to   33 
12i  to   24 
10  to   15 

35  to   42 
30  to   40 
40  to   48 
20  to   35 
12*  to   26 
10  to   16 

46 
32 
44 
22 
16 
11 

to 
to 
to 

to 
to 
to 

48 
45 
50 
40 
28 
21 

48 
36 

48 

to 
to 
to 

50 
46 
55 

48 
36 

48 

to 
to 
to 

50 
48 
57 

19  to 
12J  to 

16 
14 

to 
to 

28 
22 

16 
14 

to 
to 

28 
22 

3  50  to 

4  25  to 

4  00 

5  00 

3  00 

4  25 

to 
to 

3  50 

4  75 

3  00  to  3,50 

4  25  to  4  75 

3  00  to  3.50 

4  00  to  4  75 

425 
4  75 

to 
to 

4  50 

5  50 

4  25 

5  00 

to 
to 

4  75 

5  75 

4  25 

5  00 

to 
to 

4  75 

5  75 

5  00  to 

9  25 

4  75 

to 

9  00 

4  75  to  8  50 

4  75  to  8  25 

5  75 

to 

9  25 

5  75 

to 

9  50 

5  75 

to 

925 

6  00  to 

7  00  to 
110  to 

eijto 

42  to 
85  to 

9  00 

9  00 

160 

65* 

56 

8TJ 

120 

23  00 

5  75 

6  50 
97 
55 
30 
90 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

8  50 

8  75 

1  45 

63 

50 

95 

5  75  to  8  00 

6  50  to  8  00 
83  to  135 
54  to   65 
30  to   46 
90 

5  50  to  7  75 

6  00  to  7  75 
90  to  1  30 
57  to   61 
36  to   50 
75  to   80 

Nominal 

12  00  to  21  00 

6  00 
6  50 
105 
65 
35 
75 
95 

12  00 

to  8  50 
to  8  50 
to  1  35 
to   64 
to   50 
to   80 
to  120 

to  20  00 

6  00 
6  50 
110 
58 
33 
75 
85 

12  00 

to  8  50 
to  8  50 
to  133 
to   65 
to   53 
to   80 
to  120 

to  20  00 

6  00 
(150 
120 
58 
45 
85 
95 

12  00 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

to] 

8  00 

8  50 

142 

06 

52 

90 

85  to 

130 

16  00  to 

16  00 

to 

2100 

14  00  to  20  00 

9  00 

1150 

10  50 

12  00 

13  00 

10  50 

10  50 

10  00. 
12  00. 
12  50 

1100 
12  00 
12  50 

1100 

13  00 

14  00 

13  00  

12  00  

12  00 

15  00  to  16  00 

to  14  00 

13  00  to  14  00 

12  50  to  13  00 

to  13  50 

to  13  50 

to  15  00 

17  50  to  18  00 
aiOO  to  21  50 

17  00 
20  00 

to  17  50 
to  20  50 

19  00  to  19  50 

20  50  to  21  00 

17  00  to  17  .50 
17  75  to  18  00 

1C50 
17  75 

to  17  00 
to  18  00 

16  00 
18  00 

to  16  50 

14  00 
17  00 

to  14  50 
to  17  50 

244 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


MARKET  PRICES  OF  FARM 


Products. 


J^uary. 


February. 


March. 


April. 


May. 


Boston — Continued. 


Lard lb 

Butter : 
New  York  and  Vermont, 

pound  

Western lb 

Cheese : 
Now  York  and  Vermont 

factory lb., 

Western  factory do . , 

Sugar,  fair  to  gooil  refining, 

pouad 

Cotton : 
Ordinary  to  good   ordi- 
nary   lb 

Low  middling  to   good 

middling lb 

Wool : 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania, 

pound  

Michigan lb.. 

Other  western do.. 

Pulled do. 

Combing  fleece- do. 

California do. , 

EH.ILADELPniA. 

Flour : 

Superfine bbl 

Pennsylvania,   extra   to 
choice bbl 

Western,  extra  to  choice 

barrel  

Wheat : 

White bush. 

Amber do.. 

Ked do.. 

Kye do.. 

Barley do.. 

Corn do.. 

Oata do.. 

Hay: 

Baled,  prime ton. 

Common   to    fair    ship- 
ping   toh. 

Beef: 

Western  mess bbl . 

Extra  mess do.. 

Waithman's    city    fam- 
ily   bbl. 

Pork : 

Moss bbl. 

Primo  mess do.. 

Prime,  (extra) do.. 

Lard lb.. 

Butter: 

Choice  Middle  State. lb.. 

Choice  western do . . 

Cheese : 

New  York  factory.  ..lb.. 

Ohio  factory do. . 

Sugar,  fair  to  good  rolin- 

ing lb. 

Cotton: 

Ordinary  to  good  ordi- 
nary  lb. 

Low  middling  to   good 

middling lb. 

Wool: 

Ohio  and  Pennsylvania 
XtoXXX lb.. 

Other  western do.. 

Pulled do.. 

Combing,  washed  and  un- 
washed  lb.. 

Tab-waahed lb.. 


I  13i  to  $0  14 


22  to   32 
17  to   33 


10  to 
10  to 


13 

12J 

84 


$0  13i  to  $0  14 


20  to   33 
18  to   33 


10  to   13 


?0  13J  to  $0  14J 


20  to   34 
18  to   29 


143  to  $0  15 


30  to   38 
22  to   30 


114  to$0  143 


27  to   30 
18, to   28 


10  to   12 
13  to   14i 


45  to 

43  to 

41  to 

40  to 

55  to 

15  to 


8  to    8i 

9 J  to   111 
12i  to   14 


45  to  50 
42  to  45 
42 

35  to  55 
52  to  60 
17  to   34 


10  to 
9  to 


?Jto 


13i 


8J  to   10} 
12  to   13i 


38  to 
42  to 


10  to 
9  to 

7Jto 


gjto 

12Jto 


42  to 
40  to 


14 
13J 


9  to 
8  to 


13 
12J 


7J  to    7| 

9i  to   11 
12J  to   14 


35  to  47 
42  to  65 
14  to   33 


30  to   48 
lV'to'"'32 


37  to 

33  to 

o2  to 

IS  to 

47  to 

14  to 


4  00 

4  50 

5  50 
142 


100 
88 
70 
56 
43 

22  00 

20  00 

7  00 

8  00 

16  00. 

100 
19  50 

17  00 
13 

27 
27 


to  4  37J 

to  C50 

to  6  37J 

to  145 
140 

to  1  38 

to  90 

to  1  35 

to  68 

to  50 

to  24  00 

to  22  00 

to  9  00 
to  9  00 


to  22  00 
to  20  00 
to  17  50 
to   16 


13f 
13 


4  00 

4  25 

4  25 

145 
1  41 
120 

88 
75 
52 
40 

2100 

19  00 

7  00 

8  00 


2125 

20  00. 

17  00 

12 

28 
25 


to  4  25 

to  6  50 

to  6  75 

to  1  55 

to  1  42 

to  1  40 

to  88 

to  1  35 

to  60 

to  48 

to  21  50 

to  20  00 

to  9  00 

to  doo 

— «» 

to  21  50 


3  50  to  4 

4  25  to  6 

4  25  to  6 

1  45  to  1 

1  41  to  1 

120  to  1 

83  to 

75  to  1 

54  to 

38  to 

2100  to  21 

19  00  to  20 

7  00  to  9 

8  00  to  9 

16  00 


3  50 

4  25 

5  75 
150 


to  18  00 
to   13 


Hi  to 


33 
31 

13i 
13 


22  50  to  23 
21  00 

18  00  to  18 
13  to 

27  to 
25  to 

11 J  to 


00 


95 

81 
75 
CO 
43 

2100 

19  00 

9  00 
1150 

16  00. 

23  50 

2100. 

18  75 

Hi 

36 
28 

5 
4 


to  4  00 

to  6  75 

to  8  00 

to  158 
....153 

to  1  52 

to  82 

to  1  25 

to  65J 

to  50 

to  21  50 

to  20  00 

to  10  00 
to  12  50 


3  50  to  4  00 

4  25  to  6  75 

5  25  to  7  00 

1  50  to  1  55 

1  50  to  1  55 


125  to  150 


60  to   62 
42  to   48 


2100  to  23  00 
19  00  to  20  00 


9  00  to  10  00 
11  50  to  12  00 


to  19  00 
to   15 


22  50 , 

18  50  to  19  00 
18  50  to  19  00 
13  to   13} 


8  to 

10  to   122 
123  to   14i 


45  to  52 

42  to  48 

26  to  64 

46  to  66 
40  to  54 


7ito 

9ito   111 
12J  to   13i 


47  to  50 
24  to  42 
42  to   64 


7i  to    73 

9  to   10| 
12  to   12| 


48  to  52* 
40  to  45 
38  to   64 


7ito    7 

92-  to   Hi 
12i  to   14 


45  to  48 
40  to  45 
26  to   64 


30  to 

26  to 


5  to 
4  to 


71  to 


14 
12J 


44  to 
40  to 


66 
52J 


42  to 
40  to 


92  to   102 
12i  to   131 


28  to  43 

35  to  42 

22  to  36 

37  to  60 

40  to  48 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


245 


PEODUCTS  FOR  1876— Continued. 


Jane. 

July. 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

iO  13i  to  $0  13J 

|;0  12  to  $0  m 

$0  12  to  $0155 

5011  to$0  11J 

soil  to$0  1H 

$010}  to  $011 J 

$010ito$01U 

22  to 
17  to 

25 
24 

20  to 
18  to 

25 
22 

18  to 
14  to 

24 
22 

18  to   28 
14  to   30 

18  to 
16  to 

33 
33 

18  to 
16  to 

33 
33 

18  to  33 
15  to   33 

8  to 
7  to 

12 
Hi 

6  to 

104 

6  to 
4  to 

10 
9 

6  to   10 
5  to    9 

10  to 
8  to 

13i 
13 

lOJto 
8  to 

13 

13 

12  to   14i 
9  to   14 

7|to 

■75 

8  to 

ei 

8ito 

9i 

H  to    9J 

8Jto 

n 

9ito 

9J 

9|to   lOi 

8ito 

lOi 

8|to 

10s 

8ito 

9f 

9ito   lOJ 

9ito 

lOJ 

9ito 

lOJ 

lOito   llj 

lOito 

13 

Hi  to 

13 

lOf  to 

121 

Hi  to   13i 

101  to 

llj 

10|to 

m 

H|  to   13 

36  to 
3-2  to 
32  to 
15  to 
45  to 
14  to 

45 
36 
35 

40 
47 

28 

30  to 
28  to 
28  to 
15  to 
43  to 
14  to 

43 
34 
34 

40 
46 
27 

30  to 
28  to 
27  to 
15  to 
40  to 
14  to 

40 
34 
32 
38 
45 
27 

31  to   45 
30  to   36 
29  to   34 
15  to   40 
45  to.  50 
14  to   39 

35  to 
32  to 
32  to 
20  to 
48  to 
14  to 

50 
40 
38 
40 
50 
30 

37  to 

34  to 
33  to 

35  to 
50  to 
14  to 

52 
40 
40 
42i 
55 
30 

40  to   52 
36  to   42 
36  to   42 
20  to   42i 
50  to   57J 
14  to   30 

3a5  to 

4  00 

3  25  to 

4  00 

3  25  to 

3  50 

3  25  to  3  50 

3  50  to 

3  75 

3  50  to 

4  00 

3  50  to  4  00 

4  25  to 

6  75 

4  25  to 

6  50 

3  75  to 

6  25 

3  75  to  6  25 

4  00  to 

6  50 

412ito 

650 

412ito  6  25 

5  25  to 

8  25 

5  00  to 

6  50 

5  00  to 

6  50 

5  50  to  6  50 

5  75  to 

7  00 

4  12i  to 

7  00 

6  00  to  6  75 

145  to 
140  to 
115  to 

60  to 

155 

148 
1  43 

85 

"59' 
43 

135  to 
130  to 
80  to 
75  to 
55  to 
54  to 
23  to 

147 

147 
138 
80 
95 
58 
40 

125  to 
118  to 
IB    to 
60  to 
55  to 
54  to 
30  to 

135 

122* 

1  17' 

65 

105 

60 

47 

120  to  130 

120  to  125 

80  to  1  18 

60 

125  to 

123  to 

1  05  to 

70  to 

135 

128 
123 

78 

130  to 

128  to 
123  to 
68  to 
75  to 
55  to 
23  to 

140 
136 
129 
75 
85 
58 
41 

130  to  150 

142  to  145 

180  to  137 

72  to   74 

Kominal 

60  to   95 

57  to 
34  to 

51  to   57 
29  to   40 

54  to 
30  to 

59 
42 

52  to   59 
28  to   41 

19  CO  to  90  00 

14  00  to] 

5  00 

17  00  to  18  00 

10  00  to  17  00 

14  00  to  18  00 

1700 

16  00  to  17  00 

17  00  to  19  00 

11  00  to  13  50 

14  00  to  16  00 

12  00  to  15  00 

10  00  to  13  00 

1000  to  13  00 

10  00  to  13  00 

6  00  to  8  00 
10  50  to  11  00 

COO  to  SOD 
10  50  to  11  00 

6  00  to  8  00 
10  50  to  11  00 

6  00  to  8  00 
10  00  to  11  00 

6  00  to  8  00 
10  00  to  11  00 

6  00  to  8  00 
1000  to  11  00 

6  00  to  8  00 
10  00  to  11 00 

14  50  to 

15  00 

14  50  to] 
QO  50 

5  00 

13  00  to  13  25 

21  00  to  21  50 
17  CO  to  17  50 
17  00 

^2  50  to  13  00 
10  00 

13  00 

14  00 

1400 

20  50 

17  50  to  18  00 
16  00  to  17  00 

16  50  to  17  00 

15  50  to  16  00 

16  50  to  17  00 
lOi  to   15 

1725  to  17  50 

18  00 

17  50 

17  50  to  18  00 
1700 

15  50  to  16  00 

1700 

17  00.  .  .-   - 

16  50  to  17  00 

111  to 

16J 

.114  to 

15 

lOJto 

12 

10*  to   14 

10*  to 

15 

10  to   15 

24  to 

18  to 

26 
20 

13i 
12" 

21  to 

i-'O  to 

7  to 
4  to 

26 
22 

101 
9" 

28  to 
24  to 

5  to 
4  to 

38 
26 

10?. 
9 

26  to   35 
23  to   24 

5i  to   10?, 
4  to    9 

28  to 

38 

30  to 

38 

26  to   35 

25  to   27 

3Jto 
3  to 

HJ 
Hi 

..14 

13^ 

8ito   14J 
7  to   13J 

9 J  to   10 J 

4  to 

Tito 

~l 

8  to 

e? 

8ito 

9 

9ito    90 

8ito 

9 

93  to 

H 

81  to 

lOi 

gfto 

10 

81  to 

9? 

8i  to    9| 

8ito 

9i 

9}  to 

10 

10} to   lOi 

11 J  to 

13 

lis  to 

12| 

Hi  to 

123 

Hi  to   123 

lOito 

llj 

105  to 

12i 

Hi  to  12J 

28  to 
30  to 
22  to 

42 
36 
3G 

40  to 
30  to 
22  to 

42 
36 
36 

34  to 
.30.  to 
22  to 

371 
35 
36 

36  to   42 
30  to   35 
22  to   36 

41  to 
36  to 
22  to 

45 
38 
36 

41  to 
31  to 
22  to 

45 
38 
30 

41  to   45 
31  to   33 
22  to   36 

40  to 
30  to 

55 
45 

40  to 
30  to 

55 
45 

33  to 
30  to 

45 

40 

35  to   50 
30  to   42 

37  to 

30  to 

50 
45 

38  to 
30  to 

52 
46 

38  to   52 
30  to   46 

246 


REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 


MARKET  PRICES  OF  EARM 


Products. 


BALXmOUE. 

Flour: 

Superfine bbl. 

Extra do.. 

Family  and  fancy  ..  .do. . 
Wheat : 

Bed bush. 

Amber do . . 

White do.. 

Eye do.. 

Oats do.. 

Corn do . . 

Hay: 

Maryland  and  Pennsyl- 
vania   ton- 
Western  do.. 

Pork: 

Mess bbl . 

Extra  prime do.. 

Lard lb.. 

Butter : 

Western lb.. 

Eastern do.. 

Cheese: 

Western  factory lb . . 

Eastern  factory do . . 

Sugar: 

Fair  to  good  refining . .  lb 

New    Orleans,    grocery 

grades lb 

Tobacco : 

Lugs lb. 

Leaf,    common    to    Bie- 

dium lb. 

Cotton : 

Ordinary  to  good  ordi- 
nary  lb. 

Low  middling  to  good 
middling lb 

CINCIimATI. 

Flour: 

Superfine bbl . 

Extra do . . 

Family  and  fancy do.. 

Wheat: 

Winter  red bush 

Hill,  (amber) do . 

White do. 

Com do. 

Kye do. 

Barley do . . 

Oats do. 

Hay: 

Baled,  No.  1 ton 

Lower  grades do . 

Pork,  mess bbl 

Lard lb- 

Butter : 

Choice lb . . 

Prime do. . 

Cheese,  prime  to  choice  fac- 
tory   lb 

Sugar: 

New  Orleans,  fair  to 
^ood lb.. 

Prime do . . 

Cotton : 

Ordinary  to  good  ordi- 
nary  lb. 

Low  middling  to    good 

middling Ib.. 

Wool: 

Fleece- washed lb. . 

Tub-washed do.. 

Unwashed,  clothing  .do.. 

Unwashed,  combing  .do. . 

PaUed do.. 


.$4  00  to  $4  50 
4  75  to  6  25 
7  00    to    8  75 


1  15  to  1  38 

1  47  to  1  55 

1  15  to  1  45 

75  to  85 

40  to  48 

50  to  Ga- 


te 00  to  25 
19  00  to  21 


11  50 

16  75  to  17 
12f  to 


January. 


2125  to  21  50 


18  to 
18  to 

IH  to 
12  to 

8  to 
7gto 

ejto 

9  to 


9}  to   Hi 
12i  to   13 


3  75  to  4  00 

4  25  to  4  75 

5  00  to  COO 

I  15  to  1  33 


1  15  to 

45  to 

55  to 

50  to 

35  to 


148 
47 
79 

1  50 
44 


15  00  to  16  00 
8  00  to  14  00 
19  75  to  20  00 


February. 


f3  75  to  14  50 

4  75  to  6  75 

5  75  to  8  75 

1  18  to  1  45 

155 

145 

75  to  80 
43  to  50 
55  to   62 


18  00  to  24 
18  00  to  20 


$3  75  to  $4  50 

4  75  to  7  00 

5  25  to  8  75 

1  15  to  1  45 

155 

145 

78  to  82 
40  to  47 
53  to   59 


18  00  to  24  00 


12^ 
13^ 


12ito 

17  to 
.18  to 

11  to 

12  to 

7fto  8: 
7ito 

e^to 

9  to   1 


8i  to   lOi 
12  to   13 


3  50  to  3  85 

4  35  to  4  75 

5  15  to  8  00 

1  15  to  1  37 


1  40  to  1  45 

39  to  44 

65  to  80 

50  to  115 

36  to  43 


12J 

to 

141 

25 

to 

28 

24 

to 

25 

12 

to 

13 

7 

8^ 

9Jto 

103 

12 

to 

Vii 

38 

to 

43 

43 

to 

48 

25 

to 

30 

34 

to 

3S 

31 

to 

37 

15  00  to  17  00 
8  00  to  14  00 
•20  50 

12i  to   13i 


March. 


22  75 
17  25. 
13J 

18 
17 

11 

12i 

7J 

■u 

6i 


to  23  00 
to  "i4 


13  75  to  $4  25 

4  75  to  7  50 

5  75  to  9  00 

145  to  150 

1  60  to  1  62 

1  40  to  1  60 

80  to  83 

40  to  49 

59  to  64 


18  00  to  24  00 
00  to  19  00 

23  00  to  23  50 
18  00 

14i  to   14 


8J  to   lOJ 
11 J  to   12  J 


3  50  to  3  75 

4  35  to  4  60 

5  00  to  8  00 

1  12  to  1  30 

1  25  to  1  35 

1  40  to  1  45 

44  to  46 

70  to  78 

40  to  1  15 

30  to  40 


15  00  to  18  00 

8  00  to  14  00 

32  25  to  22  45 

12J  to   13i 


26  to   33   27  to   30 
23  to   25   25  to   27 

12  to   13 


7Jto 
fcito 


8*  to   10 
111  to   13 


38  to 

43  to 

25  to 

34  to 


7^0 
eito 


8  to    9i 
11  to   12 J 


38  to 

43  to 

25  to 

34  to 


April. 


13  50  to  14  50 

4  75  to  6  25 

5  75  to  8  75 


120  to  145 

1  52  to  1  55 

1  40  to  1  50 

73  to  75 

39  to  48 

53J  to  62 


2100  to  26  00 
20  00  to  23  00 

22  25  to  22  50 

2125 

13i  to   14 


18  to 
36  to 

12ito 
Hi  to 


■lli 
43 

14 


7J  to    71 


6i  to  11 

9  to  14 

9J  to  111 

12i  to  13J 


3  50  to  3  90 

4  00  to  4  60 
4  90  to  7  50 

1  15  to  1  35 

1  38 

138  to  145 
49  to   51 

73 

65  to  123 
33  to   43 


15  00  to  18  00 
6  00  to  10  00 

33  00 

13|  to   14 


33  to 

13  to   13i 


7|to 
8|to 


9  to  lOi 

Hi  to  131 

38  to  43 

43  to  48 

28  to  30 

34  to  38 

35  to  37 


May. 


11  to   13 
12^  to   14^ 

7i  to    7i 


6ito  9 

9  to  11 

8i  to  10 

llj  to  12J 


3  50  to  3  90 

4  25  to  4  65 
6  50  to  7  75 

70  to  1  30 

1  25  to  1  30 

1  35  to  1  45 

45  to  51 

70  to  75 

30  to  94 

35  to  43 


15  00  to  WOO 

7  00  to  10  00 

20  50  to  21  50 

12  to   13i 

25  to   28 

20  to   23 

12  to   12J 


8i  to 
8ito 


8i  to   9f 
11  to   12| 


35  to 

38  to 

23  to 

30  to 


REPORT   OP   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


247 


PEODUCTS  FOR  1876— Contiuued. 


Jooe. 

July. 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

13  50    to  14  50 

4  75    to    6  25 

5  75    to    8  75 

83  00   to  13  75 
4  00    to    6  50 
7  00    to    8  50 

$2  75    to  $3  75 

4  00    to    5  50 

5  00    to    8  00 

$2  50   to  $3  75 

4  00   to    6  75 

5  50   to    7  75 

$3  50   to  $4  50 

4  75   to    5  50 

5  75   to    8  25 

M25   to  $4  75 
5  25    to   6  25 
5  75   to   8  50 

■*4  25  to  $4  50 

5  25   to   6  75 

6  00   to   8  50 

110    to 

140    to 

120    to 

75    to 

34    to 

53    to 

137 
145 
135 

80 
42 
57 

120    to 

133    to 

125   to 

64    to 

33    to 

50ito 

130 

135 

135 

65 

45 

62 

92    to 
120   to 
105   to 
58    to 
30    to 
44    to 

118 

125 

122 

63 

41 

59 

85   to 
122  to 
110   to 
54   to 
31   to 
50   to 

1  19 

125 

125 

56 

37 

56 

1  15   to 

133    to 

1  20    to 

60   to 

34   to 

534  to 

1  30 

138 

135 

65 

45 

59 

110   to 

137   to 

125   to 

60    to 

30   to 

48   to 

135 
140 
135 

68 
36 

564 

125   to   143 

145    to   151 

120   to    145 

70   to      75 

33   to      40 

48   to      57 

22  00    to' 
15  00    to 

23  00 
19  00 

16  00    to  20  00 
14  00    to  15  00 

21  00 

15  00    to  19  00 
14  00    to  17  00 

20  50    to  21  00 
18  50  

12  00   to  16  00 

19  00   to  20  00 

1200   to  16  00 

13  00   to  18  00 

20  00 

18  00     . 

18  25 

17  25   to  17  50 
17  00 

17  25  . 

19  00 

18  50 

1800..  ..- 

17  00 

17  00  . 

12Jto 

13 

I2i  to 

12J 

12i  to 

12J 

llito 

12i 

104  to 

12 

104  to 

Hi 

11  to     Hi 

13    to 
13    to 

20 
20 

13    to 
12    to 

20 
16 

13   to 
12   to 

21 
16 

15  to 

16  to 

23 
20 

16    to 
22    to 

30 

27 

25  to 

26  to 

26 
28 

22   to      28 
22   to      27 

11    to 

12 

in 

-a 

8    to 
lOJto 

8i  to 

10 
11 

4  to 

5  to 

94 
10 

10    to 
12  to 

12 
13| 

9 

7  to 
124  to 

91  to 

13 
14 

9   to      14 

10    to 

13   to      15 

71  to 

8Jto 

ai 

9 

9Jto 

93 

8Jto 

91 

9{ to      10 

94  to      lot 
6ito        9 

6itto 

11 

6*  to 

11 

64  to 

11 

6Jto 

9 

64  to 

9 

6Jto 

9 

9   to 

11 

9    to 

11 

9    to 

11 

9   to 

11 

9   to 

11 

9  to 

11 

9   to      11 

8   to 

i-^ 

8J  to 

iij 

...  9f 

..  lOi 

84  to 
104  to 

9i 

9   to 

to 

9*  to      10} 
llito      12J 

10   to 

lU 

lOJto 

lOJto 

12 

11   to 

12i 

llj 

lOito 

111 

3  50   to 

4  25    to 
6  25    to 

3  75 

4  65 
8  50 

3  40    to 

4  25    to 

5  00    to 

375 

4  65 
7  50 

2  75    to 

3  90    to 

4  75    to 

3  50 

4  25 
7  50 

2  75   to 

3  90   to 

4  75   to 

3  50 

4  25 
6  75 

3  75  to 

4  75   to 

5  40   to 

4  25 
595 

7  00 

4  25   to 

5  25   to 
5  65   to 

4  75 

5  50 
7  00 

425  to  460 
5  00   to   530 
5  50   to   5  75 

115   to 

130 

135 

1  40 

47 

73 



34 

100    to 
120    to 
120    to 
48    to 
€0    to 
80    to 
22    to 

120 
130 
130 
51 
75 
85 
42 

85    to 

1  05 
1  10 
.1  10 

4fi 
58 
75 
38 

1  00   to 
105   to 
105   to 
40   to 
45   to 
60    to 
20  to 

1  05 

1  111 
1  10 
45 
58 
75 
38 

)  05   to 

117    to 

117    to 

47    to 

60   to 

100   to 

28   to 

1  18 

12) 

125 

48 

07 

1  15 

43 

120   to 
128   to 
128   to 
34    to 
55   to 
60   to 
28   to 

125 

13i 

132 

49 

70 

115 

35 

125   to   132 
140 

130   to 

140 

38   to 

65    to 

Noiuiua 

32   to 

40    to 
45    to 
40    to 
20    to 

40   to      44 
70   to,     71 
80   to   115 
28   to      38 

16  00   to 
700   to 
18  50 

18  00 
LOOO 

■  i2i 

13  00    to  16  00 

5  00    to  10  00 

19  50    to  20  00 

11    to       13J 

15  00    to  16  00 

8  00    to  12  00 

18  7 J    to  19  25 

10|  to       13 

15  00   to  16  00 

8  00    to  12  00 

18  75   to  19  25 

10|  to       13 

H  00   to  12  00 
9  00   to  10  00 
17  00     ... 

1100   to  13  00 

9  00   to  10  00 

10  50   to  10  75 

94  to      10 

1100   to  13  00 
8  00   to  10  00 
15  75    to  16  00 

lotto 

104  to 

in 

9J  to        9i 

18    to 

20 
18 

17    to 
15   to 

18 
17 

25    to 
17    to 

28 
20 

25   to 
17   to 

28 
20 

20    to 
20   to 

35 
23 

20 

20   to      23 

16    to 

17   to 

18 

16   to      19 

9    to 

10 

8   to 

9 

7Jto 

Si 

7Jto 

84 

124  to 

i:t 

124  to 

13 

124  to      13 

ejto 

9    to 

9 

91 

8ito 
9    to 

9 
91 

9}  to 
lOi  to 

lOi 
lOi 

9 

9|to 
lOJto 

101 

104 

9 

8f  to        91 

:;:;:::::::: 

:::::::::::: 

9J  to      10 

7Jto 

9 

8   to 

gj 

7}  to 

7ito 

8|to 

n 

8?  to 

9," 

91  to      lOJ 

lOJto 

12 

lOJto 

12 

10   to 

115 

10   to 

111 

104  to 

Wi 

lOilo 

11 

in  to      12i 

30    to 
32    to 
22    to 
27    to 
20   to 

35 
37 
23 
32 
27 

26    to 
25    to 
20    to 
25    to 
23   to 

28 
34 
22 
30 
25 

25    to 
25    to 
20    to 
25    to 
23    to 

33 
34 
22 
30 
25 

25   to 
25    to 
20    to 
25   to 
23   to 

33 
34 
22 

30 
25 

30   to 
28   to 
22   to 
27   to 
24   to 

32 
36 
23 
31 
26 

30    to 
32   to 
21    to 

27   to 
30   to 

36 
3H 
26 
32 
31 

30   to      36 
32   ti      38 
21   to      26 
27   to      32 
27    to      31 

248 


REPORT   OP   THE   COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 


MARKET  PEIOES  OF  FARM 


Products. 


January. 


February. 


March. 


Apri]. 


May. 


CHICAGO. 
Flour : 

Choice  wiuter  extras. bbl. 

Coniruou  to  good  ■winter 
extras bbl. 

Common  to  good  spring 
extras.. .  bbl 

Choice  spring  extras .  do. . 

Patent  springs do . . 

Spring  superfines do . . 

Wheat: 

No.  1  spring bush. 

No. 2  spring do.. 

No. 3  spring do.. 

KyeNo.  2 do.. 

Barley  No.  2 do.. 

Corn  No.  a do.. 

OatsNo.2 do.. 

Hay: 

Timothy ton . 

Prairie do. . 

Beef: 

mess bbl . 

extra  mess , . . do. . 

Pork: 

Mess bbl . 

Prime  mess do.. 

Extra  prime do. . 

Lard lb. 

Butter : 

Choice  to  fancy lb. 

Medium  to  good do 

Cheese,  prime  factory  ..do. 
Sugar,  New  Orleans,  com- 
mon to  prime lb. 

"Wool:  ^ 

Tub- washed lb . 

Fleece-washed do. 

Unwashed do. 

Pulled do. 

SAINT  LOUIS. 

Flour,  wiuter,  common  to 

Choice bbl . 

■Wheat: 

"White  winter bush. 

Ked  winter do. . 

Corn do.. 

Rye do.. 

Barley do.. 

Oats do.. 

Hay: 

Timothy ton. 

Prairie , do.. 

Beef,  mess 1 bbl. 

Pork,  mess do.. 

Lard lb. 

Butter : 

Prime  to  choice  dairy .  lb . 

Prime  to  choice  country 

packed lb. 

Cheese : 

Ohio  factory lb . 

New  York  factory do. 

Wool : 

Tub-washed lb . 

Fleece- washed do. 

Unwashed do. 

NEW  OKLEANS. 

Flour: 

Supgrfine bbl. 

Extra do . 

Choice  to  fancy do. 

Corn,whiteandyerw.bu8h. 


.$4  00  tolS4  7.5 

5  00  to  5  25 

O-M  to  7  25 

3  00  to  3  50 


16  50  to  $7  50 

4  75  to  5  50 

4  00  to  4*75 

5  00  to  5  25 

6  50  to  7  25 
3  00  to  3  50 


105 

95J  to 
78.V  to 
67  to 
79  to 

45 

30  to 


95, 

78f 
C7i 
80^ 


34 


Nominal. 
972-  to 
76  to 
C7  to 
75  to 
40ito 
304  to 


$0  50  to  $7  50 

4  75  to  5  50 

4  00  to  4  75 

5  00  to  5  25 

6  50  to  7  25 
3  00  to  3  50 


Nominal. 
97Jto 
80  to 
61  to 
5U  to 
4Iito 
311  to 


^6  50  to  $7  50 

4  75  to  5  50 

4  00  to  4  90 

5  00  to  5  25 

6  50  to  7  25 
3  00  to  3  50 


Noinin.al . . 
1  00*  to  1  OOJ 

eel  to  90J 

64  to   68 
CO 

40  to   47J 
33t  to   33i 


$7  30  to  $7  80 

5  80  to  710 

4  30  to  5  10 

5  10  to  5  60 

6  00  to  9  00 
3  00  to  3  75 


1  12i 

m  to  9S| 
HO  to  90i 
62 , 

62i  to  63 
454-  to   46 

30i  to    m 


11  00  to  13  00 

8  50  to  9  50 

9  50  to  10  00 
10  50  to  11  00 

19  10 

17  00 

1425 , 

12J  to   12^ 

25  to  32 
18  to  23 
12  to   13 


1150  to  14  00 
7  00  to  9  00 

9  50  to  10  00 
1050  to  11  00 

19  50.... 

1775 

14  50  to  14  75 
12  to   12i 

26  to  32 
18  to  23 
12.V  to   13* 


10  00  to  12  00 
6  00  to  9  00 

8  50  to  9  00 

9  50  to  10  00 

21 65  to  21  en 
19  00 : 

16  00 

12i  to   13 

27  to  33 
20  to  34 
12}  to   13il 


11  50  to  13  00 
8  00  to  11  50 

10  50  to  11  00 

11  50  to  12  00 

•22  35 

22  00 

17  00 

14 


7^  to 

44  to 

39  to 

25  to 

33  to 


7  to 

44  to 

39  to 

25  to 

33  to 


7  to 

44  to 

39  to 

25  to 

33  to 


35  to 

25  to 

12  to 

7  to 

44  to 

40  to 

25  to 

30  to 


5  00  to  7  00 

1  00  to  1  30 

1  00  to  1  50 

35  to   44 

GO  to   68 

80  to  1  30 

30  to   39 

14  00  to  10  50 

8  00  to  10  (10 

14  00  to  14  50 

19  50  to  20  50 

15  to   15i 

28  to   30 

20  to   25 


4  00  to  7  50 


1  00  to  1  .30 

1  03  to  1  m 

35  to  41 

6)  to  68 


80  to  1  30 

32  to   39 

14  50  to  17  50 

7  00  to  10  00 

14  00  to  14  50 

19.50  to  20  00 

11 J  to   13 

25  to   30 

16  to   18 


4  00  to  7  50 

1  00  to  1  30 

1  00  to  1  55 

37  to   43 

50  to   70 

8;i  to  1  £5 

32  to   38 

14  50  to  17  .50 

7  00  to  10  00 

14  CO  to  14  50 

22  25  to  22  50 
llii  to   14 

25  to   30 


3  50  to  7  50 


1  00  to  1  35 

1  03  to  1  5  > 

41  to  4S 

50  to  70 


13  to 
13  to 


12H0 
13  to 


12i  to 
13  to 


70  to  1  15 
31  to   37 

14,50  to  18  50 
7  00  to  10  00 
14  00  to  14  50 
23  00  to  23  50 
lUto   13 

30  to   35 

25  to   30 

12i  to   13i 
13  to   14' 


4-2  to  50 
38  to  42 
30  to   38 


3  80  to  4  00 

4  50  to  5  25 

5  50  to  7  50 
54  to  56 


44  to  46 
38  to  42 
30  to   34 


44  to  46 
38  to  42 
30  to   34 


47  to 
38  to 
30  to 


3  75 

4  00  to  5  25 

5  50  to  7  25 
52  to   53 


4  00 

4  25  to  5  50 

5  75  to  7  75 
53  to   58 


400 

4  25  to  5  50 

5  75  to  7  50 
.55  to   00 


12  00  to  14  00 
9  00  to  11  00 

10  75 

11  50  to  11  75 

20  45  to  20  GO 

20  00 

16  00 

12|  to   13 

30  to   35 

25  to   28 

9  to   II 

7i  to  ei 

44  to  50 

38  to  42 

23  to  28 

30  to  37 


3  50  to  7  00 

1  00  to  1  40 

88  to  1  43 

41  to  50 
50  to  68 
70  to  1  00 
31  to  33 

17  25  to  17  50 

9  25  to  9  75 

14  00  to  15  50 

23  00  to  23  .50 

llj  to   13j 

25  to   20 

22  to   25 

121  to  m 
13'  to   14 

42  to  45 
33  to   40 

26  to   27 


375 

4  25  to  5  25 

5  50  to  7  50 
57  to   08 


REPORT   OP   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


249 


PEODUCTS  FOR  1876— Contiuuecl. 


JuEe. 

July. 

Angust. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

$7  37§  to  .^i7  ft7l 

$7  25  to  $7  75 

$6  25  to  $7  25 

f  0  25  to  $7  25 

46  50.- 

£6  25  to  §7  25 

$6  25  to  $7  25 

5  87i  to 

7  25 

5  75  to 

7  12i 

5  50  to  6  00 

5  50  to  6  00 

5  50 

to  $6  00 

5  00  to  6  00 

5  00  to  6  00 

4  50  to 

5  50  to 
COO  to 
3  00  to 

5  00 

5  87J 
9  00 
4  00 

4  50  to 

5  50  to 

6  00  to 
3  00  to 

5  37J 
5  75 
9  00 
4  00 

4  75  to  5  00 

5  00  to  5  SO 
5  75  to  7  50 
2  50  to  3  00 

4  75  to  5  00 

5  00  to  5  00 
5  75  to  7  50 
2  50  to  3  00 

5  00 
5  00 
5  75 
3  00 

to  5  25 
to  5  75 
to  7  50 
to  3  50 

525  to  5  50 

5  75  to  6  25 

6  00  to  7.50 
2  50  to  4  00 

5  25  to  5  50 

5  75  to  6  75 

6  00  to  7  50 
3  00  to  4  00 

1  04^  to 

1  11 

103J 
92i 
684 

"45' 

282 

1  11 

100 

112. 
110 

92. 

61 

85 

46J 

33j 

10  00 

113  to  113J 
lllito  112 
10<l  to  101 
00  to  mi 
79i  to   80 
42*  to   42? 
3l|to   328 

8  50  to  11  50 

115ito  116 
113  to  113| 
105ito  lOot 
66 

1  02i  to 
91ito 
6^  to 

1  035  to 
88  to 
67  to 
56i  to 
46Jto 
29ito 

9  00  to 

104i 

884 

m 
57 
47 

30 

88  to   89 
79 

91|to   98 
82  to   85 
554  to   50 
73  to   78 
43i  to   43i 
32 

to  1  lOJ 

55i  .  . 

55 

44Jto 

28ito 

10  50  to 

50 

45  to   45i 
30J '. 

to  00  to  12  50 

to   87 
to   47i 
to   34 

66  to   66i 
43} to   44 
32|  to   32} 

13  00 

2  50 

1150  to  12  00 

to  11  25 

9  50  to  11 50 

9  00 

7  00  to  9  50 
10  75  to  11  00 

7  00  to  10  50 
10  75  to  11  00 

7  00 
10  75 

to  8  00 
to  11  00 

750  to  800 
9  50  to  9  75 

700 

10  75  to  11  00 

10  75  to  11  00 

9  50  to  9  IS 

1175  to  12  00 
17  80  to  17  90 

11  75  to  12  00 
19  50  to  19  60 
18  00 

1175  to  12  00 

18  42Jtol8  00 

19  00  to  19  25 
14  25  to  14  50 

lO.Oto  11  00 

11  75  to  12  00 
16  40  to  16  42 
18  00  to  18  25 
13  50  to  13  75 
9J  to   lOi 

1175 
16  20 

1350' 

to  12  00 
to  16  50. 

'to"  "'16  J 

W5p  to  10  75 
15  75  to  16  00 

10  50  to  10  75 
15  75  to  15  80 
1250  to  12  75 

13  00 

14  00  to  14  50 
Hi  to   lU 

12  00  

105  to 

lU 

9ito   9J 

n 

19  to 

15  to 

9  to 

24 

18 

18  to 
14  to 
8ito 

22 
16 

9} 

21  to   25 
15  to   18 

7i  to    9 

28  to   26 
17  to   20 
75  to    85 

27 
20 
llj 

to   32 
to   24 
to   12J 

25  to   30 
17  to   23 
11  to   12J 

28  to   32 
17  to   28 
12  to   13 

9J  to   lOi 

35  to 
30  to 

18  to 

41 
33 

24 

30  to 
25  to 
17  to 

38 
28 
21 

30  to   37 

25  to   28 
15  to   24 

30  to   35 
28  to   29 
15  to   22 

39 
34 
23 

to   40 
to   37 
to   24 

36  to   45 
33  to   39 
21  to   26 

35  to   45 
33  to   37 
20  to   27 

3  50  CO 

6  50 

3  50  to 

6  50 

2  50  to  6  50 

2  50  to  6  50 

3  25 

to  7  00 

3  50  to  700 

350  to  700 

1  10  to 

1  40 

1  40 

44J 

(!8' 

100 

37 

1  12  to 
66  to 
39  to 
50  to 

30  to 

31  to 

1  15 

130 

45 

63 

100 

35 

1  32  to  1  36 
63  to  130 
35  to   43 
41  to   52 

1  20  CO  1  30 
90  to  1  16 
4'J  to   43 
42  to   5-i 
60  to   85 
25  to   33 

8G  to 
39  to 
50  to 
70  to 

103 

39 
42 

to  1  17 
to   45 
to   52 
95 

95  to  113J 
39  to   45 
50  to   59 
45  to  115 

2.Si  to   35 

105  to  128 
43  to   45 
50  to   60 
30  to  115 

30  to 

24  to   30 

30 

to   3CJ 

25  to   32 

15  00  to  19  00 

8  00  to  8  50 
14  CO  to  14  50 
23  00  to  23  50 
lljto   13J 

15  00  to  16  00 
8  00  to  9  50 
14  00  to  14  50 

19  00  to  20  50 
Hi  to   12J 

13  00  to  17  00 
7  00  to  9  50 

14  00  to  14  50 
19  00  to  20  50 

9i  to   11 

1100  to  12  00 
6  00  to  9  00 
14  00  to  14  50 
17  25  to  18  00 
9^  to   11 

U  00 
7  00 
13  50 
17  50 
14 

to  13  00 
to  1 1  00 
to  14  to 
to  18  00 
to   16 

1100  to  13  00 
7  00  to  11  00 
13  50  to  14  00 
16  50  to  17  50 
0  to   10 

1100  to  13  00 
7  00  to  11  09 
13  50  to  14  00 
16  50  to  17 .50 
9^  to   10 J 

18  to 

20 

14  to 

18 

18  to   20 

18  to   20 

26 

to   30 

20  to   30 

22  to   28 

13  to 

16 

13  to 

10 

13  to   10 

13  to   16 

20 

to   25 

18  to   22 

17  to   20 

12ito 
13'  to 

13i 
14' 

12*  to 
13"  to 

14 

121  to   13i| 
13  to   14 

12ito   134 
13  to   14' 

12*  to   13i 
13"  to   14" 

12J  to   13' 
13  to   14 

12Uo   13J 
13  to   14 

35  to 

37 
37 
27 

36  to 
34  to 
27  to 

37^ 
35 
30 

35  to   36 
34  to   35 
20  to   24i 

35  to   36 
31  to   35 

20  to   24J 

33 

to   40 

33  to   40 

33  to   40 

26  to 

24 

to   31 

24  to   31 

24  to   31 

3  73 

4  00 

4  25    ... 

3  50  

3  75 

4  25 

5  75 
50 

to  4  00 
to  5.50 
to  7  25 
to   65 

5  GO 

4  75 

4  00  to 

5  50  to 
63  to 

5  25 

7  23 
70 

4  25  to 

5  75  to 
62  to 

5  50 

7  50 

68 

4  50  to  5  75 

0  00  to  7  50 

00  to   C2 

3  75  to  5  00 

5  25  to  7  12J 

50  to   54 

6  00  to  O'tS 

7  00  to  7  50 
56  to   65 

5  00  to  600 

625  to  7  37x 

54  to   65' 

250  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 


MARKET  PRICES  OF  FARM 


Products. 


New  Okleans— Continued. 

Oats bush 

nay: 

Choice ton 

Prime do 

Beef: 

Texas bbl. 

Western do 

Fulton  market i  bbl 

Pork,  mess bbl 

Lard ...lb. 

Butter: 

Choice  Goshen lb. 

Choice  western do. 

Cheese: 

Choice  west'n  fac'ry..lb. 

New  York  cream do. 

Su^ar: 

Fair  to  fully  fair lb 

Prime  to  strictly  prime, 
pound  

Clarified,  white  and  yel- 
low  lb. 

Cotton : 

Ordinary  to  good  ordi- 
nary  lb 

Low  middling   to   good 

middling lb 

Tobacco : 

Lugs lb 

Low  leaf  to  medium  leaf, 
pound 

SAN  FKANCIBCO. 
Flour  : 

Superfine *  bbl 

Extra do 

Family  and  fancy do 

Wheat: 

California cental 

Oregon do.. 

Barley do.. 

Oata do.. 

Corn do . . 

Hay,  State ton 

Pork: 

Mess bbl 

Prime  mess do. 

Beef: 

Mess bbl. 

Family  mess J  bbl 

Lard lb 

Butter: 

Overland  do 

California do 

Oregon do 

Olieese do 

Wool: 

Native do 

California do 

Oregon do 


25  00 

18  00    to  22  00 

12  00    to  25  00 
16  00    to  17  00 

11  50... 

20  50  to  21  75 
12i  to  Ui 


January. 


145  to  SO  50 


33  to 
25  to 

13  to 

14  to 

Oito 
71  to 

ejto 


13* 
1.5i 


••JO  45  to  |0  49 

00 

10  00  to  18  00 

12  CO. 

15  00  to  17  00 

11  50... 

21  50  to  -22  00 

12i  to   14 

33  to   35 
25  to   27 


9i  to  lOJ 

lit  to  13i 

6  to  8 

9  to  14 


4  00  to  5  00 

5  25  to  5  50 
5  75  to  6  25 

1  75  to  2  00 

1  75  to  1  95 

1  10  to  1  35 

I  85  to  2  05 

1  05  to  1  20 

15  00  to  19  00 

i2  eo  to  23  00 

17  50  to  18  00 

9  00  to  10  00 

8  00  to  10  00 

13i  to   16 


18  to  2: 

30  to  3c 

20  to  a:- 

m  to  i: 


10  to   15 
15  to   18 

18  to   20 


February. 


12ito 
14J  to 

64  to 

7J  to 

8i  to 


8i  to  10 

11  to  13^ 

6  to  8 

9  to  14 


4  ."iO  to  5  00 

5  25  to  5  50 
5  75  to  6  00 

1  75  to  1  95 

1  75  to  1  95 

1  20  to  1  .15 

2  05  to  2  35 
1  25  to  1  35 

13  00  to  18  50 

22  00  to  23  00 

17  50  to  18  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

8  00  to  10  00 

13  to   15 

IS  to   25 

25  to   30 

20  to   22i 
12J  to   15 

10  to   15 

15  to   19 

18  to   20 


March. 


10  40  to  $0  45 

■25  00 

17  00  to  18  00 

12  00 

15  00  to  16  00 
a  50 

•23  00  to  23  75 
13^  to   14J 

33  to   35 

25  to   28 


13 

l-ij  to  15 

6g  to  74 

7i  to  7i 

ef  to  9j 

8  to  91 

ic}  to  m 

5J  to 

8  to  101 


4  50  to  5  00 

5  25  to  5  50 
5  75  to  6  00 

1  75  to  1  95 

1  75  to  1  90 

1  20  to  1  35 

2  05  to  2  25 
I  15  to  1  25 

12  00  to  18  00 

22  00  to  23  00 

17  50  to  18  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

8  00  to  10  00 

13  to   15 

18  to   25 

25  to   30 

20  to   221 
12J  to   15 

10  to   15 

15  to   19 

18  to   20 


Apiil. 


>  42  to  $0  45 


000 

14  50  to  10  00 

12  00  to  12  50 
12  CO  to  10  00 
U  75  to  12  00 
24  00  to  24  50 
14i  to   15J 

40  to   42 
30 

i-:** 

14 

7J  to-   75 

7i  to    7 

9  to   10 

9  to  10} 

11}  to  14J 

5i  to 

8  to  lOi 


4  25  to  5  00 

5  25  to  5  50 
5  75  to  6  00 


'f0  32  to  $0  44 

22  00  to  23  00 
1700 


175 

175 

1  15 

2  10 
1  15 

14  00 


to  2  00 
to  2  00 
to  1  :f5 
to  2  50 
to  1  25 
to  13  50 


22  00  to  23  00 
17  50  to  18  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

8  to  to  10  00 

13i  to   15 

IG  to  18 

25  to  30 

20  to  22J 

124  to  15 

10  to  15 
15  to  18 
10  to   18 


May. 


12  00  to  12  50 
15  00  to  15  50 
11  75  to  12  GO 
22  00  to  22  75 
13i  to   14J 

42  to   44 
25  to   33 

13  to   13J 
154  to   16 


7|to 
8|  to 
9ito 


8i 

9 

lOi 


8  to   9} 

lOJ  to  13i 

5  to    7 

7J  to  lOi 


4  25  to  4  50 

4  75  to  5  25 

5  50  to  6  50 


1  50 

175 

1  10 

2  00 
1  05 

12  00 


to  190 
to  185 
to  125 
to  2  50 
to  1  15 
to  19  00 


22  00  to  24  00 

17  50  to  18  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

13  to   15 

10  to   18 

25  to   30 

20  to   22i 
121  to   15 

10  to       15 

15  to       18 

16  to       18 


LIVE  STOCK 


NEW  TOKK. 
Cattle: 

.cental 
...do.. 
...do.. 

...do.. 
..head. 

.cental 

....do.. 
do 

12  25    to  12  75 
10  75    to  12  00 
7  75    to  10  50 
7  00    to    8  50 
50  00    to  85  00 
7  00    to  10  00 
5  00    to    7  50 

U  50  

11  50    to  12  25 
11  50 

1175 
U  50. 
9  00. 

to  12  00 

1125    to  12  00 

10  00    to  11  00 

8  00    to    9  75 

8  00    to    9  00 

50  00    to  80  00 

4  50    to    7  00 

6  50    to    8  50 

None  in  the 

market 

Good  to  prime.  .*. 

11  00 

8  00    to  10  00 

9  00 

50  00    to  85  00 

7  00    to  10  50 
5  50    to    7  37 

8  50    to  10  50 

7  00    {01056 
5  35    to    7  37 
10  12J  to  10  50 

Sheep 

6  75 
10  25 

to    7  87 
to  10  75 

*  The  barrel  of  floor  in  San 


REPORT   OP   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


251 


PRODUCTS  FOR  187G— Continued. 


June. 

July. 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

10  40  to  $0  43 
oi  nn  t.n  Q";  on 

|!0  35  to  10  42 

22  00  to  23  00 
17  00  to  19  00 

10  00  to  11  00 
13  00  to  14  50 

11  75  to  12  00 
■21  50 

$0  33  to  $0  40 

$0  47  to  $0  55 

$0  41  to  to  50 

10  45  to  10  47 

22  00  to  23  00 
16  00  to  17  00 

10  00  to  11  00 
13  00  to  14  50 
1175  to  12  00 
20  75  to  21  00 
12  to   13i 

2100 

17  50  to  18  00 

1000 

13  00  to  14  00 
9  75  to  10  00 

18  75  to  19  00 
lljto   12 

19  00 

1800 

21  00 

16  00  to  17  00 

10  00  to  11  00 
13  00  to  14  50 
1100  to  12  00 

17  25  to  18  00 
11  to   12J 

IG  00 

13  00  to  14  00 

12  00  to  12  SO 
14  00  to  15  50 
11  75  to  12  00 
22  50  to  22  75 

10  00   

14  00  to  15  00 
9  75  to  10  00 
1750  to  18  25 
lOfto   11* 

12  00  to  15  00 
8  00  to  8  50 
18  37*  to  18  50 

13  to   14^ 

into   13J 

lOito   Hi 

33  to   35 

32 

30 

30  to   32 
22  to   23 

35  .._ 

25 

34 

34  to   35 

28  to   30 

23  to   25 

17  to   18 

24  to   25 

22  to   23 

12>t  to   13 

9  to   11 
14i 

9 

8i 

12i  to   15 

104  to   lOi 
lOJto   11 

13  to   14 

15  to   16 

12Jto   13 
15  to   15J 

74  to   7i 

8  to   8J 

13  to   12i 

15' 

14J  to   15 

8i  to    9i 

15  to  16 

7i  to    84 
8J 

8  to    84 

9  to    9i 

7ito   8J 
8ito   8t 

9ito    9i 

9J  to   101 

9J  to   lOJ 

lOJ  to   11 J 

11  to   llj 

11  to   11! 

9  to   10 

9J  to   lOJ 

7i  to   9* 
10*  to   124 

6J  to    8i 
lOf  to   12i 

7|to    9g 
lOi  to   12i 

8f  to    91 
lOi  to   112 

8Jto    9i 
91  to   lOJ 

8)  to   9i 
10}  to   lU 

lOJ 

Hi  to   12i 

5i  to   7i 

5J  to    7i 

5Jto    8 

5ito    8 

5Jto    8 

5Jto   8 

5ito   7i 

8i  to   Hi 

8  to   llj 

8  to   12 

8i  to   12 

8ito   12 

8J  to   12 

8  to   11 

4  00  to  4  50 
4  50  to  5  75 

4  00  to  4  7a 

5  00 

4  00  to  4  25 

4  50  to  5  no 

5  00  to  5  50 

4  00  to  4  25 

4  50  to  4  75 

5  00  to  5  50 

4  00  to  4  25 

4  50  to  4  75 

5  00  to  5  25 

4  00  to  425 
4  50  to  4  75 
500  to  550 

4  25  to  4  50 
4  75  to  5  00 

6  00  to  6  25 

5  25  to  5  75 

5  00  to  5  50 

150  to  175 

1  60  to  1  72i 

1  00  to  1  20" 

2  25  to  2  50 
1  05  to  1  15 
9  00  to  15  00 

1  40  to  1  65 
1  60  to  1  65 
80  to  1  15 
I  75  to  2  25 
1  05  to  1  15 
7  00  to  13  00 

1  50  to  1  65 
1  50  to  1  65 
95  to  1  25 
1  30  to  1  75 
1  15  to  125 
8  00  to  13  00 

1  50  to  1  55 
1  50  to  1  55 
00  to  1  10 
1  40  to  1  87^ 
I  15  to  1  25 
7  50  to  13  00 

]  50  to  1  62J 
1  50  to  1  60 
90  to  110 
1  40  to  1  75 
1  15  to  1  25 
7  50  to  13  00 

150  to  175 
150  to  175 
90  to  150 
140  to  175 
110  to  115 
7  50  to  13  50 

160  to  2  00 
1  60  to  1 95 
90  to  1175 
150  to  195 
105  to  110 
10  00  to  16  00 

22  00  to  24  00 
17  50  to  18  50 

22  00  to  24  00 
17  50  to  18  50 

22  00  to  24  00 
17  50  to  18  50 

23  00  to  24  00 
17  50  to  18  50 

23  00  to  24  00 
17  50  to  18  50 

23  00  to  24  00 
17  50  to  18  50 

23  00  to  24  00 
18  00  to  20  00 

9  50  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 
13  to   15 

8  50  to  10  00 

7  50  to  10  00 

13  to   15 

8  50  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

13  to   15 

9  00  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

13J  to   15 

9  00  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

13  to   14 

9  00  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

13i  to   15 

9  00  to  10  00 

8  50  to  10  00 

13  to   14 

16  to   18 
25  to   30 
20  to   2yj 
12i  to   15 

16  to   18 
25  to   28 
20  to   22J 
12i  to   15 

16  to   18 
25  to   28 
20  to   22i 
12i  to   15 

16  to   18 
25  to   40 
20  to   25 
12J  to   15 

16  to   18 
25  to   45 
20  to   25 
12i  to   15 

20  to   22 
25  to   45 
20  to   25 
12i  to   15 

16  to   18 
25  to   45 
20  to   25 
124  to   15 

9  to   12i 
15  to   18 
15  to   18 

8  to   10 
15  to   19 
15  to   19 

8  to   10 
15  to   19 
15  to   20 

10  to   12 
15  to   22 
15  to   22 

10  to   12 
15'  to   22 
20  to   25 

10  to   12 
15  to   22 
20  to   25 

10  to   12 
15  to   23 
20  to  25 

MARKETS. 


9  75 
8  00 
8  00 

to  10  75 
to  9  50 
to  9  00 

3  50 

4  50 
6  90 

to  7  00 
to  7  50 
to  7  00 

10  25 

10  00  to  10  25 
...  9  00 


4  75  to  5  75 


10  50  to  10  75 
9  50  to  10  25 
7  25  to  9  25 


45  00  to  75  00 

5  50  to  8  50 

4  00  to  6  00 

7  00  to  7  25 


10  00  to  10  50 

9  50  to  9  75 

8  00  to  9  25 

2  75  to  7  50 


5  00  to  8  25 
4  00  to  6  50 

6  75  to  7  00 


9  50  to  10  75 
8  00  to  9  00 
50 
50 
00 
50 
75 
00 


6  00  to  7 

6  00  to  7 

50  (10  to  75 

5.50  to  9 

4  00  to  6 

6  65  to  7 


6  00 
45  00 
5  00 
4U0 
5  60 


FranoiBco  contains  300  ponnds. 


252         REPORT   OP   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP   AGRICULTURE. 


LIVE  STOCK 


Troducts. 

January. 

February. 

March. 

April. 

May. 

rnilADELPHIA. 

Cattle: 
Prime  beeves csntal. 

$7  12i  to  $1  50 

S7  12i  to 

17  50 

*7  12i  to  $7  25 

$7  00    to  $7  75 

$e  75   to  $7  00  1 

Fair  to  good do.. 

5  50    to 

7  00 

5  50    to 

7  00 

5  50    to 

7  00 

5  75    to 

6  75 

6  00    to 

6  50 

Commou do.. 

3  50    to 

5  25 

4  00    to 

5  25 

4  00    to 

5  25 

4  50    to 

5  5B 

5  00    to 

5  25 

Sheep do.- 

4  50    to 

8  00 

5  75    to 

7  00 

4  50    to 

7  00 

5  00    to 

7  75 

4  00    to 

7  75 

Swine do . . 

10  00    to  11  00 

10  00    to  11  50 

11  50    to  12  50 

12  50    to  13  75 

1100    to  12  25  1 

Cattle  r^^^^"'^^^- 

Best  beeves cental . 

5  50    to 

6  25 

5  87    to 

6  50 

5  75    to 

6  37J, 

6  12    to 

6  50 

5  50    to 

6  25 

First  quality do.. 

4  50    to 

5  50 

4  75    to 

5  75 

4  75    to 

5  75 

5  12    to 

6  12 

5  00    to 

5  50 

Medium  or  good  quality, 

cental 

3  50    to 

4  50 

3  75    to 

4  75 

4  25    to 

4  75 

4  50    to 

5  12 

4  50    to 

5  00 

Ordinary cental 

3  00    to 

3  50 

3  00    to 

3  50 

3  00    to 

4  00 

3  50    to 

4  00 

4  00    to 

4  25 

General  average  of  the 

4  25 

4  50 ... . 

4  87i-... 

5  37 

550 

Most  of  the  sales — do.. 

3  75    to 

4  75 

4  00    to 

5  25 

4  37^  to 

5  25 

4  75    to 

5  87 

5  00    to 

6  00 

Sheep do . . 

4  50    to 

5  50 

4  50    to 

6  50 

4  50    to 

7  50 

5  00    to 

7  50 

2  75    to 

6  00 

Swine do. . 

9  00    to  10  00 

9  50    to  10  50 

10  75    to  12  00 

10  50    to  12  00 

9  75    to  11  00  1 

Cattle:    CLXCLNNATI. 

Good  to  prime  butchers' 

steers cental 

4  50  to 

5  50 

5  00  to 

5  50 

4  75  to 

5  00 

4  75  to 

5  25 

4  75  to 

5  25 

Fair  to  medium do . . 

3  25  to 

4  25 

4  00  to 

4  75 

3  50  to 

4  50 

3  75  to 

4  50 

3  75  to 

450 

Commou do.. 

2  00  to 

300 

-2  75  to 

3  75 

2  75  to 

3  25 

SOOto 

3  50 

2  75  to 

3  50 

Milch -cows head 

"Veal  calves cental . 

1 

Sheep do . . 

3  00  to 

6  00 

3  25  to 

6  00 

3  75  to 

6  on 

4  00  to 

6  00 

4  00  to 

7  60 

Swine do.. 

6  50  to 

.7  30 

7  40  to 

8  35 

7  40  to 

8  35 

7  25  to 

860 

6  CO  to 

7  35 

Cattle:     CHICAGO. 

5  25  to 

5  75 

5  00  to 

5  50 

5  00  to 

5  50 

5  00  to 

5  50 

.  5  30 

4  50  to 

5  10 

4  35  to 

4  75 

4  75 

4  40  to 

4  80 

4  10 --I 

Medium do.. 

4  00  to 

4  50 

4  12i  to 

4  25 

3  50  to 

3  75 

4  20  to 

4  4i' 

3  50  to 

4  00 

Inferior  natives do.. 

2  50  to 

4  00 

2  80  to 

400 

3  00  to 

3  50 

2  50  to 

3  50 

2  50  to 

3  75 

2  50  to 
4  25  to 

3  75 

5  50 

Sheep do. . 

4  00  to 

5  50 

4  00  to 

6  00 

4  50  to 

7  75 

4  00  to 

6  35 

Swine do . . 

5  30  to 

7  25 

7  25  to 

7  80 

7  50  to 

8  30 

SOOto 

8  75 

7  25  to 

7  65 

Cattle:  ^^'^^0^^- 

Good   to   choice   native 

steers cental. 

5  75  to 

6  25 

5  25  to 

6  00 

5  25  to 

5  50 

5  25  to 

5  50 

4  20  to 

4  50 

Common     to     fair     na- 

tives   cental. 

3  50  to 

45(; 

3  00  to 

4  25 

SOOto 

4  25 

3  00  to 

4  25 

3  25  to 

4  05 

Inferior  to  common.. do.. 

2  25  to 
2  -10  to 

3  50 

2  00  to 

3  25 

2  00  to 

3  25 

2  00  to 

3  25 

2  00  to 

3  25 

Texans,  fair  to  choice .  do . . 

4  50 

3  00  to 

4  25 

3  00  to 

4  50 

3  00  to 

4  50 

3  00  to 

3  50 

Sheep do.. 

2  75  to 

4  90 

2  75  to 

5  50 

2  75  to 

5  50 

2  75  to 

5  50 

2  75  to 

5'25 

Swino do.- 

6  00  to 

7  50 

5  75  to 

7  25 

7  40  to 

8  )0 

7  50  to 

8  50 

7  20  to 

7  55 

Horses : 

Plufjs head. 

20  00  to 

30  00 

30  00  to 

40  00 

30  00  to 

50  00 

30  00  to 

50  00 

30  00  to 

50  00 

Plain do . . 

CO  00  to 

75  0!) 

60  00  to 

75  00 

60  00  to 

75  on 

eo  00  to 

75  0(1 

CO  00  to 

75  00 

Street-car do.. 

75  00  to  125  00 

75  00  to  125  CO 

75  00  to  125  00 

75  00  to  125  00 

75  00  to  125  00 

Ueavy.draught do.. 

1)5  00  to  125  00 

115  00  to  125  00 

115  00  to 

;25  00 

U5  00to  125  00 

115  00  to  125  00 

Good  drivPTs do.. 

100  00  to  125  on 

100  00  to 

i50  on 

100  CO  to  150  00 

100  00  to  150  OC 

100  00  to  150  00 

Extra do.. 

175  00  to  200  00 

175  00  to  200  00 

175  00  to 

200  on 

175  00  to  200  00 

175  00  to  200  00 

Auction  horses do . . 

20  00  to 

85  00 

25  00  to 

45  on 

25  00  to 

45  00 

25  CO  to 

45  on 

25  00  to 

45  00 

Mules: 

14  to  !.'>  hands  hioh.iioad. 

80  00  to  130  00 

SO  00  to  i:i0  00 

80  00  to  130  on 

80  00  to  120  00 

80  00  to  120  00 

1.')  to  16  hands  high  ..do.. 

13S)  00  to 

170  00 

loO  00  to 

170  00 

130  00  to  170  00 

115  00  to  170  00 

115  00  to  130  00 

Extra do.. 

ITti  00  to 

iOOOO 

175  00  to 

.^00  00 

175  00  to  200  00 

175  00  to  200  00 

ICO  00  to  170  00 

NEW  OULEJUIS. 

Cattle: 

40  00  to 
30  00  to 

4G00 
35  00 

.40  00 
35  00 

40  00 
3.snn 

40  00 
3.'i  nn 

40  00... 

First  qual  ity do . . 

Second  quality do. . 

Western  beeves  ..cental 

30  00  to 

35  00 

20  00  to 

25  00 

20  00  to 

25  00 

:^n  on 

_  30  no 

30  00 

4  00  to 
40  00  to 
2  00  to 

6  50 

90  00 

6  00 

4  00  to 
40  00  to 
2  00  to 

5  00 
00  00 

6  00 

4  00  to 

5  50 
90  00 

6  00 

4  50  to 
40  00  to 
2  00  to 

5  50 

90  00 

COO 

Milch-cows bead. 

40  00  to 
2  00  to 

90  00 
6  00 

Sheep do.. 

2  00  to 

Swine do.. 

7  00  to 

8  00 

6  00  to 

8  00 

6  00  to 

8  50 

6  00  to 

8.50 

6  00  to 

8  50 

Horses : 

Good-conditioned  ..head. 

150  00  to  200  00 
100  00  to  150  00 

40  00  to  eoco 

150  00  to  200  00 
100  00  to  150  00 
40  00  to    60  OO 

Mules: 

Y»''eIl-brolven,  first  clr.ss, 

head 

225  00  to 

375  00 

225  00  to  275  00 

"Well-broken,  sec'n<l  class, 

head 

175  00  to 

225  00 

175  00  to  225  OC 

"1 

'  The  horse-market  of  "New  Orleans 


REPORT   OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


253 


MARKETS— ContiD  ued . 


June. 

July 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

66  00  to  16  50 
5  00  to  5  75 
4  00  to  4  75 
4  00  to  0  75 

10  00  to  10  50 

J6  00  to  16  75 
5  25  to  5»75 
4  25  to  5  00 
150  to  5  75 
8  75  to  9  25 

J5  S7J  to  $6  50 
5  25  to  5  75 
4  50  to  5  12J 
2  00  to  5  50 
9  50  to  10  00 

15  87J  to  ?6  00 
5  25  to  5  75 
3  00  to  5  00 
1  00  to  5  75 
9  00  to  9  25 

B5  75  to  ^fi  25 
4  62Jto  5  50 
3  00  to  4  50 
1  50  to  5  75 
8  75  to  9  25 

$612ito$6  25 
5  00  to  6  00 
3  00  to  4  75 
100  to  5  75 
8  25  to  8  75 

$612itof'6,50 
5  12ito  6  00 
3  50  to  5  00 
100  to  6  12^ 
7  00  to  8  00 

4  75  to 
4  37 "  to 

5  75 
4  75 

4  87  to 
4  12  to 

5  87 
4  87 

5  12  to 
4  12  to 

5  87 
5  00 

4  87  to 
4  12  to 

5  50 
4  62 

4  87  to 
4  00  to 

5  25 

4  87 

4  87  to 
400  to 

525 
4  75 

4  87  to 
412  to 

5  25 

4  87 

4  00  to 
3  50  to 

4  37 
4  00 

3  75  to 
3  50  to 

4  12 
3  75 

3  87  to 
3  50  to 

4  87 
3  37 

3  25  to 
2  50  to 

4  00 
3  00 

3  25  to 
2  50  to 

4  00 
3  25 

312  to 
225  to 

3  75 
3  00 

3  25  to 
3  00  to 

412 
3  25 

500 

512 

5  00 

4  00 

3  87 

3  62 

4  50 

4  37  to 
4  00  to 
8  50  to 

5  25 
5  75 
9  25 

4  62  to 
2  00  to 

8  75  to 

5  50 
5  00 
9  25 

4  50  to 

2  00  to 
9  00  to 

5  50 
5  12^, 
9  75 

3  62  to 
2  50  to 
8  50  to 

4  50 

5  00 
9  25 

3  25  to 
2  00  to 
7  50  to 

4  25 

5  25 

8  75 

312  to 
2  00  to 
7  00  to 

4  25 
4  75 

7  87J 

4  00  to 
2  00  to 
7  00  to 

5  00 
5  50 
7  75 

4  25  to 
3  50  to 
2  50  to 

5  00 
4  25 
3  25 

4  25  to 
3  25  to 
2  25  to 

4  75 
4  25 

3  00 

4  00  to 
3  00  to 
2  00  to 

4  75 
3  75 
2  75 

4  00  to 
3  00  to 
2  00  to 

4  75 
3  75 

2  75 

4  00  to 
2  75  to 
2  00  to 

4  65 
3  73 
2  50 

3  75  to 
2  50  to 
2  00  to 

4  25 
350 
2  40 

4  25  to 
2  60  to 
200  to 

4  40 

3.50 
2  50 

::::::;::;  :i 

;:::::  ::::.:;: 

::::::::::; 

::::":::::: 

::::::;." 

:": 

3  50  to 
5  25  to 

5  00 

6  00 

3  00  to 
5  90  to 

4  50 
6  25 

2  25  to 
5  00  to 

4  25 
6  50 

2  25  to 
5  50  to 

4  25 
6  40 

2  25  to 
5  00  to 

450 
6  15 

2  25  to 
4  90  to 

4  50 

5  60 

2  25  to 
0  CO  to 

4  50 
585 

4  75  to 
4  40  to 

5  00 
4  65 
4  65 
4  15 

4  70  to 
4  35  to 
4  00  to 
2  00  to 

2  50  to 

3  25  to 
6  00  to 

4  90 
4  60 
4  25 

3  75 

4  00 
4  65 
6  40 

4  80  to 
4  60  to 
4  25  to 
2  00  to 
2  40  to 
2  50  to 
6  20  to 

5  00 
4  70 
4  40 
3  60 

3  60 

4  75 

6  80 

4  85  to 
4  50  to 
4  00  to 
2  00  to 

2  50  to 

3  00  to 
6  20  to 

510 
4  75 
4  40 
3  50 

3  50 

4  50 
6  40 

4  60  to 

4  25  to 
3  25  to 

1  50  to 

2  10  to 
2  75  to 

5  00  to 

5  00 
4  50 
4  00 

2  00 

3  00 

4  50 

6  30 

4  60  to 
4  10  to 
3  30  to 
175  to 

2  25  to 

3  00  to 

4  25  to 

4  75 
4  40 
4  00 

2  90 

3  25 

4  25 
6  00 

500 

4  25  to 
2  50  to 

2  80  to 
2  25  to 

"3  25  to' 
5  50  to 

3  50 
2  50 

3  00  to 
5  80  to 

5  50 

6  35 

412i 

6  00 

4  45  to 

4  50 

4  25 

3  25 

4  00 

5  25 
5  90 

4  60  to 

3  25  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to 
3  75  to 

5  50  to 

4  75 

4  25 

3  25 

4  00 

5  25 

5  75 

4  50  to 

3  25  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to* 
2  50  to 
6  10  to 

4  90 

425 

3  25 

4  00 
4  50 
6  50 

4  50  to 

3  25  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to 
2  50  to 

5  50  to 

4  90 

4  25 

3  25 

4  00 
4  50 
6  25 

4  50  to 

3  25  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to 
2  50  to 

5  50  to 

490 

4  25 

3  25 
400 

4  50 
6  25 

4  50  to 

325  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to 
2  50  to 
55'Oto 

4  90 

3  25  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to 
3  75  to 
5  40  to 

4  50  to 

2  00  to 

3  00  to 
2  50  to 
6  10  to 

4  90 

3  25 

4  00 
4  50 
6  35 

4  25 

3  25 

4  00 
4  50 
6  25 

30  00  to  35  00 
45  00  to  55  CO 
75  00  to  125  00 
115  00  to  125  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
175  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  45  00 

30  00  to  35  00 
45  00  to  55  00 
75  00  to  125  00 
115  00  to  125  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
225  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  45  00 

30  00  to  65  00 
50  00  to  90  00 
75  00  to  125  00 
100  00  to  130  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
225  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  45  00 

30  00  to  65  00 
50  00  to  90  00 
75  00  to  125  00 
100  00  to  1 30  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
225  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  45  00 

30  00  to  Cif)  00 
.50  00  to  SOOO 
75  00  to  125  00 
100  00  to  i:!0  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
225  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  45  00 

30  00  to  65  00 
50  00  to  90  00 
75  00  to  125  00 
100  00  to  130  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
225  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  4500 

30  00  to  65  00 
50  00  to  90  00 
75  00  to  125  00 
100  00  to  130  00 
175  00  to  225  00 
225  00  to  250  00 
25  00  to  4500 

85  00  to  120  00 
115  00  to  150  00 
175  00  to  185  00 

85  00  to  120  00 
115  00  to  150  00 
175  00  to  185  00 

85  00  to  120  00 
115  00  to  150  00 
175  00  to  ISO  00 

85  00  to  120  00 
115  00  to  150  CO 
175  00  to  185  00 

85  00  to  120  00 
115  00  to  150  00 
175  00  to  185  00 

85  00  to  120  Oil 
115  00  to  150  0>; 
175  00  to  185  00 

85  00  to  120  00 
115  00  to  150  00 
175  00  to  185  00 

40  00... 

.40  00 
.35  00 
.30  00 

5  50 
90  00 

6  00 
8  50 

40  00... 

40  00... 

40  00... 

35  09  to 

45  00 
35  00 
3000 

35  00  to 
'2500  to 

45  00 

35  00 

35  00 

35  00 

35  00 

35  00 

30  00  .  

30  00 

30  00 

25  00  to 

35  00 

4  50  to 

5  50 
90  00 

6  00 
8  50 

200  00 
150  00 
80  00 

275  00 
225  00 

4  00  to 

40  00  to 

2  00  to 

6  00  to 

(*) 

4  50  to 

40  00  to 

2  00  to 

6  00  to 

(*) 

550 
90  00 
COO 

8  50 

•2  00  to 

40  00  to 

90  00 

40  00  to  90  00 
2  00  to  6  CO 
0  00  to  8  00 

150  00  to  200  00 
100  00  to  150  OC 
40  00  to  80  00 

175  00  to  225  00 
175  00  to  200  00 

40  00  to  90"6c 
2  00  to  6  00 
500to  700 

150  00  to  200  00 
100  00  to  150  OG 
40  00  to  80  00 

175  00  to  200  00 
100  00  to  150  00 

50  00  tQ 
2  00  to 
5  50  to 

100  00 
600 

6  00  to 

700 

150  00  to 

150  00  to  200  CO 
100  00  to  150  00 
40  00  to  80  00 

190  00  to  225  00 
175  00  to  200  00 

100  00  to 

40  00  to 

225  00  to 

175  00  to 

is  closed  during  July  and  August. 


254    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


INTEBNATIOKAL  STATISTICS. 

The  International  Statistical  Congress  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1872  con- 
fided to  the  French  government  statistical  corps  the  preparation  of  a 
code  of  international  statistics  of  agriculture.  The  work  was  immedi- 
ately inaugurated  by  sending  direct  inquiries  to  the  statistical  authorities 
of  Europe  and  America.  Replies  to  these  inquiries,  embodying  more  or 
less  full  statistics  of  1873,  were  received  from  the  United  Kingdom, 
Norway,  Hungary,  Saxony,  WUrtemberg,  Baden,  Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Saxe-Weimar,  Saxe-Altenburg,  Holland,  and  Belgium.  The  French 
government  gave  authoritative  and  efficient  aid  to  the  work,  whereby 
a  very  thorough  census  of  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  republic  was 
secured.  Eoturns  embracing  statistics  of  an  earlier  date  were  received 
from  several  other  countries,  while  of  still  others  ouly  published  docu- 
ments of  several  years'  standing  were  accessible.  The  dates  of  these 
data  will  be  found  in  one  of  the  tables  given  below.  Statistics  of  the 
United  States  were  received  from  the  Statistical  Division  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

As  was  expected,  great  embarrassment  was  found  in  the  differences  of 
national  manners,  customs,  and  methods  of  investigation.  The  pressure 
of  difficulties  arisiug  from  these  sources  caused  the  inquiries  to  be  con- 
fined to  four  leading  and  essential  points,  upon  which  alone  it  was 
deemed  practicable  to  attain  results  of  even  approximate  value  and 
reliability.  These  points  are,  first,  acreage,  both  cultivated  and  unculti- 
vated ;  second,  product  compared  with  area ;  third,  farm-animals ;  fourth, 
systems  of  exploitation,  processes  of  culture,  and  agricultural  implements. 
The  following  abstract  embraces  the  first  three  of  these  heads : 

The  original  report  is  in  French,  rendering  necessary  not  only  trans- 
lation and  subsequent  condensation  and  re-arrangement,  but  also  a  re- 
duction from  French  weights  and  measures  to  our  own.  If  an  interna- 
tional system  of  weights  and  measures — the  metric,  if  no  other  should 
be  deemed  practicable  or  preferable — could  be  established,  it  would  re- 
lieve much  of  the  tribulation  of  statisticians  in  work  upon  international 
statistics. 

Area. — The  following  table  shows  the  date  of  the  official  returns  or 
other  information  from  which  the  statistics  were  compiled,  the  popula- 
tion and  national  areas  of  the  different  states  and  the  proportion  of 
productive  and  unproductive  laud. 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


255 


Population  and  areas. 


Countries. 


Great  Britain  . ..,, 

Ireland 

Denniflili 

Korwa^ 

Swedon 

Susaia 

Finland 

Austria 

HuD^ary , 

Switceriand 

Prntssia J... 

Bavaria 

Saxony 

"Wiirtemberg , 

Baden    

Hesse-Barmstadt 

Saxe- Weimar  . 

Saxe- A  Itenburg . . . 

Holland 

Belgium 

France 

Portugal 

Spain 

Italy 

Greece 

Turkey 

Servia 

Koumania 


i 

13 

> 

[3 

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c 

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rs    . 

a 

o 
o 

n 
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a 

El 

p-3 

o 

a 

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s 

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i 

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1 

Q 

Ph 

H 

hj 

o 

H 

Acres. 

Acres. 

Acres. 

Acres. 

1873 

26,  787,  337 

57,  623, 333 

18,  317, 276 

15,  2ai,  530 

33,  598,  806 

1873 

5,337, .:  61 

20,  811,  357 

5,  283,  928 

10,742,811 

f6,  026,  739 

1871 

1,  784,  741 

9.  448,  6!>1 

3,  434,  925 

3,013.274 

6,  448, 199 

1873 

1,  763,  000 

78,  G63, 021 

1,  570,  631 

20,  015,  910 

21,  586,  541 

1872 

4,  297,  97-2 

110,  629,  417 

6, 257,  567 

47,  996,  670 

54, 254,  236 

1870 

71,730,980 

1, 268,  890,  822 

1870 

1,  83-2,  000 

93,  371,  255 

1,  931,  659 

55,  797,  438 

57,  729,  097 

1871 

20,  394,  980 

74,  180,  173 

22,  273,  312 

43,  892, 694 

66. 166, 006 

1873 

15,  509,  445 

80,  027,  559 

27,  966, 121 

41,  935, 140 

69,  901, 801 

1868 

2,  669,  147 

24,  656,  078 

4,  852,  026 

10,  234,  802 
85,  788,  437 
19,  360,  648 

1867 

1873 

7,  666,  407 

9, 524,  886 

17,  191, 293 

1873 

2,  556,  244 

3,  704,  070 

1,  863,  328 

1,  561,  560 

3,  424,  888 

1873 

1,  818,  539 

4,  803,  571 

2,  093,  593 

2,  481,  978 

4,  575,  571 

1873 

1,  461,  562 

3,  774,  353 

1,  498,  969 

1,  984,  293 

3,  433, 262 

1B73 

852,  894 

2,  072,  512 

1,  043,  620 

889,012 

1,  932,  632 

1873 

286,  183 

8S0,  700 

498,  665 

312,315 

810,  980 

1873 

141,122 

326,  558 

190,  579 

120, 241 

310,  820 

1873 

3,716,0OJ 

8,123,200 

2,  437,  0i!3 

3,  263,  053 

5,  700,  086 

1873 

5, 253,  821 

7, 278,  872 

3,  926, 704 

2,  007,  087 

5, 933,  791 

1873 

36, 102,  921 

130,  733,  581 

64,984,190 

45,  209,  091 

110, 193, 231 

1865 

4,  Oil,  908 

22,  508,  508 

4,  551,  400 

6,  449,  571 

11,  000,  971 

1857 

16, 262,  422 

125,  223,  666 

26,801,154 
1,  457,  894 
8,  700, 000 
1,  338,  500 

64, 080,  565 
11,  766, 143 
89,  957, 183 
10,  762,  876 

1867 

1868 

1868 

1873 

4,  500, 000 

29,  893,  638 

8,  656,  770 

11,  518,  343 

20, 175, 113 

In  the  above  classification,  lauds  under  tillage,  or  regular  plow-culture, 
whether  in  a  system  of  rotation  or  otherwise,  constitute  the  first  grand 
division,  which  includes  cereals,  farinaceous  crops,  (such  as  pease,  beans, 
and  potatoes,)  grass  crops,  and  all  others,  together  with  land  in  fallow. 
The  other  grand  division  of  productive  lands,  not  subjected  to  regular  or 
periodical  plow-breaking,  includes  orchards,  vineyards,  pastures,  and 
woods  and  forest; .  A  wide  range  of  difference  is  found  in  the  propor- 
tions of  productive  area  in  different  countries.  The  states  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire  represented  in  the  above  table  have  utilized  nearly  the 
whole  of  their  respective  territories  in  some  form  of  production,  their 
proportion  of  waste  land  varying  from  4  to  11.3  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 
At  the  otherextreme,  as  might  be  expected,  are  those  bleak,  inhospitable 
northern  regions,  Finland,  Sweden,  and  Norway.  The  two  former  have 
about  half,  and  the  latter  nearly  three-fourths,  of  their  territories  entirely 
unproductive.  It  is  remarkable  tbat  Portugal,  in  a  bright  southern 
climate,  has  less  than  half  her  area  occupied  with  any  sort  of  production. 
This  is  partly  due  to  the  very  large  surface  covered  by  her  mountain 
ranges.  Great  Britain  utilizes  but  58  per  cent,  of  her  territory  in  agri- 
cultural production,  and  28  per  cent,  of  her  agricultural  lands  are  un- 
used, leaving  about  14  per  cent,  for  sites  of  cities  and  towns,  lakes, 
streams,  roads,  &c.  France  and  Belgium  utilize  in  agriculture  five- 
sixths  of  their  lands,  including  mountains  and  rivers.  Austro- Hungary 
lose  only  from  10  to  12  per  cent.,  Holland  nearly  a  third,  and  Ireland 
nearly  a  fourth  of  their  respective  areas. 

Of  lands  under  tillage,  the  states  showing  the  largest  proportion,  in 
descending  order,  are  Saxe  Altenburg,  Saxe- Weimar,  Belgium,  and 


256    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Hesse-Darmstadt,  each  of  which  has  over  half  her  territory  under  plow- 
culture  ;  France  and  Wiirtemberg  showing  nearly  the  same  proportion. 
At  the  other  extreme,  Norway  and  Finland  show  but  2  per  cent.,  and 
Sweden  5^  per  cent.,  under  tillage. 

The  preceding  table  enables  the  reader  to  make  comparisons  with  the 
total  productive  area  of  each  state.  The  French  statisticians  have  also 
compared  the  different  classes  of  actually-productive  lands  with  the 
total  agricultural  area,  much  of  which  in  every  country  is  unutilized. 
This  area  is  the  residue  after  deducting  all  the  space  occupied  by  lakesj 
rivers,  roads,  buildings,  &c.  The  data  from  which  this  deduction  is 
made  are  not  given,  but  the  following  table  gives  the  estimated  propor- 
tion which  the  different  branches  of  culture  bear  to  the  residue  of  lands 
that  remain  after  the  deduction.  It  will  be  noticed  that  cereals  and 
farinaceous  crops  are  placed  under  one  general  head.  English  commer- 
cial authorities  include  pease  and  beans  among  the  cereals  by  a  very  wide 
construction  of  the  meaning  of  that  term.  Industrial  crops  are  those 
which  constitute  the  basis  of  some  specific  manufacture,  such  as  sugar- 
beets,  colza,  flaxseed,  &c.  The  "market  and  kitchen  garden  crops" 
are  the  French  cultures  potageres  et  maraicMres. 


Disirihution  of  the  agricullnral  terriiory. 


Lands  under  tiilago. 

other  productive  lands. 

a 

1 

1 

C3 

a  . 

■3 

Its 

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!=  a 

a 

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a)    . 
«  00 

£1 

'C  " 

Countries. 

3  o. 

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p. 
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r3  o 
a  bt 

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P.S 

P 

0  >, 

CS 

S. 

o 

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0 
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a 

a 
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a  a 

Pi:  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

Pr.  ct. 

21.3 
15.3 

0. 1 

0.2 
0.7 

15.9 
12.5 

1.5 
0.1 

39 
28.6 

27.9 
56.  3 

4.7 
1.7 

3'i.G 

58 

71.6 
80.  6 

28.4 

Ireland 

13.4 

40.1 
0.7 
3.4 
1.4 

26.1 
2G.5 
28.7 
33 

0.2 

0.3 

0.9 
1.3 
1.6 

"4.' 5' 
1.0 
4.9 
13.5 

8.0 
0.1 
0.8 
0.7 
0.2 
7.3 
6.4 
2.8 

50.1 
2.1 
6.0 
2.3 
31.4 
35.9 
42.0 
52.2 

37.7 

1.9 

4.8 

5.6 

23.3 

25.4 

19.6 

14.7 

"b'.s 
1.4 
0.3 
0.1 

6.4 
24.0 
41.5 
61.3 
32.6 
27.1 
32.2 
28.9 

44.1 
25.  9 
46.3 
66.9 
61.7 
53.9 
52.1 
43.7 

94.2 
28.0 
52.3 
69.2 
93.1 
89.8 
94.1 
95.9 

5.  8 

72.0 

0.1 
0.1 
0.5 

"o.'o" 

1.5 

0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
1.1 
1.1 
1.4 

47.7 

30.8 

6.9 

10.2 

5.9 

Saxony  

4.1 

Wiirtemberfc 

31.5 

0.4 

1.9 

0.6 

4.7 

45.1 

20.3 

1.0 

32.  2 

53.5 

98.6 

1.4 

30.5 

2J 

43.7 

31.7 

13.5 

0.5 
0.8 
2.3 
1.0 
0.6 

2.8 
2.  2 
I  3 

1.8 
1.0 

11.6 
6.1 
7.2 
6.3 
0.1 

2.3 
0.7 
2.0 
9.9 
8.3 

47.7 
32.8 
59.5 
53.7 
23  5 

14.5 
37.0 
13.8 
15.0 
22.7 

1.1 

"5.' 3' 
2.5 

33.2 

7.2 
16.6 
17.0 

8.1 

48.8 
44.2 
30.  C 
37.3 
33.3 

96. 5 
77.0 
90.1 
91.0 
56.8 

3.5 

Holland 

23.0 

9.9 

9.0 

Portu  jial 

43.2 

25.3 

1.5 

0.8 

1.7 

29.3 

at.  3 

0.8 

16.9 

39.0 

68.3 

31  7 

A  still  further  general  comparison  is  made  of  the  different  classes  of 
culture,  with  the  total  area  actually  productive,  including  the  two  general 
classes  of  lands  under  tillage  and  other  productive  lands.  The  following 
table  indicates  the  percentage  of  the  whole  productive  area  in  each  kind 
of  culture.  It  will  be  seen  that  Belgium,  France,  Great  Britain,  Saxony, 
and  Denmark  have  more  than  half  their  productive  area  under  the 
plow,  while  Finland,  Norway,  and  Sweden  only  range  from  3.3  per  cent. 
to  11.4  per  cent.  In  these  latter,  the  proportion  of  woods  and  forest.s 
ranges  from  eight-tenths  to  nine-tenths  of  the  whole,  while  in  Ireland  they 


REPORT   OP  THE   STATISTICIAN. 


257 


occupy  but  2  per  cent.  Belgium  holds  the  palm  iu  cereal  and  farina- 
ceous plants,  which  occupy  48^  per  cent,  of  her  productive  lands  ;  Den- 
mark comes  next,  with  46.2  per  cent.,  followed  by  France,  38.2,  Kouma- 
nia  37,  «&c.  Ireland  shows  the  largest  proportion,  05  per  cent.,  of  natu- 
ral prairies  and  pastures,  and  Norway  the  smallest,  0.7  per  cent. 
Great  Britain  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  in  meadows  and  annual  for- 
age plants  which  occupy  22.2  per  cent,  of  the  whole ;  Ireland  and  Saxony 
give  over  14  per  cent,  to  this  class  of  crops,  and  the  German  duchies  12 
per  cent. ;  in  Denmark  the  proportion  falls  to  1  per  cent.  Portugal  has 
the  largest  proportion,  14.6  iiev  cent.,  of  fallow  land ;  France  the  next, 
10.9  per  cent. ;  Ireland  the  smallest,  0.1  per  cent.  France  has  the  largest 
proportion  iu  wine-lands,  5.8  per  cent.,  and  Portugal  next,  4.0  per  cent. 

Distribution  of  the  lands  actually  productive. 


Couatries. 


Lands  nnder  tillago. 


a  5 

■P  a 


Other  productive  lands. 


0  ci 


Great  Britain — 

Ireland 

Denmark 

Norway 

Sweden 

Finland 

Austria 

Hungary 

Bavaria 

Saxony 

Wiirtomberg 

German  ducbies  , 

noUaml 

Belgium 

France , 

Portugal , 

Koumania , 


Pr.  ct. 
29.8 
17.7 
46.2 
2.5 
6.5 
2.1 
28.0 
29.5 
30.5 
34.4 
31.9 
31.6 
29.8 
48.5 
38.2 
23.7 
37.0 


Pr.  ct. 
0.1 


Pr.  ct. 
0.2 
0.8 
0.3 


0.2 
O.l 
0.5 


1.0 
1.5 
0.4 
0.5 
1.0 
2.6 
1.1 
1.1 
2.2 


0.2 
0.1 
0.1 
1.3 
1.2 
1.5 
1.9 
2.9 
2.9 
4.8 
1.9 
1.7 
1.2 


Pr.  ct. 

22.2 

14.4 

1.0 

4.6 

3.0 


4.9 
1.1 
5.2 

14.1 
0.7 

12.0 
7.9 
8 

6.9 
0.2 


Pr.  ct. 
2.1 
0.1 
9.1 
0.4 
1.5 
1.0 
0.2 
8.1 
6.8 
2.9 
4.8 
2.5 
0.9 
2.2 
10.9 
14.0 
-2^ 


Pr.  ct. 
54.4 
33.0 
53.2 
7.5 
11.4 
3.3 
33.7 
40.0 
44.7 
54.4 
45.7 

j  49.5 
42.5 
66.1 
59.0 
41.3 
42.9 


Pr.  ct. 
39.0 
65.0 
40.0 
6.7 
9.2 
8.1 
30.4 
28.4 
20.8 
1.5.3 
20.6 
15.0 
48.1 
15.3 
16.5 
39.9 
31.2 


Pr.  ct. 


0.8 
1.4 
0.3 
0.1 
1.0 
1.2 


5.8 
4.6 
1.2 


Pr.  ct 

6.6 

2.0 

6.8 

85.8 

79.4 

88.6 

35.1 

30.2 

31.2 

30.2 

32.7 

34.3 

9.4 

18.0 

18.7 

14.2 

24.7 


Pr.  ct. 

45. 6 

67 

46.8 

92.5 

88.6 

96.7 

66.3 

60.0 

55.3 

45.6 

54.3 

50.5 

.57.5 

33.9 

41.0 

58.7 

57.1 


It  will  be  seen  that  Ireland  devotes  79.4  per  cent,  of  her  productive 
area  to  grass,  including  artificial  and  spontaneous  growth.  The  other 
states,  in  descending  order,  stand  as  follows :  Great  Britain,  61.2  per 
cent.;  Holland,  50;  Denmark,  41 ;  Portugal,  40.1 ;  Austria,  35.3 ;  Eou- 
mania,  31.2;  Hungary,  29.5 ;  Saxony,  29,4;  Wiirtemberg,  27.3  ;  German 
duchies,  27;  Bavaria,  20;  France,  23.4;  Belgium,  23.3;  Sweden,  12.2; 
Norway,  11.3 ;  Finland,  8.1. 

Finally,  comparison  is  made  of  each  branch  of  culture  in  the  general 
class  to  which  it  belongs.  The  following  table  shows  the  percentage  of 
each  general  class  employed  in  the  different  subordinate  classes  included 
in  it.  It  -will  be  seen  that  Eoumania  and  Austria  give  the  largest  pro- 
portions of  their  tilled  lands,  86.3  and  83.3  per  cent.,  to  cereals  and  fari- 
naceous crops.  Eoumania  stands  first  in  market-garden  crops,  Belgium 
in  industrial  crops,  and  Norway  in  meadow  and  annual  forage  crops. 
Of  other  productive  lands,  Ireland  has  nearly  the  whole  in  natural  past- 
ure, orchards,  &o.,  and  Norway  nearly  93  per  cent,  in  woods  and  forests. 
17  A 


258  REPORT    OP   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

Distribution  of  the  lands  i7i  classes  of  culture. 


Countries. 


Great  Britain  — 

Ireland 

Denmark 

Norway 

Sweden 

Finland 

Austria 

Hungary 

Bavaria 

Saxony  

"Wiirtemberg 

Crerman  duchies . 

Holland 

Belgium , 

France 

Portugal 

1Rnpma.nia  -  - 


Lands  under  tillage. 


Pr.  ct. 

.54.8 
53.1 


80 

33.2 

57 

63.7 

83.3 

73.8 

68.3 

63.2 

69.8 

63.8 

70.1 

73.4 

64.7 

57.4 

8&3 


Pr.  ct. 
0.2 


1.8 
3.0 
1.4 


2.8 
0.9 
1.0 
2.4 
3.9 
1.9 
2.7 
5.1 


^.= 


Pr.  ct. 
0.4 
2.4 
0.5 


1.7 
3.0 
0.3 
3.2 
2.7 
2.8 
4.2 
5.9 
6.8 
7.3 
3.2 
4.1 
2.8 


Pr.  ct. 
40.8 
43.6 
2.1 
61.3 
26.3 


14.4 
2.7 
11.6 
25.9 
14.6 
24.2 
18.6 
12.1 
11.7 
0.5 


Pr.  ct. 

3.8 

0.3 

17.0 

5.5 

13.  2 

30.3 

0.6 

20.3 

15.2 

5.3 

10.5 

5.1 

2.1 

3.3 

18.5 

35.8 

5.8 


Pr.ct 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


other  productive  lauds, 


S-F 


1"^ 


Pr.  ct 
85.5 
97.0 
&5.  5 

7.2 
10.4 

8.3 
45.9 
47.3 
37.6 
33.6 
37.9 
29.7 
83.7 
4.5.1 
40.3 
68.1 
54.6 


Pr.  ct. 


1.2 
2.4 
0.5 
0.2 
1.9 
2.4 


14.1 
7.8 
2.1 


Pr.  ct. 
14.5 
3.0 
14.  5 
92.8 
89.6 
91.7 
52.9 
50.3 
61.9 
66.2 
60.2 
67.9 
16.3 
54  9 
45.6 
24.1 
43.3 


Pr.  ct. 

100 
100 

ino 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


REPORT    OF   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


259 


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260    REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


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REPORT    OP   THE    STATISTICIAN. 


261 


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262         REPORT   OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 

The  acreage  in  forage,  artificial  grasses,  and  natural  grasses  amounts 
to  79.4  per  cent,  of  the  entire  productive  area  in  Ireland  ;  61.3,  in  Great 
Britain  ;  56,  in  Holland ;  41,  in  Denmark ;  40.1,  in  Portugal ;  35.3,  in 
Austria;  31.2,  in  Koumauia;  29.5,  in  Hungary;  29.4,  in  Saxony ;  27.6, 
in  WUrtemberg ;  27,  in  the  German  duchies ;  26,  in  Bavaria ;  23.4,  in 
France;  23.3,  in  Belgium;  12.2,  in  Sweden;  11.3,  in  Norway ;  and  8.1, 
in  Finland. 

Production. — The  average  annual  production  of  cereals  of  all  sorts 
in  Europe  is  estimated  at  5,153,808,000  bushels,  of  which  1,657,392,000 
bushels,  or  nearly  a  third,  are  assigned  to  Kussia;  766,260,000  bushels, 
or  nearly  15  per  cent,,  to  Germany  ;  709,500,000  bushels,  or  nearly  14 
per  cent.,  to  France;  567,600,000  bushels,  or  over  11  per  cent.,  to  Aus- 
tria-Hungary. The  production  of  the  United  States  in  1873  is  set  down 
at  1,586,442,000  bushels,  an  aggregate  nearly  equal  to  that  of  Eussia.* 
Europe  produces  a  little  over  17  bushels  i^er  capita  of  her  population; 
the  United  States,  in  1873,  about  392  bushels  per  capita.  The  average 
ratio |)er  cafpita  of  the  different  countries  of  Europe  is  given  as  follows: 
Eoumania, 40.8 bushels;  Denmark, 33^;  Russia,  23;  Prussia, 22^;  France, 
191;  Hungary,  19^;  Bavaria,  18i ;  Sweden,  15.0;  German  duchies,  14.5; 
Belgium  and  Spain,  13.9 ;  Austria  and  Wurtemberg,  13.3 ;  Ireland  and 
Turkey,  13;  Finland,  12.5;  Great  Britain,  11.9;  Saxony  and  Servia,  10.7; 
Holland,  9 ;  Norway  and  Greece,  8.8 ;  Italy  and  Portugal,  7.9 ;  Switzer- 
land, 5.9. 

Estimating  the  average  consumption  at  15.6  bushels  per  capita  for 
food,  seed,  and  various  manufactures,  Europe  produces  about  enough 
to  meet  her  own  demand,  except  in  wheat  and  some  other  breadstuffs, 
which  exhibit  a  considerable  deficiency  to  be  supplied  by  importation. 
Spain,  Italy,  and  France  raise  a  larger  proportion  of  wheat  than  any 
other  grain.  Finland,  Switzerland,  and  Germany,  of  rye ;  Scandinavia 
and  Germany,  of  barley;  Ireland,  Hungary,  and  North  Germany,  of 
oats.  Maize  holds  first  rank  in  Koumania,  Servia,  and  Portugal ;  buck- 
wheat has  but  little  importance,  except  in  Holland  and  France.  Oats 
is  the  leading  crop  of  Europe,  followed  by  wheat  and  rye. 

Of  potatoes,  Ireland  produces  23  bushels  ^er  capita  ;  the  German  Em- 
pire, 18.1 ;  Holland,  14.5 ;  Belgium,  11.6 ;  France,  10.2 ;  Scandinavia, 
9.9;  Austria-Hungary,  8J;  Russia  and  Finland,  4^;  Great  Britain,  3^; 
Italy,  1.1 ;  Portugal,  0.85 ;  Spain,  0.28.  In  the  other  states  this  culture 
is  still  more  insignificant. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  Europe  1,223,195  acres  are,  ©n  an  average, 
annually  devoted  to  what  in  this  country  is  best  known  as  market-gar- 
den crops,  producing  a  great  variety  of  alimentary  and  other  vegetable 
plants,  averaging  in  value,  in  1862,  about  $88,800,000  per  annum,  or 
from  $79  to  $97  per  acre. 

The  "industrial  plants,"  including  colza,  flax,  hemp,  sugar-beet,  hops, 
and  tobacco,  are  grown  to  a  considerable  extent  in  those  countries  in 
which  a  varied  culture  is  pursued.  Roumania  produces  88|  bushels  of 
colzaperhundred  of  her  population;  Belgium,  34J;  Holland,  27;  France, 

*  This  was  correct  for  1873,  but  the  figures  lead  to  a  grevious  misunderstanding  of 
our  real  production.  The  years  1873  and  1874  were  seasons  of  low  yield,  much  below 
an  avferage ;  of  the  two  subsequent  years,  1875  was  characterized  by  a  medium  yield 
of  corn,  aud  1876  by  a  large  yield,  the  rate  of  production  of  other  grains  being  scarcely 
an  average  in  either  year ;  but  the  aggregate  product  of  cereals  exceeded  that  of  the 
two  preceding  years  by  more  than  500,000  bushels  per  annum. 

The  average  estimated  production  of  1873-'7G  inclusive  is  1,873,100,179  bushels, 
which  is  286,658,179  more  than  the  above  estimate  founded  on  the  product  of  1873. 
This  would  give  43  bushels  to  each  inhabitant. 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  265 

22;  Hungary,  20|;  Germany,  14J ;  Denmark,  41.  This  plant  is  a  spe- 
cies of  cabbage,  raised  for  its  seed,  from  which  a  kind  of  lamp-oil  is  ex- 
pressed. The  largest  proportion  of  hemp  is  raised  in  Hungary,  amount- 
ing to  61  pounds  per  capita;  Germany  averages  50 ;  Finland,  43^ ;  France, 
32^L ;  Sweden,  20f  ;  Roumania,  12f ;  Belgium,  8|.  In  flax  Ireland  takes 
the  lead,  producing  13.9  pounds  per  capita;  Belgium,  10.14;  Holland,  7-^; 
France,  3,  &c.  France  is  the  great  sugar-beet  country  of  Europe,  her 
crops  averaging  531  pounds |)cr  capita;  next  Holland, 260  pounds;  Bel- 
gium, 233  pounds;  Hungary,  88|;  Germany,  74.3.  Of  hops,  Germany  and 
Great  Britain  each  average  about  4i  pounds  per  capita  ;  France  less 
than  2,  &c.  Tobacco-culture  is  limited  in  Europe,  yet  Hungary  produces 
5  pounds  per  capita,  and  Germany  4^ ;  smaller  products  are  noted  in 
Denmark,  Sweden,  Finland,  Holland,  Belgium,  France,  and  Roumania. 
Yield  op  crops. — The  following  tables  present  the  returns  of  agri- 
cultural production  in  Europe : 


264         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


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266         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


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268         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIOKER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 
Average  quantity  of  seed  smim  2>C'r  acre. 


Countries. 

r3 
P 

.9 
1 

73 

o 

'3 

a 

a 

n 

■a 

1 

i 

o 

CO 

§ 

o 

Bush. 
2.9 
3.2 
2.5 
1.4 
2.4 
2.4 
2.9 
2.6 
2.5 
S.9 

Bush. 

"i.'a 

"Z.4 



Bush. 
2.9 
2.4 

o   r 

l!4 

3.1 

3.2 
3.2 
2.3 
2.4 
2.9 

Bush. 
3.0 
4.4 
3.8 
1.7 
3.3 
3.2 
3.1 
3.0 
2.4 
3.4 

Bush. 
4.2 
6.8 
4.6 
2.2 
4.6 
5.0 
4.1 
4.0 
2.8 
3.4 

Bush. 

.BusTi. 
1.5 

Bush. 
3.0 
5.5 
5.7 
0.3 

JSttsfi.. 
3.2 
3.7 

"i'e" 

2.6 
3.2 
2.9 
2.6 
2.1 
0.6 

Bush, 
17.3 

35.6 

o.h,' 

0.7 
1.4 

26.7 

10.6 

1.7 

25.8 

17.2 

13.8 

0.8 
0.3 

1.1 
0.7 

6.5 
0.3 

14.1 

23.0 

Farm-animals. — The  number  of  domestic  animals  in  twenty-eight 
European  states  is  given  at  379,031,705,  of  which  31,573,663  are  horses, 
4,130,031  asses  and  mules,  89,678,248  cattle,  194,026,236  sheep,  42,686,493 
swine,  and  10,931,034  goats.  The  sheep  surpass  in  number  all  other 
classes,  amounting  to  51.1  per  cent,  of  the  whole ;  cattle  23.7  per  cent., 
Bwine  11.3  per  cent.,  horses  8.3  per  cent.,  goats  4.5  per  cent.,  mules  and 
asses  1.1  per  cent.  The  proportion  of  horses  is  especially  large  in  Eussia, 
amounting  to  16.7  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  farm-animals  in  that 
country.  In  Finland  the  proportion  is  10.0  per  cent.  The  lowest  ratio, 
1.5  per  cent.,  is  found  in  Portugal,  and  the  next  lowest,  1.8  per  cent.,  in 
Spain.  The  last-named  country  has  the  largest  proportion  of  mules  and 
asses,  amounting  to  6.1  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  farm-animals; 
next  stand  Italy,  4.9 ;  Portugal,  3.0 ;  Greece,  3.3 ;  France,  1.5.  Of  cat- 
tle, the  largest  proportion,  52.7  per  cent.,  is  found  in  Bavaria ;  next  Wiir- 
temberg,  49.1 ;  Saxony,  46.9;  Switzerland,  44.7 ;  Sweden,  44;  Holland, 
43.4;  German  duchies,  42,4;  Belgium,  42;  gradually  sinking  to  the 
minimum,  3.8,  in  Greece.  Great  Britain  gives  the  most  of  her  atten- 
tion to  sheep,  which  constitute  73.5  per  cent,  of  her  farm,-auimals;  in 
Spain  the  proportion  is  60.2 ;  in  Roumania,  59.1 ;  in  Hungary,  54.6 ;  in 
Prussia,  54;  in  Norway,  53.3;  in  France,  52.5;  in  Portugal,  52;  the 
minimum,  14.9,  is  in  Saxony.  The  German  duchies  have  the  largest 
proportion  of  swine,  23.7  per  cent.;  next  Saxony,  22.4;  Belgium,  21.4; 
Greece,  2.  No  goats  are  reported  in  the  British  isles  or  Denmark.  In 
Greece  they  constitute  46.7  per  cent,  of  the  total  live  stock ;  in  Portugal, 
18  per  cent. ;  in  Switzerland,  16.9  per  cent. ;  in  Spain,  12.2  per  cent. ;  and 
so  on  down  to  2.4  per  cent,  in  Roumania. 

Taking  all  the  states  together,  there  are  for  each  1,000  inhabitants  112 
horses,  15  asses  and  mules,  318  cattle,  6,878  sheep,  151  swine,  and  6  goats. 
Russia,  Denmark,  Finland,  and  Hungary  stand  at  the  head  of  horse- 
owning  states;  Spain,  of  mules;  Ireland,  Denmark,  Bavaria,  Finland, 
Norway,  and  Wiirtemberg,  of  cattle ;  Spain,  Great  Britain,  Roumania, 
Denmark,  Hungary,  and  Norway,  of  sheep  :  Hungary,  Spain,  Denmark, 
and  the  German  duchies,  of  swine;  Greece  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
goat-owning  states ;  next,  with  a  wide  interval,  comes  Spain,  and  then 
Portugal. 

Belgium  has  the  largest  number  of  horses  for  her  territory,  being 
nearly  equaled  by  Great  Britain ;  Denmark,  Holland,  Hungary,  Prussia, 
and  Ireland  following  next  in  order.  Spain  has  the  largest  number  of 
mules;  Great  Britain  the  largest  number  of  sheep,  the  German  duchies 
and  Belgium  the  largest  number  of  swine,  and  Greece  the  largest  number 
of  goats.    The  proportions  will  be  found  in  the  tables  below. 


EEPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 

Farm-animals. 


269 


Countries. 


Great;  Britain.. 

Irolaud 

Derraark 

Nor-way 

Sweden 

Kussia 

Finland 

Ausvria 

Hungary 

Svvitzeiiimd  .  . . 

Prnssiii 

Bavaria. 

Saxony  

"Wiirtombbrg  .. 

Baden 

Hosse-Darnis'dt 
Saxc-Weimar .. 
Saxe-Altenburf; 

Holland 

Belgium 

France 

Portugal 

Spain . 

Itily 

Greece 

Turkey 

Eoumania 


Horses. 


2,201,100 
532, 100 
316, 570 
14!),  167 
438, 090 

16, 160, 000 
251,820 

1,  337, 023 
2, 158, 819 

105, 792 

2,  278, 721 
351, 639 
115,  792 

90,  970 

70, 220 

40,813 

13, 167 

8,892 

253, 393 

283, 163 

2,  742,  708 

79,716 

680, 373 

477,  906 

69, 787 


Asses. 


31,351 
30,  480 


,774 
168 
86 
174 
149 
450 


1 

3,  466 

11,849 

402. 168 

137,  9.50 

1, 298,  334 

498,  76G 

61,  051 


Mules. 


11,625 
3, 266 


934 

t;o 


303,  775 

50,  690 

1, 021,  512 

219,4.56 
29,  637 


Cattle.' 


«,  002, 100 

4, 142,  400 

1, 238,  698 

953, 036 

2,  026, 330 
22,  770,  COO 

997, 960 
7,  425, 212 
5, 279, 193 

992, 895 
8, 612, 150 

3,  060, 263 
647,  972 
916, 228 
660,  405 
284,  049 
112,  296 

57,  428 
1,  469,  937 

1,  242,  445 
11, 721.  459 

520,  474 

2,  907,  303 

3,  473, 934 
109,  904 


Cows. 


2,  253,  800 

1,  .520, 590 

607, 513 

675,  006 

1, 265,  387 


C88, 896 
3,  831, 136 
2,  052,  488 


5, 057,  440 

1, 5,57, 28G 

424, 765 

4>;0,  092 

376,  821 

10;),  588 

59,  307 

34,  406 

908,  433 

7.-J8,  732 

5,  938,  818 

102,  533 


1,  374, 696 


Shscp.    S-vrine.   Goats. 


29,  495, 

4,  482, 

1,  842, 

1,  705, 

1,  6.36, 

46,  432, 

921, 

%,  026, 

15,  076, 

445, 

19, 624, 

I,  342, 

206, 

577, 

170, 

130, 

212, 

30, 

8P8, 

586, 

25,  035, 

2, 700, 

22,  468, 


1,  200,  000 


519. 300 

042,  244 

442,  421 

96, 166 

382,  811 

800,  oeo 

190, 326 
551, 473 
443, 279 
304, 191 
278,  531 
872, 098 
301, 369 
207, 350 
371,389 
133,  987 
78, 141 
37,  550 
611,004 

632. 301 
755, 056 
776,  868 
351,  736 
K3,  582 

05,  776 


250, 985 

124,  673 

1,  700, 000 

30, 639 

979, 104 

572, 951 

374, 481 

1, 477, 335 

193,  881 

105, 847 

38, 305 

82, 074 

78, 670 

40, 28Q 

11,362 

146, 169 

197, 138 

1,  794,  837 

936,  869 

'  4,531,228 

1,690,478 

I  1,339,538 


426,  859 


6,128 


006  1,  842,  786 


555, 060 


4,786,317   836,944    194,183 


*  Including  cows. 
Proportions  of  different  kinds  of  farm-animals. 


Conntries. 


Great  Britain 

Ireland 

Denmark 

Norway 

Sweden 

Kussia 

Finland 

Austria 

Hungary 

Switzerland 

Prussia 

Bavaria 

Saxony , 

"Wiirtemberg , 

German  duchies 

Holland 

Belgium 

France 

Portugal 

Spain 

Italy 

Greece 

Eoumania , 

All  tho  states 


Per  ct. 
5.2 
5.2 
8.2 
4.7 
9.5 
16.7 
10.6 
7.9 
7.8 
4.7 
6.3 
6.0 
8.2 
5.0 
5.1 
7.5 
9.6 
5.7 
1.5 
1.8 
3.2 
2.4 
5.4 


1.5 
3.0 
CI 
4.9 
3.3 


Pcrct. 
1.5.0 
40.6 
32.  3 
29.9 
44.0 
23.5 
41.7 
42.7 
19.2 
44.7 
23.8 
52.7 
46.9 
49.1 
42.4 
43.4 
42.0 
24.0 
10.0 

8.0 
23.4 

3.8 
22.  7 


Per  ct. 
7.3.5 
44.0 
48.0 
53.3 
.35.5 
47.9 
38.5 
28.9 
54.6 
20.0 
54.0 
23.0 
14.9 
30.0 
20.8 
26.6 
19.9 
52.5 
52.0 
CO.  2 
46.8 
41.8 
59. 1 


Per  ct. 

6.3 
10.2 
11.5 

3.1 

8.3 
10.1 

7.9 
14.7 
16.1 
13.7 
11.8 
1.5,0 
22.  4 
13.9 
23.7 
18.1 
21.4 
12.0 
14.9 
11.7 
10.4 

2.0 
10.4 


Perct. 


P.O 
2.7 
1.8 
1.3 
5.« 
2.1 
16.9 
4.1 
3.3 
7.6 
2.0 
8.0 
4.4 
6.6 
3.7 
18.0 
12.2 
11.3 
46.7 
2.4 


P.  3       1. 1     23. 7     51.  1 


11.3 


4.5 


270         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 
Nuniber  of  diffm-ent  kinds  of  farm-animaU  to  each  1,000  inhabitants. 


Countries. 

o 

u 

<5 

6< 

<> 

a 

02 

1 

78 

100 

178 

85 

102 

225 

139 

67 

139 

40 

92 

72 

45 

f.3 

49 

C8 

54 

76 

20 

4-2 

18 

4% 

95 

■'■'a' 

2 

...... 

2 
14 
47 
143 

27 
64 
2 

224 
776 
694 
541 
471 
317 
545 
364 
340 
372 
331 
632 
253 
520 
406 
395 
236 
325 
130 
182 
130 
75 
409 

1.118 
«40 

1,032 
967 
381 
647 
503 
246 
972 
167 
796 
277 
81 
317 
199 
242 
112 
694 
676 

1,384 
261 
818 

1,064 

94 

195 

248 

54 

89 

137 

4 

125 

286 

114 

173 

ISO 

118 

147 

227 

164 

120 

159 

194 

263 

58 

38 

186 

IfiS 

29 

34 

17 

48 

37 

140 

60 

40 

40 

21 

77 

Holland               

39 

38 

50 

233 

8S 

913 

43 

112 

15 

318 

687 

151 

60 

Numie)-  of  each  class  of  animals  per  square  kilo7neter. 


Countries. 

Hjorses. 

Mules. 

Cattle. 

Sheep. 

Swine. 

Goats. 

9.1 
6.3 
8.3 
0.5 
1.0 
3.1 
0.7 
4.5 
6.6 
2.5 
6.5 
3.4 
7.7 
4.9 
4.6 
7.7 
9.0 
5.1 
0.9 
1.1 
1.3 
1.4 
3.5 

"'o.'i' 

0.1 

"'o.'i' 

0.4 
1.3 
2.0 
4.5 
2.4 
2.0 
0.2 

25.7 
49.2 
32.4 
3.0 
4.5 
4.4 
2.6 
24.7 
16.3 
24.0 
24.5 
39.1 
43.1 
48.7 
38.9 
44.7 
42.  2 

"I'.l 
5.8 

11.8 
2.3 

15.2 

125.5 
53.2 
47.1 
5.3 
3.5 
9.0 
2.4 
16.7 
46.5 
10.7 
56.5 
17.1 
13.8 
29.7 
19.0 
27.3 
19.9 
47.3 
29.7 
44.3 
22.6 
25.2 
39.5 

IP.  8 

12.4 

11.7 

0.3 

0.8 

1.9 

0.5 

8.4 

13.7 

7.3 

12.3 

11.1 

20.1 

13.7 

21.7 

18.6 

21.4 

10.9 

8.4 

8.6 

5.2 

1.2 

7.0 

0.9 

0.2 

0.3 

0.1 

3.2 

1.7 

9.0 

4.2 

2.5 

7.0 

2.0 

7.4 

Holland  

4.4 

6.7 

Franco  

3.4 
10.3 

8.9 

Italy  

5.7 

28.1 

1.6 

0.4 

0.4 

9.5 

20.5 

4.5 

L8 

'  2.f>9  square  kilometers  make  one  square  mile. 


KEPORT  OF  THE  STATISTICIAN.  271 


RELATIONS  WITH  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

This  country  has  yet  had  little  intercourse  with  sister  republics  of 
South  America.  It  seems  strange  that  countries  so  sparsely  settled  and 
so  lich  in  agricultural  resources  should  obtain  any  portion  of  their  bread- 
stuffs  Crom  tuitions  thousands  of  miles  away.  As  they  become  settled 
in  the  future,  we  cannot  expect  to  furnish  their  bread-supply,  but  there 
always  will  be  peculiar  products  of  our  agriculture,  and  extended  prod- 
ucts or  manufactures,  which  might  be  profitably  exchanged  for  such  of 
their  tropical  products  as  we  cannot  produce.  The  balance  of  trade  is 
already  fearfully  against  us.  It  must  eventually  furnish  a  profitable  out- 
let to  the  goods  of  our  agricultural-implement  makers,  which  trade  should 
be  cultivated  assiduously.  With  this  view,  it  is  deemed  desirable  to 
present  some  fragmentary  glimpses  of  the  agricultural  status  of  these 
countries,  and  especially  the  trade  relations  between  us,  particularly  the 
exchanges  of  agricultural  products. 

BRAZIL. 

The  trade  of  Brazil,  so  far  as  this  country  is  concerned,  is  quite  too 
one-sided.  Secretary  Fish,  in  his  last  report  on  commercial  relations 
with  foreign  countries,  says  that  in  1875  Brazil  sent  to  this  country  pro- 
ductions exceeding  $42,000,000  in  value,  and  received  about  one-sixth  of 
that  amount.  The  total  value,  as  oflScially  reported,  of  our  exports  to 
Brazil  in  1870  was  $7,253,218. 

The  following  are  the  main  items  of  this  export: 

Breadstuffsof  all  kinds $3,940,398 

Lard,  4,486,402  pounds 743,073 

Cotton  manufactures 585,299 

Iron  and  its  manufactures 377, 551 

Wood  and  manufactures  of 282,817 

Drugs,  cbemicals,  and  medicines 152,847 

Steel  and  its  manufactures 80,644 

Paintings  and  engravings 72,755 

Books  and  publications 58,845 

Paper  and  stationery 51,203 

Other  exports 907,856 

Total 7,253,218 

Of  these  minor  exports  there  were  of  agricultural  implements,  $8,211 ; 
living  animals,  $3,823;  fruits,  $8,329;  bacon  and  hams,  beef,  butter, 
and  cheese  amounting  to  $7,093. 

Coiiee,  the  great  staple  production  of  Brazil,  is  largely  consumed  in 
the  United  States,  and  is  steadily  increasing  in  quantity  produced. 
The  amount  received  in  1873  from  Brazil  was  $30,801,906 ;  in  1874  it 
amounted  to  $37,342,092,  and  in  1875  to  $35,099,274.  This  exportation 
is  entirely  from  the  ports  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Santos.  Total  quan- 
tity in  1875  was  over  $229,701,037,  The  chief  article  imported  from 
the  United  States  is  flour.  The  annual  exports  to  the  United  States 
amount  to  more  than  $42,500,000,  (nearly  $44,000,000  in  1875,)  while 
the  imports  do  not  exceed  $7,500,000.  Sugar,  coffee,  cocoa,  and 
wood,  in  the  list  of  1875,  figure  up  nearly  $40,000,000,  while  the 
agricultural  Imports  from  the  United  States  are  comparatively  in- 
significant.    The  want   of  sufficient   facilities   for   cheap   and    rapid 


272    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 


transportation  keep  the  United  States  far  behind  Great  Britain  in  the 
Brazilian  trade.    The  cotton-trade  amounts  to  $40,800,000,  which  goes 
entirely  to  Europe,  Great  Britain  getting  the  lion's  share. 
The  trade  of  1875  was  distributed,  by  ports  of  entry,  as  follows : 


Ports. 


Bahin 

Cea:ti 

Marcnhain 

Itactjio 

Para. 


Imports. 


$703, 
33, 
94, 

'366, 


641  95 
.J.)0  00 
000  00 


,000  00 

Pernambuco i      873,500  00 

Kiode  Janeiro 5,200,000  00 

Rio  Graode  del  Snl ' 

Santos 


Exports. 


$587, 147  94 


23, 230  51 
112, 000  00 
782,  453  «6 
374,  464  55 
086, 1C6  00 


200, 000  00       1, 621, 204  00 


The  quantities  and  market  values  of  several  products  of  the  rural 
industry  of  the  United  States,  imported  into  Eio  Janeiro  last  year, 
were: 

Flour,  317,410  barrels §2, 793, 208 

Kerosene,  110,285  cases 463,197 

Spirits  of  tarpentiae,  2,600  cases 26,000 

Rosin,  3,845  barrels....' 14,611 

Pitch-pine,  7,943,000  feet 364, 170 

White  pine,  4,674,000  feet 222,000 

Lard,  85,705  kegs 784,160 

Total ; 4,607,946 

ARGENTINE    REPUBLIC. 

The  agriculture  of  the  Argentine  Eepublic  is  not  prosperous.  With  a 
rich  soil,  almost  entirely  unoccupied,  the  importation  of  wheat,  eggs, 
butter,  and  cheese  increases.  The  wild  state  of  the  country,  the  inse- 
curity of  life  and  property,  the  contempt  of  the  native  for  tillage  of  the 
soil,  leaves  little  to  rural  enterprise  beyond  the  breeding  of  cattle. 
Foredgners  are  the  only  tillers  of  the  soil.  The  following  table  of  im- 
ports illustrates  this  strange  and  unfortunate  condition  of  affairs: 


Articles. 


1875. 


Wheat L...  kilograms.. 

Flour kilograms . . 

Indian  corn kilograms.. 

Corn-meal - kilograms.. 

Batter kilograms.. 

Potatoes kilograms.. 

Cheese kilograms.. 

Eggs dozen.. 


1, 044,  929 
1, 013, 822 


115,  540 
11,  796 


655, 072 
5,831 


2,  550,  405 

7,  450,  761 

GO,  085 

131,  886 

65,  674 

71M,  703 

758,  454 

2,148 


4,  887,  451 

10, 922, 739 

60, 675 

255,081 

70,000 


1, 031,  721 
24, 188 


The  farm-products  exported  are  mainly  corn  and  hay ;  but  corn-meal, 
n,■>\rh^a■  mills  nud  millcrs,  is  imported.    The  quantity  sent  out  is  as 


requiring 
follows 


1   1873. 

1874. 

1875. 

1, 653, 101 
1,  876, 248 

3,  802,  439 
2,  241, 362 

223,  616 

TT-iv                 

3,501,560 

A  plague  of  locusts  has  of  late  years  devastated  portions  of  the 
interior  provinces.  While  the  subtropical  forests  of  the  entire  eastern 
slope  of  the  Cordilleras  of  the  Andes  exhibit  wonderful  arboreal  re- 
sources, the  present  inhabitants  of  that  region  make  little  use  of  them, 


REPORT    OF    THE    STATISTICIAN. 


273 


even  importiuj?  the  commonest  furniture  from  the  United  States  or« 
Europe.  Consul  E.  L.  Baker  gives  the  following  statement  of  value  of 
imports  of  wood  and  its  products : 


ICinds. 

1S70. 

1871. 

1372. 

1873. 

1874. 

1875. 

11,  675, 193 

$1, 240, 591 

$1,  693,  090 

$2, 941,  301 

$2, 008,  757 
17,  988 
48, 171 
46, 6-21 
58,  309 
752, 268 

$1, 267, 486 

17, 271 

53, 244 

42, 518 

20,  067 

137, 274 

87, 771 

67, 122 

55,  504 
5G3,  700 

55, 693 
3G3, 601 

112,580 
515,  805 

230,  769 
948, 201 

86, 066 

546,258 

Of  this  amount  the  United  States  furnished  as  follows  : 


Kinds. 


Lamber  for  building 

Lumber  for  cabinet-work. 

Lumber  tor  veneering 

Lumber,  planed 

Other  timber 

ITurniture 


1871.  1872, 


$1,  482,  542 
15,  945 


21, 160 
126,  900 


1996,  275 
19,  671 


6,941 
71, 113 


$1,  518,  054 
0,437 


28,  468 
125, 027 


1873.  1874. 


J2,  769,  059 
97, 311 


4.3,  822 
274, 299 


,  907, 175 

23,  901 

1,858 

15,  075 

26,  976 

21-1,  418 


1875. 


$1,  092,  616 

30,  031 

3,714 

22, 227 

41,110 

126,  872 


The  native  woods  most  used  are  Quebracho  Colorado,  very  hard  and 
brittle,  the  word  meaning  break-ax,  worth  in  Rosario  $120  per  1,000 
feet ;  Quebracho  bianco,  less  hard,  used  for  cart-wheels  and  boat-build- 
ing; Algarroba,  softer  and  ligtbter,  worth  $100;  cedars  from  the  mount- 
ain districts,  $125.  Foreign  lumber  has  supplanted  the  use  of  native 
woods  for  building  purposes  as  far  as  Cordova,  after  paying  $22  ocean 
freight,  $6  import  duty,  and  $10  railway  freight,  besides  profits  of  im- 
porter. The  extension  of  railways  into  the  interior  is  cheapening  trans- 
portation, and  may  ultimately  reduce  the  price  of  lumber.  There  are  no 
portable  saw-mills  for  cutting  lumber.  The  exportation  of  lumber  should 
be  a  profitable  business. 

Lumber  is  beginning  to  be  a  prosperous  industry  among  the  forests  of 
the  Grand  Chaco,  bordering  on  the  Parana  River,  and  cargoes  have  been 
sent  to  English  and  French  ports. 

The  provinces  of  Tucuman,  Salta,  Jujuy,  and  Corrientes  are  well 
adapted  to  the  production  of  sugar,  cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco,  which  are 
already  the  bases  of  flourishing  industries,  and  the  olive  is  suited  to  all 
except  the  more  southern  locations.  The  climate  of  Tucumau  is  said  to 
be  similar  to  that  of  Louisiana,  and  cane  will  reproduce  itself  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  after  planting.  There  are  now  forty-two  sugar  estab- 
lishments in  that  province,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of  upward  of 
$250,000.  It  is  1,000  miles  in  the  interior,  and  is  now  in  railroad  com- 
munication with  Buenos  Ayres.  Experiments  in  coifee-growing  there 
are  also  very  promising. 

Consul  Baker  reports  a  populo.r  estimate  of  20  bushels  as  the  average 
yield  of  wheat.  Some  Europeans  are  credited  with  obtaining  25  to  27 
bushels.  The  yield  of  oats  is  said  to  be  good,  but  maize  and  potatoes 
are  inferior  to  the  growth  of  the  United  States.  Alfalfa  is  the  great 
hay-producer,  alibrding  three  or  four  crops  each  season.  Dried  and 
baled,  the  surplus  finds  a  ready  market  in  Brazilian  ports.  It  sells  for 
about  $15  per  ton. 

Immigration  is  fostered,  and  is  very  active  of  late,  so  that  Buenos 
Ayres  is  becoming  rather  cosmopolitan  than  Argentine.    It  is  almost 

18  a 


2T4        REPORT  OP  THE  COBOnSSIONBR  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

'  entirely  from  Southern  Europe,  Italians  largely,  French,  Spanish,  and 
Swiss;  nearly  all  Catholics.  About  three  in  a  thousand  of  the  foreign- 
ers in  the  interior  are  from  the  United  States ;  some  intend  to  settle 
there,  others  to  get  cheap  land  in  a  mild  climate  and  get  rich  and  return. 
They  are  generally  intelligent,  energetic,  and  independent.  They  gen- 
erally find  the  climate  agreeable,  with  an  average  temperature  of  68° 
F.  Less  mortality  is  reported  among  foreigners  than  natives,  on  ac- 
count of  better  habits. 

Consul  T.  B.  Wood,  at  Eosario,  says  of  stock-raising  in  his  district, 
that  it  is  conducted  in  the  style  of  three  hundred  years  ago,  except  that 
very  recently  importations  of  fine  foreign  stock  have  been  made — horses, 
cattle,  sheep,  and  Angora  goats.  Primitive  practices  prevail:  a  horse- 
cart  has  no  shafts,  but  a  stout  short  Heap,  the  end  of  which  is  tied  with 
rawhide  to  a  ring  on  one  side  of  the  girth.  The  saddle  consists  of  a 
broad  girth,  with  two  large  rings,  two  huge  pads  to  protect  the  back  of 
the  horse,  and  several  layers  of  leather,  sheep-skins,  &c. — a  seat  by  day 
and  a  bed  by  night.  This  style  of  saddle,  to  the  value  of  $160,000,  has 
been  exported  from  Eosario  in  a  year.  The  ox-yoke  is  a  simple  bar  of 
wood  lashed  to  the  horns.  So  absorbing  is  this  industry  that  75  per 
cent,  of  the  exports  of  this  place  are  made  up  of  hides,  hair,  skins, 
leather,  hide-cuttings,  horns,  bones,  bone-ash,  and  tallow.  Prices  of 
milch-cbws  are  $10  to  $15;  working-oxen,  $20  to  $25;  beeves,  $10  to 
$18;  working-mules,  $20  to  $35;  working-horses,  $10  to  $25;  sheep,  $1 
to  $1.50;  goats,  $1  to  $1.30. 

Mr.  Wood  reports  further  of  the  agriculture  of  this  district : 

Fruits  of  all  kinds  are  retailed  by  count.  Thus,  stra-wberries  sell  for  5  to  15  cents 
per  dozen.  Cherries  are  dearer;  grapes  cheaper.  Other  small  fruits  are  unknown, 
save  as  imported  from  Europe  in  glass  bottles.  Peaches  thrive  all  over  the  country. 
Some  of  the  estancias  have  orchards  on  them  that  seem  like  small  forests,  yet  there  is 
no  exportation  of  the  fruit,  and  in  the  retail  market  they  sell  for  75  cents  to  $1  per 
hundred,  in  the  height  of  their  season,  and  at  all  other  times  are  cheaper,  as  imported 
from  the  United  States  in  cans,  than  as  offered  in  the  markets. 

Tomatoes,  though  indigenous  in  this  country,  are  almost  always  cheaper  in  imported 
cans  than  in  the  markets. 

Though  the  consumption  of  bread  in  the  country  is  relatively  very  small,  yet  it  is 
only  within  the  last  five  years  that  this  consular  district  has  produced  wheat  enough 
for  its  own  demands.  The  profitable  exportation  of  the  small  surplus  has  given  a 
stimulus  to  wheat-growing,  so  that  at  present  it  outvalues  all  other  crops  combined. 
But  this  is  not  strange,  considering  that  little  or  no  grain  is  fed  to  animals,  so  that  the 
production  of  other  crops  has  but  little  stimulus.  The  wheat  crop  of  1874  in  this  prov- 
ince was  reckoned  at  $2,500,000.    In  prices  it  varies  from  $2  to  $4  per  hundred  pounds. 

Corn  is  beginning  to  receive  an  impulse  from  its  successful  exportation  to  the  adja- 
cent countries  and  to  Europe.     It  ranges  in  price  from  $1  to  $2  per  hundred  pounds. 

The  native  mode  of  cultivation  is  very  primitive.  Ditches  and  hedges  serve  to  fence 
in  tlfe  small  fields.  The  plow  most  used  consists  of  a  heavy  block  of  hard  wood  that 
runs  in  the  ground,  pointed  off  so  as  to  serve  as  a  share,  and  a  long  beam  mortised 
obliquely  into  this  at  one  end,  and  tied  at  the  other  end  to  the  rudo  ox-yoke.  A  short 
upright  handle  arising  from  the  share-block  is  used  to  steady  it  in  the  ground  or  lift  it 
out. 

Thrashing  is  accomplished  by  the  tramping  of  animals,  and  winnowing  by  means  of 
the  wind.  The  transportation  most  usually  is  in  rude  one-horse  carts,  with  largo 
■wheeJs,  and  hitched  as  before  described,  or  in  ox-carts  that  are  still  ruder,  with  still 
larger  wheels,  and  some  of  which  are  made  entirely  of  wood  and  rawhide,  tvithout  a 
particle  of  iron.  Tires  of  hide  answer  surprisingly  well  in  a  country  like  this,  whose 
soil  is  entirely  destitute  of  stones  or  gritty  sand,  and  they  have  the  advantage  of 
shrinking  and  swelling  with  the  wood-work  by  the  absence  or  presence  of  moisture. 

UNITED   STATES  OF  COLOMBIA. 

This  tropical  country  lies  on  the  equator,  and  includes  an  area  of 
455,673  square  miles.  It  has  a  population  of  less  than  seven  to  the 
square  mile,  about  three  millions  in  all.    Scarcely  a  tenth  of  the  surface 


REPORT   OP   THE   STATISTICIAN. 


275 


is  under  cultivation.  As  the  altitude  rises  to  the  regions  of  perpetual 
snow  on  the  summit  of  the  ADdes,  the  temperature  varies  from  intense 
tropical  heats  to  delightful  coolness.  The  immense  plain  of  Bogota,  37 
by  68  miles  in  extent  and  8,700  feet  high,  has  a  mean  and  compara- 
tively unvarying  temperature  of  57<^  F.  The  soil  is  of  sandstone 
origin,  and  quite  productive.  The  people  are  divided  into  seven 
classes  :  Oachvpines,  or  people  born  in  Europe  ;  Creoles,  descendants  of 
Europeans ;  Mestizos,  descendants  of  whites  and  Indians ;  Mulattoes, 
from  whites  and  negroes ;  Indians^  copper-colored  natives,  and  African 
negroes.  The  lower  classes  of  the  interior  are  Indians  or  Mestizos,  who 
are  ignorant  and  superstitious,  docile  and  kind,  mildly  vicious,  but 
not  disorderly  or  dangerous.  The  chief  industries  of  these  i)eople  are 
agriculture,  cattle-raising,  and  mining.  The  processes  of  agriculture 
are  rude  ;  there  is  no  attempt  at  rotation  of  crops ;  farm-machinery  is 
very  rough  and  primitive ;  wooden  plows  of  the  old  Roman  pattern  are 
used  for  scratching  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Yet,  owing  to  almost  inex- 
haustible fertility  of  the  soil,  crops  are  abundant  for  home  consumption. 
Cattle-breeding  is  somewhat  improved  by  the  introduction  of  foreign 
stock  on  the  table-lands  of  the  Andes.  Swine  are  scarce,  and  of  very 
poor  appearance.  Coffee  is  demanding  some  attention  in  States  of 
Santander  and  Cnudinamarca,  where  the  product  has  reached  12,900,000 
pounds  of  quite  good  quality.  Tobacco  is  also  grown,  not  of  superior 
quality,  but  salable  in  Europe  for  the  manufacture  of  spurious  Havana 
cigars.  Cacao,  cotton,  and  indigo  are  also  grown,  but  not  extensively 
or  for  exportation. 

Of  the  total  exports  from  the  republic  in  year  ending  May  31,  1874, 
valued  at  $10,189,852,  the  agricultural  exports  were:  coffee,  $975,353; 
cotton,  $249,048,  and  tobacco,  $2,360,883;  in  all,  $3,585,284.  Better 
means  of  cheap  and  rapid  transportation  are  one  important  need  to  stim- 
ulate an  increased  attention  to  this  industry.  The  principal  agricultural 
shipments  during  the  year  ending  September  30,  1875,  at  the  port  of 
Panama  were : 


▲rtiolea. 

ReoeiptB. 

■ 

ShipGients. 

Value.    1                  Whence. 

Value. 

Whither. 

f  100,  000 

1,  400, 000 
1, 100,  000 

75, 000 

Ecuador  and  Mexico 1    $100,  000 

MexicoandCentralAiDerica.    1,  400,000 
South  and  Central  America  1  1, 100,  000 

and  Mexico.                          ; 
United  States  and  Chih 75. 000 

United  States,  Mexico,  and 

Coffee  .. 

Europe. 
United  States  and  Europe. 

United  States  and  Europe. 
Colombia,  South  and  Central 

Flour 

Sugar 

Tobacco 

40,  000 
50,  000 

Colombia,  South  and  Central 

Amoriaa,. 
Colombia,  Central  America, 

and  Cuba. 

40,000 
50,  OCO 

America  aud  Mexico. 
Consumed  on  the  isthmus. 

United  States,  England,  and 
Germany. 

2,  765, 000 

2,  765,  000 

Total  amount  of  goods  entered  and  cleared,  $13,443,000. 


276         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    A.GRICULTURE, 
The  total  foreign  commerce  of  1875  is  thus  reported  : 


Oonntries. 


Great  Britain 

France 

TJnited  States 

Germany 

All  otherB  . . . 

Total... 


Imports.    I    Exports. 


$4,  956,  3R1 

1, 90S,  e-o 

806.  644 

676,  442 

2,  872,  507 


11,  218,  844 


$3,  :i43,  993 

1,  674,  874 

1,  ."556,  506 

2,63.'i,7C9 

478,  710 


10, 189,  852 


Imports.    I    Exportfi. 


^2,  9G4, 976 

2, 0:S,  325 

767,  'i73 

002,  783 

•     547, 471 


fi,  351,  821 
1,  541, 212 
1,469.973 
3,  mo,  .'".30 

4  S3,  492 


6,  949, 028         9,  9.-4,  028 


The  chief  articles  imported  were  cloths,  food-prodncts,  salt,  wines  and 
liquors,  and  metal  manufactures ;  the  exports  were  mainly  gold  and  sil- 
ver dust  and  bars,  tobacco,  cinchona  bark,  vegetable  ivory,  and  fine 
woods,  these  articles  comprising  seven-tenths  of  the  exports. 

The  principal  items  of  domestic  exports  from  the  United  States  of 
North  America  to  the  United  States  of  Colombia  were  as  follows : 

Value. 

Total  exports $3,946,442 

Agricultural  implements 59,550 

Beer  and  wine 1,498 

Billiard  tables  and  apparatus 19, 851 

Blacking : 1,512 

Boolis,  pamphlets,  maps,  &c 43, 727 

Breadstuff's  and  bread:  bread  and  biscuit,  200,960  pounds;  flour,  44,275 

barrels 312,683 

Brooms  and  brushes  of  all  kinds 1, 153 

Candles,  tallow  and  other,  141,978  pounds 20,803 

Carriages,  carts,  and  parts  of 36,712 

Clocks 19,685 

Coal  of  all  kinds,  23,679  tons 104,292 

Copper  and  manufactures  of 1, 033 

Cordage,  rope,  and  twine  of  all  kinds,  105,149  pounds 16, 859 

Cotton  and  manufactures  of 103,  347 

Drugs,  chemicals,  and  medicines  not  otherwise  specified - 278,  931 

Earthen  and  stone  ware  and  fancy  articles 5, 882 

I'rnit 24,775 

Glass  and  glass  ware 35, 839 

Gold  and  silver  and  manufactures  of 60, 885 

Hay,  103  tons 2,226 

Hemp  and  manufactures  of 4, 015 

Hops,  9,629  pounds 1,052 

Ice,  2,854  tons , 7,561 

India  rubber  and  gutta-percha,  manufactures  of 10, 902 

Iron  and  manufactures  of 407,419 

Steel  and  manufactures  of 274, 195 

Junk  and  oakum 4,278 

Lamps ;',  4r'7 

Leather  and  manufactures  of 24, 731 

Lime » 1,259 

Marble  and  stone 6, 674 

Matches G5,516 

Mathematical,  philosophical,  and  optical  instruments 3, 280 

Musical  instruments 11,  f)-''6 

Naval  stores 1,991 

Oils— mineral,  refined 53,960 

Animal  oils 3,  653 

Vegetable  oils 1,082 

Ordnance  stores 203,  392 

Paints  and  painters'  colors 22, 038 

Paintings  and  engravings,  paper  and  stationery 72, 113 

Perfumery ---.  12,418 


REPORT    OP   THE    STATISTICIAN.  277 

Printing  presses  and  tvpe $5, 315 

Proviaious,  lard,  4,682,355  pounds 874, 300 

Quicksilver,  18,738  pounda 11,840 

Rice  and  salt , 9,392 

Scales  and  balances ...' 2,  026 

Sewing-machines 90, 227 

Soap,  pounds 139, 480 

Spirits  from  grain 12,  390 

Siifrar  and  molasses 119, 292 

Tallow 3,355 

Tin 1,235 

Tobacco  and  m anuf actures  of,  leaf,  70,712  pounds 128. 306 

Trunks  and  valises 10,335 

Watches,  was,  and  wearing-apparel 22, 289 

Wood  and  raanufaotures  of 147, 958 

All  manufactured  articles  not  enumerated 6, 052 

URUGUAY. 

Our  exports  to  Uruguay  in  1876  amounted  to  $1,120,123.  While  we 
import  seven-eighths  of  all  the  sugar  used  in  this  country,  our  largest 
export-product  to  Uruguay  is  refined  sugar,  amounting  to  $490,434. 
Wheat  is  next  in  value.     The  list  is  mainly  as  follows : 

Value. 
Total  exports  to  Uruguaj' $1,126,123 

Agricultural  implements 32, 796 

Horned  cattle 

Bread  and  biscuit,  4,289  pounds 265 

Wheat,  444  bushels 733 

Other  small  grain 89 

Wheat  flour,  17,160  baixels  126,240 

Books,  maps,  &c 1, 552 

Brooms  and  brushes  of  all  kinds , 100 

Carriages,  railroad-cars,  and  clocks 1,964 

Coal  of  all  kinds,  396  tons 2,638 

Cotton  and  manufactures  of 29,227 

Drugs,  chemicals,  and  medicines 19, 925 

Fruits  of  all  kinds 845 

All  manufactures  of  iron 9, 336 

All  manufactures  of  steel 31, 173 

Lamps 3, 194 

Naval  stores 14, 275 

Mineral  oils,  379,775  gallons 73, 818 

Ordnance  stores 11,200 

Perfumery 12, 624 

Provisions 74,  737 

Spirits  of  turpentine,  13,710  gallons 6,203 

Starch,  1,432,374  pounds 68, 160 

Sugar,  refined,  4,498,277  pounds 490,434 

Molasses,  234  gallons 117 

Tobacco  and  manufactures  of,  leaf,  146,532  pounds 33, 590 

Varuish 1,617 

Wood  and  manufactures  of 75, 139 

CHILI. 

Effort  is  made  by  the  Chilian  government  to  induce  immigration,  but 
results  are  not  very  apparent.  Consul  Williamson,  at  Valparaiso,  deems 
Chili  the  most  desirable  country  for  emigrants  of  any  in  South  America, 
particularly  as  regards  climate;  yet  warns  his  countrymen  not  to  emi- 
grate there,  on  account  of  the  insecurity  of  life  and  property  and  the 
notorious  immunity  from  punishment  enjoyed  by  criminals.  The  induce- 
ments offered  are  as  follows:  A  free  passage  to  their  lands  in  the  prov- 
inces of  Valdivia  and  Osoruoj  125  acres  of  land  for  the  head  of  the  family, 


278 


REPORT   OP   THE   COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


and  40  acres  additional  for  each  child;  a  house  built  for  him,  two  oxen, 
one  milch-cow,  and  the  necessary  agricultural  implements.  After  a  certain 
number  of  years  a  clear  title  is  given  him  to  the  land  on  payment  of 
$1.25  per  acre  and  the  value  of  the  goods  advanced.  Yet  few  are  report- 
ed as  having  settled  on  the  societies'  lands.  Improved  methods  and 
results  iu  agriculture  by  these  and  all  available  means  are  much  needed. 
The  shipments  to  the  United  States  from  the  port  of  Valparaiso  for 
the  year  ending  iSeptember  30,  187G,  were : 


Nitrate  of  soda $602,834  22 

Sheep's -wool 243,677  01 

Goat-bkius 27,351  05 

Coal 16,147  02 

Walnuts 8,183  42 

Rfi,g8 8,985  06 


Hides $2,242  39 

Straw  bats 1,537  00 

Quicksilver-flasks 1 ,  151  06 

Quallarbark 1,050  22 

Chinchilla  skins 960  37 

Miscellaneous 185  06 


Total 914,305  08 

PERU. 

Very  little  progress  is  made  in  agriculture  in  this  country,  the  inhab- 
itants having  little  inclination  to  give  it  their  attention  and  labor.  The 
agricultural  productions  exported  are  very  inconsiderable  in  amount,  as 
the  few  figures  below  would  intimate,  representing  the  trade  in  them  with 
the  United  States  in  1875:  Cacao,  $129.71;  wool,  $1,295.94;  raisins, 
$32.69;  tea,  $2,743.78;  sugar,  $418.22;  total,  $4,620.34.  The  cotton  of 
Peru  is  sold  in  Great  Britain."  The  total  general  exports  to  the  United 
States  from  Oallao  in  1875  were  $876,718.89  for  the  year  ending  Septem- 
ber. 

The  great  articles  of  export  are  guano,  of  which  that  sent  to  the 
United  States  in  1875  amounted  in  value  to  $468,951,  and  nitrate  of  soda, 
which  came  to  the  United  States  to  amount  of  $764,736. 

Scarcity  of  labor  prevents  the  extension  of  the  culture  of  cotton  and 
sugar.  It  is  estimated  that  at  no  distant  day  the  export  of  guano  from 
Peru  must  cease.  The  new  deposits  are  of  inferior  quality.  The  trade 
in  nitrate  of  soda  is  making  great  extensions. 

Our  principal  domestic  exports  to  Peru  were,  last  year,  as  follows: 

Value. 
Total  value '. $1,176,922 

Agricultural  implements 4, 195 

Blacking 2,082 

Bread  and  breadstufis :  llour,  11,329  barrels 84, 041 

BrooiES  and  brushes .' 3,  565 

Candles 1,383 

Carriages,  carts,  railroad-cars,  and  clocks 94,445 

Cordage:  rope  and  twine 25,005 

Cotton  and  manufactures  of 57, 772 

Fruits 2,022 

Gas-fixtures =  . 2,783 

Gold  and  silver,  and  manufactures  of 175, 200 

Hemp  and  manufactures  of 6,  073 

Iron  and  manufactures  of 84,352 

Steel  and  manufactures  of 7, 219 

Junk  and  oakum 2,295 

Lamps 3, 866 

Leather  and  manufactures  of 3, 753 

Musical  instruments 3, 720 

Naval  stores 1,982 

Mineral  oils,  refined 46,735 

Animal  oils 3, 548 

Paintings,  engravings,  paper,  and  stationery 2,072 

Perfumery 31,793 

Provifiions 117,874 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATISTICIAN.  279 

Value 

Quicksilver,  141,1G6  pounds 83,774 

Scales  and  balances $4, 931 

Sewing-machines 5,210 

Spirits  of  turpentine 1,241 

Tallow 4,143 

Tobacco  and  manufactures  of 29,572 

Trunks  and  valises 1,840 

Wearing-apparel 43, 389 

Wood  and  manufactures  of 215, 276 

VENEZUELA. 

The  total  exports  to  the  United  States  during  the  year  ending  Sep- 
tember 30,  1875  were — 

From  port  of  Maracaibo $3,227,975  53 

From  port  of  Puerto  Cabello 1,332,952  38 

4,560,927  91 

This  is  a  decrease,  compared  with  1874,  of  $1,937,940.GG. 
The  agricultural  exports  to  the  United  States  the  same  year  appear 
in  the  following  statements  : 

Coffee,  from  Maracaibo $3,113,027  23 

from  Puerto  Cabello 958,530  82 

$4,071,558  05 

Cacao,  from  Maracaibo 33, 561  99 

Cotton,  from  Puerto  Cabello 22,073  65 

Sugar,  from  Maracaibo $13,030  29 

from  Puerto  Cabello 30,982  78 

44, 013  07 

Wool,  from  Maracaibo 1,304  96 

from  Puerto  Cabello 190  51 

1, 495  47 

Total 4,172,702  23 

The  principal  articles  of  domestic  exports  to  Venezuela  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1876,  were: 

Yalae. 
Total  export $3,424,278 

Agricultural  implements 710 

Animals,  living 6, 128 

Beer,  ale,  porter,  cider,  and  wine 12, 906 

Bells  and  billiard  tables  and  apparatus , 4. 309 

Books,  pamphlets,  maps,  &c 6,755 

Breadstufls :  flour,  107,818  barrels ;  corn,  46,377  bushels : 788, 696 

Brooms  and  brushes  of  all  kinds 6, 213 

Candles,  tallow,  and  other,  199,431  pounds 28, 665. 

Carriages,  and  parts  of 45, 544 

Clocks 3,784 

Coal  of  all  kinds 2,218 

Copper  and  manufactures  of 6, 909 

Cordage :  rope  and  twine  of  all  kinds,  577,551  pounds 65,  846 

Cotton :  and  manufactures  of 126, 950 

Drugs,  chemicals,  and  medicines 110,825 

Earthenand  stone  ware  and  faucy  articles , 8,094 

Fruits:  apples,  green,  1,582  bushels 10,028 

Gas-fixtures  and  glass  ware 6,811 

Gold  and  silver  and  manufactures  of 616, 387 

Hemp  and  manufactures  of,  and  hops,  2,440  pounds 5,581 

Ice,  (090  tons,) 2,422 

India  rubber  and  gutta-percha 1, 564 

Iron  and  manufactures  of 204, 553 

Steel  and  manufactures  of 64, 023 

Junk  and  oakum 2,552 


280 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Yalne. 

Lamps $7, 5G5 

Leather  and  manufactures  of lo,  190 

Lime  and  cement 1, 100 

Manures 6:W 

Marble  and  stone,  and  manufactures 19, 572 

Musical  instruments 4, 165 

Naval  stores 12,103 

Mineral  oils,  refined,  294,102  gallons 52,730 

Animal  oils,  1,660  gallors-. 2,009 

Vegetable  oils,  4,674  gallons 4, 273 

Ordnance  stort  s 55, 759 

Paints  and  painters'  colors 13, 584 

Paintings,  engravings,  paper,  and  stationery 39,  473 

Perfumery 9, 242 

Plated  ware 4,002 

Printing  presses  and  type 11,766 

Provisions 407,  737 

Quicksilver 2, 124 

Scales  and  balancCiS 7, 599 

Sewing-macliines 58, 208 

Soap 17, 131 

Spirits  of  turpentine 2, 343 

Starch 1,489 

Sugar  and  molasses 38,  045 

Tallow , 221,050 

Tin  and  manufactures  of 2, 697 

Tobacco  and  manufactures  of,  kaf,  81,412  pounds 82, 822 

Trunks  and  valises 1,810 

Varnish 1,729 

Watches,  wax,  and  wearing-apparel 3, 597 

Wood  and  its  manufactures 109, 598 

Wool  and  its  manufactures 1, 986 

All  other 17,515 

ECUADOR. 


The  chief  production  of  Ecuador,  cacao,  has  steadily  increased  in 
quantity  since  1840.  In  1874  the  increase  had  amounted  to  over  100,000 
quintals,  or  nearly  doubled,  though  its  quality  is  not  equal  to  that  iiom 
Caraccas,  Venezuela,  which  sells  for  nearly  double,  and  the  latter  is 
inferior  to  that  produ.ced  in  Guatemala,  though  there  the  supply  is  so 
limited  as  to  be  consumed  at  home. 

In  1874,  247,493  quintals  were  exported,  of  which  2,349  quintals  came 
to  the  United  States. 

The  agricultural  exports  for  five  years,  from  1870  to  1874,  ar(3  shown  in 
the  following  table,  in  quintals  : 


Tears. 

Cacao. 

Cotton. 

race. 

Coffeo. 

Tama- 
riuds. 

1870 

243, 144 
172,  422 
lg7,  2138 
245,  909 
247, 493 

2,  008 
1,  92G 

3,  537 
1,  C53 
4,371 

321 
9,462 
3,  023 

437 
1,673 

2,964 
3,847 
(i,  304 
6,  e44 
11,  322 

45d 

1S71 

42'' 

1872 .     . 

214 

1873 

771 

1874 

907 

It  is  shown  that  in  1874  the  exportation  of  coffee  was  nearly  double 
that  of  the  year  previous. 

The  exportation  of  cotton  has  nearly  quadrupled  in  the  last  year. 
During  the  war  in  the  United  States  the  culture  flourished,  but  has 
since  declined.  Excellent  long  staple  can  be  produced,  but  the  cost  of 
labor  and  transportation  hinders  the  cultivation.  The  production  of 
coffee  has  nearly  doubled  in  the  patit  year,  and  it  promises  to  rival  cacao, 
the  great  staple  of  Ecuador. 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATISTICIAN,  281 

CONCLUSIOK 

There  are  many  investigatious  the  results  of  which  might  appear  here 
were  the  resources  of  the  Division  adequate  to  the  supply  of  necessary 
data.  Neither  i«  the  clerical  force  sufficient  for  the  requisite  office 
work. 

Among  these  is  one  relative  to  the  statistics  of  fruit-growing,  the  area 
in  different  species,  the  rate  of  yield  and  price  obtained,  preferred  varie- 
ties in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  other  important  facts  very 
little  known.  An  immense  collection  of  facts  and  estimates  has  been 
received,  condensed,, and  tabulated,  but  there  are  gaps  to  be  filled  and 
statements  to  verify,  and  scarcely  anything  in  the  national  census,  and 
with  slight  exceptions  in  State  enumerations,  with  which  to  make 
comparison.  Believing  that  approximate  correctness  should  be  reached, 
before  publication,  it  is  withheld  for  farther  elaboration  and  extension. 

There  is  also  an  important  work  commenced  designed  to  show  the 
diversity  of  systems  and  crops  in  the  several  States,  the  proportionate 
area  in  each,  and  rate  of  production  and  comparative  profit.  Wo  are 
already  able  to  present  a  fair  idea  of  the  relative  area  in  a  few  principal 
crops,  but  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  accurate  information  of 
the  minor  crops,  so  various  in  kind  and  so  fluctuating  in  area  cultivated 
and  quantity  produced,  and  of  which  there  is  scarcely  an  attempt  at 
complete  enumeration  in  a  single  State.  Of  course  there  must  be  some 
latitude  in  estimating  what  is  never  fully  reported  in  any  country,  but 
the  difijculties  in  this  country  are  peculiar,  from  the  breadth  of  our  do- 
main, the  wide  range  of  latitude  and  elevation,  and  consequent  variety 
of  production,  including  everything  grown  in  temperate  and  subtropical 
climates.  In  the  next  volume  something  in  this  direction  will  probably 
be  presented. 

Another  point  of  inquiry  has  been  the  changes  in  kind  and  volume  of 
production,  caused  by  westward  emigration,  settlements  of  virgin  tracts 
of  territory,  depreciation  of  rate  of  yield  by  irrational  modes  of  culture, 
and  the  varying  measure  of  foreign  demand  for  food  products.  The 
movement  of  population  westward  across  the  continent  has  been  one  of  the 
wonders  of  modern  times.  A  single  illustration  will  attest  the  industrial 
importance  of  thishegira.  Not  only  is  the  volume  of  wheat  of  to-day  more 
than  threefold  greater  than  twenty-eight  years  ago,  but  the  increase  of 
that  portion  of  it  grown  beyond  the  Mississippi  is  greater  than  the  entire 
crop  of  1849.  Five  per  cent,  only  was  then  produced  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi; and  in  1870,  a  year  of  comparative  failure  in  the.Nurthwest,  it  was 
40  per  cent.  Dividing  the  country  into  three  sections,  the  first  including 
the  Atlantic  coast  States,  with  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Virginias  to  the 
Ohio  Eiver,  and  the  second  and  third  section  separated  by  the  Missis- 
sipi)i  Eiver,  we  find  more  than  half  of  the  wheat  grown  in  the  first  in 
1841',  the  percentages  of  each  section  changing  rapidly,  as  follows : 


Section. 

1849. 

1850. 

leeo. 

1876. 

Atlantic  coast 

51.  ■; 

00.7 
S-1.6 
14.7 

20 

•it) 
at 

10.  (i 

Central  belt 

4J.  ;j 

5.3 

40.  .S 

Traus-Missisdippi  belt 

30.  G 

The  first  section  has  now  a  little  more  than  one-third- of  its  former 
proportion ;  even  the  second,  which  was  swept  with  so  heavy  a  wave  of 
immigration  in  the  first  decennial  period,  exhibits  a  declining  percentage, 


282 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


while  the  third  has  eight  times  its  former  prominence,  even  in  a  year  of 
low  production  of  spring  wheat,  and  promises  to  make  the  proportion 
9  to  1  in  1877,  or  45  per  cent.  A  few  years  more  will  find  a  preponder- 
ating weight  of  wheat  production  beyond  the  "  Father  of  Waters." 

Comparing  relative  quantities  rather  than  proi^ortions  of  the  crop, 
we  find  that  the  Atlantic  coast  has  held  its  own,  and  little  more;  the 
central  belt  produces  three  times  as  much ;  the  trans-Mississippi  belt, 
more  than  twenty  times  as  much.    The  figures  are  as  follows: 


Section. 


1869. 


AUimtic  coast 

Central  belt. .  

Trans-Mississippi  belt 

Total 


51,  657,  020 
43,  52-.2,  C4fi 
5.  306,  278 


100,  485,  944 


53,  294, 137 
94,  45^1,  609 
25,352.178 


57,  476,  371 
140,  877, 070 
89,  392, 185 


287,  745,  626 


56,  489,  500 
118, 122,  000 
114,  745,  000 


289, 356,  500 


That  the  wheat  crop,  with  a  smaller  volume  and  a  more  active  foreign 
demand,  should  make  so  rapid  extension  is  less  strange  than  the  nearly 
equal  rate  of  acceleration  of  the  immense  volume  of  our  great  natural 
crop,  maize.  With  less  than  an  increase  of  100  per  cent,  in  jjopulation, 
this  crop  has  more  than  doubled.  The  quantity  produced  has  actually 
decreased  in  the  East,  it  has  doubled  in  the  Central  States,  and  is  seven 
times  as  largo  beyond  the  Mississippi.  The  proportions  of  the  whole 
crop  produced  by  the  three  sections  are  (nearly)  as  follows : 


Section, 

1849. 

1859. 

1869. 

1875. 

30 

58 
12 

.  24 

55 
21 

20 
53 
27 

14 

51 

35 

The  East  has  declined  continuously  and  hopelessly ;  the  center  has 
held  a  determined  struggle,  yielding  only  inch  by  inch ;  the  W^est  has 
trod  the  track  of  destiny  with  accelerated  step. 

The  clerical  force  of  the  Division  consists  only  of  the  Statistician,  two 
assistants,  and  five  other  clerks  employed  in  recording,  tabulating,  &c. 
Translations  of  French  and  German  form  another  branch  of  the  pri- 
mary work  in  the  presentation  of  foreign  statistics.  What  with  direc- 
tion of  this  necessary  drudgery  and  its  revision  when  done,  and  not  a 
little  of  actual  participation  in  it,  there  is  little  time  left  for  philosophic 
deduction,  the  elucidation  of  great  truths  involved  in  the  figures,  and 
the  presentation  in  clear  and  fitting  terms  of  the  whole  subject  for  the 
instruction  and  guidance  of  the  people.  The  two  assistants,  Messrs. 
E.  C.  Merrick  and  R.  Parkinson,  have  rendered  essential  aid  in  the  work 
of  compilation. 

With  an  expression  of  regret  that  a  greater  progress  of  statistical  in- 
quiry is  debarred  by  limitation  of  facilities,  and  a  pardonable  piide  in 
whatever  of  beneficent  accomplishment  has  been  made  under  adverse 
circumstances,  this  report  is  respectfully  submitted. 

J.  R.  DODGE, 

Statistician. 

Hon.  Frederick  Watts, 
Commissioner. 


OFFICIAL  EUROPEAN  CORRESPONDENCE. 


AGMCULTUEE  IN  ITALY. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  indebted  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  a  copy  of  a  dispatch  from  lion.  C.  C.  Andrews,  the  minister  of  the 
United  States  at  Stockholm,  on  the  subject  of  agriculture  in  Italy,  based 
upon  observations  made  by  him  in  a  recent  visit  to  that  country.  Mr. 
Andrews's  visit  was  specially  to  the  valley  of  the  Po,  comprising  the 
famous  provinces  of  Piedmont  and  Lombardy,  constituting  one  of  the 
most  extensive  areas  of  the  wheat-production  of  the  country,  which, 
on  account  of  its  fertility,  is  called  the  "  Kidney  of  Piedmont."  Mr. 
Andrews's  dispatch,  in  addition  to  the  valuable  information  it  affords 
respecting  the  agriculture  of  Italy,  contains  some  very  entertaining 
sketches  of  the  general  character  and  peculiar  habits  of  the  farming 
population  of  the  country.  The  following  extracts  will  lie  found  inter- 
esting : 

Owing  to  the  almost  perfect  flatuesa  of  the  land  in  the  valley  of  the  Po,  the  general 
appearance  of  the  country  would  be  somewhat  monotonons  were  it  not  enlivened  by 
the  beautiful  chain  of  the  Alps  find  their  more  distant  towering  summits.  Bath  at 
Turin  and  Milan  the  range  of  mountains,  as  seen  to  the  north,  and  always  in  winter 
covered  with  snow,  does  not  seem  to  be  many  miles  distant.  The  descent  of  their 
lower  slopes  by  rail,  in  the  early  morning,  and  with  so  rapidly  changing  view,  was 
very  interesting.  There  were  many  thiu  chestnut  forests,  but  scarcely  any  other 
trees.  By  the  use  of  terraces,  and  stone-bottomed  drains,  every  patch  of  land  appeared 
to  be  saved  to  husbandry  that  could  possibly  be  cultivated.  Rye  appeared  to  be  con- 
siderably cultivated;  imd  there  were  also  many  email  vineyards.  The  dwellings  were 
quite  simplo.  At  the  time  of  rnj  visit  the  ground  in  the  whole  valley  of  the  Po  was 
I^erfectly  free  from  snow,  and  one  could  thus  in  winter  obtain  perhaps  as  correct  an 
impression  of  the  capability  of  the  soil  as  could  be  acquired  iu  summer,  because  in 
summer  the  view  is  much  obstructed  by  the  foliage  of  the  many  mulberry  and  willow 
trees.  On  getting  down  into  the  level  part  of  Piedmont,  there  were  two  features  of 
its  agriculture  which  were  difierent  from  what  is  to  be  seen  anywhere  north  of  the 
Alps  ;  first,  that  Indian  corn  is  a  leadmg  crop  ;  and,  second,  the  peculiar  shape — the 
narrow  oval  ridges  or  beds — in  v/hich  the  ground  is  left  when  sown  with  wheat.  At 
this  time  these  wheat-fields,  with  their  verdant  winter  growth,  somewhat  resembled 
the  well-hoed  fields  of  sweet-potatoes  as  they  appear  in  our  Southern  States,  say  in 
August,  or  like  one  of  our  unplowed  corn-fields  run  to  grass.  The  corn,  whose  low-cut 
stubble  still  remained,  instead  of  being  phmted  in  hills,  as  in  our  Northern  States,  ap- 
peared to  have  been  sown  in  rather  close  rows,  which  had  been  sharply  ridged  by  the 
plow.  These  were  features  which  struck  me  as  approaching  Turin.  During  the  trip 
to  Fossano  I  had  an  opportunity  to  notice  other  peculiarities  of  the  country.  As 
a  great  deal  ot  the  land  was  in  winter-wheat,  and  as  all  of  the  grass-land — except 
that  upon  which  manure  had  lately  been  spread — appeared  in  an  almost  spring  garb, 
much  of  the  surfa,ce  was  green.  For  the  purpose  of  irrigation  the  land  is  traversed 
by  narrow  channels  of  running  warer,  go  as  to  form  fields  of  from  two  to  six  acres. 
Along  either  side  of  these  channels  are  willow -tress,  in  sonje  places  a  few  feet,  in 
others  some  rods,  apart.  They  are  a  common  feature  of  the  coanvry  along  the  banks 
of  all  the  ditches  and  canals.  Their  sprouts,  which  grow  out  from  the  tops  of  the 
trees,  are  sometimes  used  fur  making  baskets  ;  but  generaliy  they  are  allowed  to  grow 
three  years,  and  are  then  cut  for  fuel.  In  good  so.l  a  sprout  grows  to  the  length  of  10 
feet  the  first  year.  The  second  year  it  will  have  grown  to  the  length  of  15  feet,  and 
when  cut  the  tliird  year  its  diameter  will  be  3  inches.  Tiie  truuks  of  the  trees  are 
straight,  and  from  15  to  20  feet  in  height.  In  many  fields  are  also  mulberry-trees  in 
rows  about  a  hundred  yards  apart.  In  the  richest  eoil  they  have  a  diameter  of  2  feet, 
and,  like  the  willows,  the  tops  of  their  trunks,  from  repeated  cutting  of  the  limbs,  have 
an  overgrown  and  knobbed  appearance.  The  grape-vines  wera  covered  with  corn- 
stalks for  protection  from  the  frost.  They  are  not  here  festooned  upon  the  trees,  as  is 
the  practice  farther  south,  but  are  trained  upon  poles,  which  in  winter  are  sttred  for 
safety  iu  the  fai'm-yard.  By  the  road-side  were  thorn-hedges,  and  occasionally  some  wild 
blackberry  bushes,  but  no  fences  anywhere.  I  occasionally  saw  men  at  work  trimming 
the  hedges  and  the  willows,  and  that  was  the  only  farm-work  which  was  being  done. 
The  hauling  out  of  manure,  usually  done  in  winter,  seemed  to  be  finished.    This,  how- 

283 


284         REPOET    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICOLTURE. 

ever,  was  going  on  actively  near  Vercsil.  The  carriage-loads,  which  are  macadamized, 
and  excelle:::t,  have  an  elevation  of  a  couple  of  feet  above  the  adjoining  fields.  There  is 
generally  runniDg  water  on  either  side,  and  sometiines  willow  or  poplar  trees.  Farm- 
bouses,  with  rather  gloomy  looking  plastered  walla  and  ijrojecting  e.aves,  were  fre- 
quently to  be  seen,  but  very  seldom  any  handsome  villas  or  chateans.  The  soil  is  com- 
posed of  clay,  mixed  with  loam,  and,  being  moist,  had  a  dark-brown  color. 

Our  littio  oxcuision  to  the  homes  of  the  farmers  extended  four  miles,  aud  v/aa 
favored  with  sunshiny  weather.  We  seemed  to  be  almost  surrounded  by  the  Alps, 
which  appeared  to  be  only  a  dozen  miles  distant,  or  at  any  rate  so  near  that  I  could 
eee  the  glistening  of  their  snowy  sides  in  the  sunlight.  The  prospect  was  interesting 
in  winter  aud  must  be  charming  in  cummer.  I  was  struck  wich  the  indication  of  eo 
little  Iccal  travel,  considering  we  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  large  town.  Neither 
in  going  nor  coming  did  we  meet  a  siDgle  vehicle,  and  only  one  person,  I  think, 
afoot.  There  wsq  the  same  frequency  of  willow  and  mulberry  trees  that  I  have  before 
mentioiied.  There  appeared  to  be  a  farm-house  to  about  every  hundred  acres.  We 
visited  several,  and  had  an  opportunity  to  see  the  farmers  aud  their  families  ar;  home 
in  their  every-day  dress  and  employment.  Their  manners  are  couitcOuS  aud  friendlj', 
neither  obsecpiioua  r.or  familiar.  I  really  could  not  see  that  the  men  were  much  em- 
ployed, but  most  of  the  women  were  spinning  flax.  The  general  appearance  of  the 
premises  vras  unattractive.  It  is,  perhaps,  ov/ing  to  the  fact  that  the  farmers  are  not 
owners  of  the  farms,  but  only  rent  them,  that  nothing  is  done  for  ornamentation  or  in 
the  way  of  taste.  The  ground  being  flat  about  the  houses,  with  little  or  no  drainage, 
and  no  paved  or  graveled  v/alks,  and  tbo  surface  being  neither  raked  nor  swept,  but 
half  covered  with  straw,  gives  a  sort  of  barn-y.ard  aspect  to  the  whole  aurrouudings. 
In  order  to  exclude  the  fowls,  of  which  there  are  a  good  manjf  at  every  farm-house, 
the  kitchen-garden  is  inclosed  with  twigs  of  irfegular  height,  and,  being  smail  and  pen- 
like, rather  mars  than  ornaments  the  view.  A  pile  of  brush  was  pointed  out  as  tho 
only  wood  for  fnel.  Occasionally  there  are  some  fruit-trees  in  the  vicinity.  As  two  or 
three  forty-acre  farms  may  be  supplied  with  one  soc/  of  buildings,  there  are  of  course 
many  farming  implements  and  some  carts  aud  wagons,  and  these  are  generally  well 
sheltered  in  Ihe  diQ'erent  sheds.  A  peculiarity  of  the  dwellings  is  thas  they  adjoin, 
and  are  under  the  same  roof  with  tho  barn  or  stable.  They  are  plainly,  but  rather 
massively,  built,  of  brick,  two  stories  high,  the  walls  plastered  on  the  outside,  and  of  a 
light  color.  The  upper  srory,  which  is  reached  by  outside  stairs,  is  frequently  reserved 
for  the  family  of  the.  proprietti?-,  in  case  they  should  wish  to  come  for  a  few  days  iu  the 
summer.  Not  uncommonly  some  of  the  upper  rooms  are  used  for  storing  grain.  The 
kitchen  adjoins  tho  stable,  there  being  a  brick  wall  between  and  a  doot.  Tho  ceiling, 
as  well  aa  the  wails  of  the  stable,  is  of  brick,  being  massively  arched  over,  and  about  9 
feet  higli.  The  windows  of  the  stables  have  four  moderate  sized  panes,  with  iron  bars 
outside.  Tho  lot't  for  hay  over  thd  stable  is  open  toward  the  yard,  and  brick  pillars 
extend  up  from  tha  stable  wall  to  support  the  roof,  which  projects  over  a  good  deal, 
and  affords  shelter  to  corn-fodder  and  other  things  which  may  ba  placed  underneath. 

1'.  is  the  custom  cf  the  country  for  the  farming  people  in  winter  to  live  iu  the  stable 
with  the  cattle  i\>r  the  animal  warmth,  and  in  encering  the  dwellings  wo,  as  .1  matter 
cf  course,  wereiirst  taken  into  tho  stable.  As  I  took  particular  notice  of  a  stable  which 
was  rather  more  crowded  than  the  others,  and  where,  close  by  the  cows,  a  chair  was 
kindly  offered  mo  by  tho  wife  of  one  of  the  farmers,  I  will  try  aud  give  a  description 
of  it.  Though  on  entering  the  sight  was  extremely  novel,  yet  what  most  impressed 
me  was  1  ho  heated  and  stifled  atmosphere,  as  was  the  case  indeed  in  all  of  the  stables. 
The  temperature  must  have  been  as  laigh  as  70°  Fahr.,  and  it  immediately  occurred  to 
me  whether  or  not  many  of  tho  cattle  epidemics  and  diseases  have  not  originated  from 
such  high  and  bad  temperature  in  stables.  At  this  fiirm  were  three  families ;  that  of  the 
father  and  principal  farmer,  who  occupied  quarters  in  the  dwelling  proper,  and  those  of 
two  of  his  sons,  who  lodged  in  tho  stable.  On  the  left,  as  we  went  in  from  the  yard,  the 
wives  of  the  two  brothers  were  sitting  in  a  corner  of  the  ttable,  near  the  kitchen  door 
and  a  window,  at  work,  with  their  infants  in  cradles  by  their  sides,  and  there  was  a 
child  rncning  about.  Near  them  was  a  double  bed,  and  between  the  bed  and  the  door 
we  entered  by  was  a  large  crib  for  receiving  tho  hay  from  tho  loft.  On  the  right  of 
the  doer  was  another  double  b.jd,  and  then  farther  to  the  right,  on  the  same  side,  vpere 
several  largo  and  fat  calves  from  six  to  twelve  months  old,  and  at  the  farther  end  of 
the  stable  was  a  pen  containing  eight  large  black  fat  hogs.  On  the  opposite  side  from 
which  wo  entered  were  a  dozen  or  more  of  cows,  and  in  one  corner  a  mare.  The  cattle 
were  all  tied.  No  especial  pains  appear  to  be  taken  to  keep  the  stable  tidy.  It 
appeared  like  any  ordinary  farmer's  stable.  The  kitchens  usually  have  large  open 
fire-places,  and,  like  most  of  the  baiement  rooms,  brick  floors  of  dingy  color.  A  plain 
table  in  the  center,  a  wood-box  in  the  corner,  a  sort  of  stone  range  for  cooking  near 
the  fire-place,  a  dresser  with  plates  and  other  crockery  standing  on  the  shelves,  and  a 
cupboard  beneath,  some  old-fashioned  wardrobes  against  the  wall?,  comprise  tho  fur- 
niture uf  the  kitcken.  In  none  of  these  farm-houses  did  I  see  a  nevi'spaper  or  a  book, 
or,  if  I  remember  right,  a  pot  of  flowers  or  plant  of  any  kind. 


AGRICULTURE    OF   ITALY.  285 

As  another  example  of  the  way  aDimal  warmth  is  availed  of,  I  would  mention  that 
in  a  stable  I  vicited  near  Verceil,  which  was  quite  clean  and  had  no  cattle,  there  were 
fifteen  women  si'ting  tidily  dressed  and  epiuniug  Jlas.  I  at  tirst  thought  they  were 
having  a  party,  hut  was  told  they  had  come  together  to  keep  warm.  This  v/aa  atthd 
extensive  wheat,  dairy,  and  rice  farm  skillfully  carried  on  by  Mr.  Maliuverni,  and  where, 
too,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  school  taught  by  a  woman.  At  that  farm  thirty 
families  are  employed  ;  and  most  of  the  buildings,  fronting  upon  and  inclosing  a  large 
yard,  aro  the  remnants  of  a  f^?.udal  castle. 

There  is  nothing  peculiar  in  the  iippearance  and  dress  of  the  farminj:;  people.  That 
of  the  wcmen  is  respectable  and  simple.  The  small  farmers  and  their  hired  labor- 
ers, where  they  have  any,  dress  cheaply  and  alike.  They  do^not  wear  the  blue  cot- 
ton blouse  or  frock,  so  coa)mon  in  Souihern  Italy,  in  France,  and  in  Switzerland  ;  but 
instead,  when  going  to  town,  or  on  particular  occasions,  a  cotton  satinet.  Jacket  of  lightr- 
brown  color.  Their  every-day  dress  in  winter  consists  of  a  coar.'O  knit  shirt  of  wool, 
or  wool  mixed  with  cotton-shirts,  Vv'it.h  calico  cuffs  to  the  sleeves  four  or  live  inches 
wide,  and  under  that  a  plain  cotton  shirt,  a  woolen  vest,  herap  draws,  blue  cotton 
trousers,  leather  shoes  with  thick  wooden  soles,  an  ordinary  felt  hat,  and  a  colored 
cotton  hauderchief  about  the  neck. 

The  diet  of  the  farming  workmen  in  the  country  about  Fossano  was  stated  to  be  as 
follows :  In  the  morning,  a  piece  of  bread,  with  a  bit  of  garlic  or  onion  ;  at  11  a.  m.  plain 
Indian  corn-meal  pudding,  boiled,  with  jierhaps  ci:ongh  preserved  grapes  or  fruit  to 
flavor  it ;  and  for  supper,  vegetable  soup,  either  of  cabbage  or  beans,  and  some  broad, 
occasionally  a  little  wine  of  the  country.  At  harvest-time,  salad  and  Oil  form  a  part  of 
the  diet.  It  is  considered  that  a  workman  consumes  four  pounda  of  bread  per  day. 
A  farmer  in  fair  circumstances  kills  every  year  a  fat  hog  weighing,  say,  300  pounds,  of 
which  a  quarter  is  reserved  for  faiiiily  use,  the  fat  part  being  salted,  the  lean  made 
into  sausages,  and  the  lard  saved  for  wheel-oil. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Verceil,  one  of  the  principal  rice  districts,  breakfast,  before  8 
o'clock,  consists  of  corn-bread,  though  sometimes  made  of  rice  and  rye-meal,  with  a 
piece  of  cheese,  and  sometimes  coiiee,  which  is  becoming  popular  with  the  working 
class.  Dinner  at  12,  of  rice-soup,  containing  beans  or  cabbage,  and  bread  ;  sometimes  a 
piece  of  sausage  or  fried  eggs  ;  alter  sundown,  supper  of  boiled  corn-meal  i5udding  or 
porridge. 

Around  Milan  the  breakfast,  taken  at  9  a.  m.,  consists  of  bread  of  mixed  wheat  and 
corn  and  porridge  of  corn-meal.  At  noon,  soup  of  rice,  beans,  and  pork,  vrith  bread ; 
flpfter  sunset  and  the  work  is  done,  supper,  the  same  as  the  breakfast.  In  the  best  in- 
stances one  gets  meat  or  poultry  once  a  week,  and  some  wine  on  Sunday,  sometimes 
cheese. 

The  wages  of  farm-workmen  near  Milan  are  nominally  (at  the  farm  I  visited)  1  franc 
and  14  centimes  per  day,  but  as  they  were  furnished  with  soup  once  a  day  and  a  per- 
centage on  the  cropfi,  the  whole  pay  is  considered  equivalent  to  i2^  francs  a  day  in 
summer;  in  winter  2  francs  a  day.  About  Verceil  the  wages  at  harvest-time  are  3 
francs  a  day,  in  winter  1  franc  a  day,  and  average  1:^-  francs  per  day.  Generally  in 
Piedmont  wages  vary  from  a  franc  and  a  half  to  o  francs  a  day,  according  to  the  season. 
I  was  informed  in  Lombardy  that  as  a  rule  the  laborers  do  not  lay  up  anything;  that 
There  were  no  unions  or  aid  societies  in  the  countrj',  though  such  exist  in  the  towns. 

With  respect  to  ownership,  taxes,  &c.,  I  would  remark  that  in  Piedmont  there  are 
many  peasants  who  own  from  one  to  two  acres  of  land,  and  sometimes  up  to  ten  acres ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  soil  is  owned  by  large  proprietors.  1  was  told  that  no  land 
is  exempt  from  taxation,  though  considerable  is  owned  by  religious  bodies.  There  are 
eighteen  classes  of  land,  of  which  the  best  is  taxed,  including  state,  provincial,  and 
local  taxes,  30  francs  per  acre,  and  the  poorest  6  francs  per  acre.  Wild  or  pasture  land 
is  tax§d  3  or  4  francs  an  acre.  As  a  general  rule,  in  both  provinces,  the  proprietor  does 
not  cultivate  the  land  himself,  but  lets  it  out  to  a  farmer,  receiving  from  the  latter 
half  the  crop  as  rent.  The  farmer  furnishes  everything  except  one-third  of  the  seed. 
However,  the  terms  of  the  contract  must  often  depend  on  the  quality  of  the  soil. 
There  is  no  trouble  in  dividing  the  crop,  although  many  proprietors  imagine  they  do 
not  get  their  full  half.  They  realize,  on  an  average,  an  income  from  their  lauds  of 
scarcely  4  per  cent. 

The  system  of  culture  and  of  rotation  of  crops  is  not  everywhere  the  same  in  the  valley 
of  the  Po.  The  most  fertile  land  is  never  left  in  fallow.  Above  Turin  the  rotation  is 
usually  Indian  corn  one  year,  then  wheat  two  years,  followed  vrith  clover  one  year. 
Around  Milan  the  rotation  is,  first,  white  bearded  wheat,  sown  in  November,  with 
clover  sown  the  following  February.  The  wheat  is  harvested  in  July  ;  the  next  month 
some  clover  is  cut,  and  then  cattle  are  allowed  to  feed  in  the  field.  The  second  year 
four  crops  of  clover  are  cut,  the  land  having  been  periodically  overflowed.  In  the 
succeeding  winter  the  ground  is  manured,  and  clover  is  cut  the  third  year.  The  fourth 
year  the  ground  is  plowed  once,  harrowed  four  times,  sown  with  hemp  in  March,  and 
lolled.  The  hemp  is  cut  in  June,  during  which  month  the  ground  is  again  plowed 
cnce,  harrowed  once,  and  planted  with  Indian  corn,  which  is  harvested  in  October, 


286         BEPORT   OP   THB   COBdMISSIONER   OP   AGBICULTUEE. 

The  gronnd  is  then  plowed  again,  harrowed  once,  sown  in  November  with  wheat, 
which  is  harrowed  in.  The  soil  about  Milan  is  easy  to  work,  only  one  x>air  of  oxen 
being  required  to  draw  the  plow,  while  toward  Mantua,  on  account  of  the  stiffness  of 
the  clay,  five  pairs  are  required. 

In  the  rich  rica  disirict  of  Verceil  a  three-years'  course  is  the  more  common,  but  the 
best  cultivators,  iuclnding  Mr.  Malinverai,  follow  a  six-years'  rotation,  as  follows : 
First  year,  whe;it,  (which  was  sown  the  preceding  October,  after  the  harvest  of  rice, 
end  after  deep  culture  aud  manuring  at  the  rate  of  one  cwt.  of  gua^o  per  acre.)  Clover 
hrcving  been  sown  in  the  wheat  in  the  pping,  a  fair  crop  of  this  is  cut  in  August,  after 
the  whett  crop.  Sacond  year,  the  clover  is  liberally  manured,  irrigated,  and  cut  thr.;e 
times.  Third  year,  IndiaD  corn  manured  with  guano.  Fourth,  fitrh,  and  sizth  years, 
rice.  The  rice-fields  are  inundated  five  months.  Thbro  is  a  depth  of  4  inches  of  water 
till  the  gr?in  is  up,  th»*n  the  quar.tity  of  water  is  lessened.  Some  sorts  of  nee  grow  to 
a  height  of  4  feet,  others  less.  It  costs  20,000  irancs  a  year  to  8npp;y  a  rice-farm  of 
600  acres  with  water.  The  rice-crop  is  gathered  in  September,  the  harvest  sometimes 
running  into  October. 

In  the  country  above  Turin  it  is  a  practice  to  plow  twice  after  a  crop  of  wheat — once 
at  the  time  of  maauring  and  again  a'^  the  timi  of  sowing — and  but  once  after  a  crop 
of  Indian  corn.  In  preparing  the  soil  for  hemp,  it  is  usual  there  in  tho  autumn  to  cover  the 
ground  with  heaps  of  etubble  and  brush,  in  such  number  as  300  heaps  to  an  acre,  and  to 
burn  them  eioTi'ly.  This  is  called  haK  manuring.  In  spring  some  manure  is  added,  the 
ground  plowed,  and  the  hemp  sown  in  April.  Among  the  smaller  farmers  on  hilly  land 
the  rotation  is:  wheat  two  years,  manured  each  year  with  stable-manure;  the  third 
year,  rye,  with  clover  to  a  pait  of  it.     Timothy  is  not  used  in  the  Po  Valley. 

I  have  before  referred  to  the  xieculiar  rigid  appearance  of  the  wheat-fields.  This 
formation  er-mcs  from  a  plowing  with  a  view  to  draining.  The  furrows  are  turned  80 
that  with  the  s;ibs:equsnt  burrowing  and  use  of  a  wooden  smoother  the  ground  is  left 
in  oval  ridges  or  beds  a  foot  high,  and  from  2  to  3  feet  wide.  The  ditch  between  is 
bcarcely  wide  enough  to  place  the  foot.  What  is  striking  about  the  ridges  is  their  re- 
markable regularity  aud  precision.  Occasionally,  however,  and  apparently  on  the 
better-cultivated  farms,  the  drains  are  in  some  cases  10  feet,  in  others  20  feet,  apart — 
the  plowing  in  such  case  being  done  as  in  the  country  north  of  the  Alps. 

In  selectiog  seed-wheat  the  more  carefol  farmera  sift  it  in  three  different  sieves,  re- 
serving for  seed  the  medium-sized  and  heaviest' grains.  This  is  done  at  tho  time  of 
thrashing.  As  a  prevention  against  insects,  the  seed  i-j  washed  in  lime-water  just  before 
sowing,  which  is  usually  broadcast.  Only  a  few  of  the  rich  people  as  yet  use  sowing- 
machines.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  practicable  to  use  them  on  fields  ridged  as  above 
described. 

Tiie  wheat  is  harvested  in  the  last  half  of  June,  and  is  all  reaped  by  hand.  It  stands 
in  the  fields  in  sheafs  four  days,  is  then  brought  and  piled  under  a  shed,  and  soon 
thrashed.  Thrashing-machines  are  being  introduced,  yet  the  usual  way  of  thrashing 
is  by  cattle  drawing  a  heavy  roller  over  the  wheat  on  the  ground  tit  the  farm-yard. 
The  yield  varies  from  17  to  30  bushels  per  acre. 

The  accidents  to  which  the  wheat-orep  is  liable  are  principally  hail-storme.  These 
destroy  the  wheat-crop  about  once  every  ten  years,  and  near  Turin  as  often  as  onco 
every  five  years.  In  such  case,  "  forty-clay  "  Indian  corn  is  planted,  or  millet  is  sown, 
though  millett  is  getting  out  of  use.  There  nvd  companies  lor  insuring  against  injury 
to  crops  by  hail-storms.  Rust,  sometimes  called  mildew  or  blight,  may  occur  once  in 
the  course  often  jears.  A  small,  yellow,  glazed  worm,  about  an  inch  iu  length,  occv 
sionally  destroys,  say,  two  acres  out  of  one  hundred  by  eating  the  seed.  This  worm, 
"  jebus,"  changes  its  form  and  returns  after  three  years. 

I  was  assured  that  tho  best  wheat-culture  iu  Italy  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Parma;  also 
that  it  is  in  no  province  the  practice  to  hoe  the  wheat,  as  was  the  custom  in  tho  old 
Eoman  Republic,  and  as  is  the  practice  still  iu  .Japan. 

Owing  to  the  advantages  of  the  system  of  irrigation  called  Jilo.rcita,  and  the  profits 
of  the  dairy,  half  the  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Milan  is  continually  in  grass.  On 
the  1st  day  of  February  last  I  saw,  on  a  farm  two  miles  from  that  c:ity,  men  mowing 
grass  which  was  about  a  foot  high,  and  which  was  being  carted  to  the  stable  aud  fed 
to  the  cows  fresh.  Nine  crops  of  grass  are  cut  from  tho  same  ground  in  a  year!  This 
system  of  overflowing,  by  which  such  results  are  obtained,  and  which  hns  contributed 
so  much  to  the  wealth  denoted  by  such  splendid  cities  as  Turin  and  Milan,  has  been  in 
use  in  the  valley  of  the  Po  ever  since  the  art  was  brought  by  the  Crusaders  from  tho 
East.  A  thorough  system  of  overflow  exists  for  a  radius  of  about  10  miles  southward 
and  eastward  of  Milan.  I  visited  the  stable  and  dairy-rooms  of  this  farm.  Tltere  were 
seventy-four  milch-cows,  all  of  Swiss  breed,  which  were  fed  with  fiesh  grass  twice 
and  with  hay  once  a  day.  Tho  men  tending  the  cows  and  having  care  of  the  milk 
wore  nothing  but  sandals,  and  a  garment  around  the  middle  of  the  body,  such  as 
might  answer  for  swimmers.  The  brick  floors  of  the  cheese  and  milk  rooms  were  not 
in  the  strictest  order  as  to  cleanliness.  The  large  copper  kettles  frjr  heating  the  milk 
wfcvre,  however,  well  polished.  The  cheeses  are  sold  in  Milan  for  3  francs  a  kilogram. 
Wlhile  in  Northern  Italy  the  large  Swiss  breed  of  cows  is  used  for  the  dairy,  the  native 


AORICULTUEE    OP   SPAIN.  287 

Italian  breed  is  need  for  beef.  This  latter  race  is  of  a  light-brown  cream-color,  and  is 
very  docile.  The  cows  of  this  breed  are  yoked  and  worked.  They  give  only  milk 
enough  iortlin  mrture  of  their  calves,  which  are  allowed  to  take  milk  for  several 
montLs  and  till  they  are  tit  lor  largo  veal.  I  was  told  that  veal  fattened  on  milk  of 
cows  ted  on  overllowed  grass  is  not  of  so  clear  color  and  does  not  bring  so  high  a  price 
as  that  produced  from  natural  grass.  &  &        i- 

I  do  not  deem  it  my  place  to  draw  conclusions  or  to  offer  criticism  with  respect  to 
the  social  and  economic  bearing  of  the  facts  and  matters  above  stated.  While  they 
disclose  some  things  contrary  to  our  American  notions,  they  also  show  two  great  merit^ 
in  Italian  agriculture  :  One  is,  that  the  Italians  have  the  niost  complete  system  of  irri- 
gation in  Europe,  If  not  in  the  world  ;  the  other  is,  that  they  do  not,  in  Northern  Italy 
at  least,  let  the  soil  degenerate.  ^ 

AGRICULTURE  OF  SPAIN. 

In  a  letter  from  the  legation  of  the  (Joited  States  at  Madrid,  under 
date  of  March  28, 1877,  the  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States 
Hon.  Caleb  Cashing,  writes  to  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of 
State,  concerning  the  agriculture  of  that  country,  as  follows: 

Sir:  It  has  been  my  purpose  for  some  time  to  communicate  to  you  my  impression 
ot  the  agriculture  of  Spain,  and  its  productions,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  United 
btates  ;  and  I  avail  myself  of  a  period  of  comparative  leisure  to  perform  this  duty 

Although  as  a  general  rule,  the  climate  of  Spain  is  warmer  and  drier  than  that  of 
the  United  States,  yet  the  inequalities  of  its  surface  enable  it  to  produce  analogous  or 
Identical  objects  in  one  part  or  another  of  the  peninsula. 

The  northern  provinces  of  Galicia,  Asturias,  Vizcaya,  Alava,  Guipuzcoa,  Navarre 
and  parts  ot  Aragon  and  Catalona  are  more  or  less  mountainous,  and  with  sufficient 
ram  to  be  well  wooded,  and  to  produce  all  the  crops  of  the  temperate  zone,  including 
as  fruits  apples,  pears  and  peaches,  as  well  as  grapes  and  maize,  wheat  and  other 
cereal  grains.  They  also  raise  many  neat-cattle,  being  able  to  contribute  to  the  sup- 
ply of  England.  ^ 

The  eastern  and  southern  provinces  possess  a  semi-tropical  cUmate,  and  produce 
especial  y  on  irrigated  lands,  oranges,  lemons,  figs,  rice,  carobs,  silk,  cotton,  sugar,  and 
especially  grapes  for  consumption  as  fruit  or  for  the  tabrication  of  wine  and  brandy 

ihe  central  provinces,  by  reason  of  their  elevation  and  their  comparative  ariditv 
have  a  more  limited  range  of  production,  chiefly  wheat,  oats,  beans,  garbanzos,  and 
potatoes,  with  some  pasturage,  the  wheat  being  quite  equal  to  the  best  of  the  United 
btates.  In  these  provinces,  also,  the  grape  flourishes,  producing  excellent  wines 
largely  consumed  in  the  country,  but  entering  less  into  exportation  than  the  wines  of 
the  southern  and  eastern  provinces. 

Of  trees,  in  addition  to  the  fruit-trees  already  mentioned,  the  most  prevalent  are  the 
olive  and  the  cork-oak,  which  spread  over  a  large  part  of  the  country,  and,  with  fruits 
wines,  and  wheat,  comi>ose  the  most  available  objects  of  agricultural  exportation  to 
other  parts  of  Europe  and  to  America. 

The  domesticated  animals,  including  birds,  are  substantially  the  same  as  ours,  but 
with  dilierence  m  use  and  distribution.  Oxen  and  horses  are  used  for  draueht  but 
more  largely  and  universally  mules  and  asses.  ' 

Sheep  exterisively,  and,  to  a  certain  degree,  goats,  are  among  the  staple  productions 
of  the  centr.-il  provinces.  I  observe  that  the  milk  of  goats  and  sheep,  and  even  of  asses 
as  well  as  oi  cows,  enters  considerably  intO'  consumption  at  Madrid 

In  the  methods  of  culture  in  Spain,  nothing  has  occurred  to  me  to  recommend  for 
adoption  in  the  United  States.  Ou  the  contrary,  in  the  use  of  machinery,  and  in  the 
scientific  relations  of  agriculture,  we  are  already  in  advance  of  Spain.  Nor  does  Spain 
produce  many  objects  of  cultivation  which  are  not  abundantly  produced  in  the  United 
iit^t&B.    boyeral  of  these  exceptional  objects,  however,  m.erit  consideration.     They  are : 

1.  The  ohve-tree,  {Olea  Europwa.)  This  tree  is  commercially  valuable  for  its  fruit, 
and  everi  tor  its  wood,  and  although  the  dampness  and  variableness  of  temperature  in 
parts  of  our  country  may  not  ba  favorable  to  its  growth;  still  it  might  flourish  in 
many  parts  of  the  Southern  and  Western  States.       ^^  '  » 

2.  The  cork-oak,  {Qmrcus  suier.)  This  tree  possesses  great  permanent  commercial 
value,  while  the  production  at  present  is  chiefly  confined  to  Spain  and  Northern  Africa. 
It  deserves  trial  in  the  drier  regions  of  the  United  States. 

3.  AJgarroba,  Carob  tree,  (Ceratoma  siliqua.)  The  long  succulent  pods  of  this  tree 
are  not  without  value  as  forage. 

4.  The  garbanzo,  chick-pea,  ( Cicer  arictin  tm, )  is  of  the  pea  famil  v,  but  larger  and  more 
«,'!  Si^r/f  f  \  1  ?.  «^"^^^ry  l^*-'^-  ^t  is  ^■ery  widely  cultivated,-is  very  cheap,  and  aa 
an  article  of  lood  it  is,  perhaps,  more  extensively  used  in  this  country  than  any  other 


288  KEPOET    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGKlCULTUIiE. 

vegetable  production  except  -wheat.     For  its  producriveness  aud  its  intriDsic  value,  it 
well  deserves  trial  in  tlio  United  States. 

5.  There  is  a  variety  of  capsicuui,  called  pimento  cluhe,  sweet  pepper,  whicli  figures 
much  among  the  minor  objects  of  seasoning  for  the  table,  and  would  find  favor  if 
cultivated  by  our  raarket-gardners. 

6.  Esparto,  (Siijm  tenacissima.)  This  plant  grows  abundantly  in  the  Mediterranean 
provinces,  in  situations  where  almost  nothing  else  will  grow.  Its  fiber,  of  great 
tenacity,  is  in  universal  employment  for  the  fabrication  of  mats,  fioor-coveriugs,  cord- 
age, sandals,  baskets,  and  other  objects  of  domestic  use.  The  floor-coverings  made  of 
it,  found  in  every  house  in  Spain,  are  cheaper  aud  better  than  those  which  we  import 
in  such  great  quantities  from  the  East  Indies. 

These  observations,  cursory  as  they  are,  will  suffice  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the 
objects  of  agricultural  industry,  which,  while  common  in  Spain,  are  little,  if  at  aU, 
cultivated  in  the  United  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  CUSHING 


JUTE-CULTURE. 


By  Professor  S.  "Waterhouse, 
Washington  University,  Saint  Louis,  Missouri. 


The  recommendations  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  first  attracted 
my  attention  to  this  fiber,  and  the  personal  observations  of  a  revisit  to 
India  have  only  confirmed  my  sense  of  its  national  importance. 

Jute  has  been  cultivated  in  India  for  hundreds  of  years,  but  it  is  only 
within  the  last  half  century  that  it  has  entered  largely  into  the  com- 
merce and  industries  of  foreign  nations.  In  the  culture  of  jute,  a  warm, 
humid  climate  is  essential  to  success ;  but  the  physical  characteristics 
of  the  soils  in  which  the  plant  flourishes  greatly  vary.  It  thrives  with 
an  almost  equal  luxuriance  upon  highlands  or  alluvial  bottoms.  It  will 
grow  upon  comparatively  dry  uplands  or  in  flooded  valleys.  But  it  pre- 
fers a  high,  moist,  sandy  loam.  Alluvial  mold,  in  which  there  is  a 
liberal  admixture  of  sand,  is  favorable  to  its  growth ;  but  a  very  dry 
or  a  very  sandy  soil  is  not  adapted  to  this  tillage. 

The  land  intended  for  this  crop  is  usually  broken  up  in  the  fall. 
With  unwearied  industry,  the  natives  plow  the  land  over  and  over 
again — in  some  instances  as  many  as  twenty  times — until  the  soil  has 
been  thoroughly  i)ulverized,  deeply  exposed  to  sun  and  air,  and  richly 
manured.    The  seed  is  sown  broadcast,  from  20  to  30  pounds  to  the  acre. 

The  time  of  sowing  varies  with  the  conditions  of  soil  and  climate. 
In  the  northeastern  provinces  of  Bengal,  where  nearly  all  of  the  jute  of 
India  is  raised,  the  seed  is  sown  in  February,  March,  an.d  April.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Calcutta,  the  seed  is  often  planted  as  late  as  July. 
Sometimes  two  crops  are  raised  in  a  season,  but  this  is  too  exhausting 
to  the  soil.  After  the  jute  has  come  up,  it  is  carefully  thinned  and  then 
left,  without  much  further  tillage,  to  ripen.  It  matures  in  twelve  or 
fifteen  weeks.  The  plant  sometimes  grows  to  the  height  of  20  feet,  but 
its  average  height  is  10  or  12  feet,  and  the  diameter  of  the  butts  varies 
from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half.  One  variety  which  is  exten- 
sively cultivated  has  a  smooth  white  bark  and  wide-spreading  branches. 
In  the  northern  provinces  of  Bengal,  the  average  yield  is  from  2,000  to 
3,000  pounds  an  acre ;  in  the  neighborhood  of  Calculta,  it  is  from  500  to 
1,000  pounds.  In  the  north  of  the  Bengal  Presidency,  the  quantity  of 
seed  raised  per  acre  is  1,000  or  1,100  pounds ;  in  the  south,  it  is  1,400  or 
1,500  pounds.  The  jute  is  cut  while  the  plant  is  in  flower,  because  the 
fiber  is  then  more  glossy  and  less  woody.  The  seed  ripens  one  month 
after  flowerage,  and  the  fiber  has  then  become  so  woody  as  to  lose  much 
of  its  commercial  value.  After  cutting,  the  jute  is  usually  kept  two  or 
three  days,  till  the  leaves  fall  off,  and  then  it  is  immersed  in  water.  The 
period  of  submersion  varies,  according  to  the  temperature  and  character 
of  the  water,  from  three  or  four  days  to  a  month.  The  methods  of  steep- 
ing practiced  by  the  natives  are  various.  The  fiber  i)repared  in  clear 
running  water  is  strong,  white,  and  glossy ;  the  process,  however,  lasts 
for  several  weeks.  But  when  the  jute  is  soaked  in  stagnant  water, 
although  the  disintegration  is  usually  efiected  within  ten  days,  yet  the 
fiber  is  apt  to  bo  weaker  and  more  discolored.  But  in  either  case  the 
19  A  28& 


290    KEPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

action  of  the  water  is  to  loosen  the  fibrous  bark  from  the  woody  stalk. 
The  natives  test  the  jute  from  day  to  day,  and  when  they  find  that  the 
bark  is  ready  for  removal,  they  enter  the  water  and  withdraw  the  stems 
by  a  succession  of  jerks.  Their  reason  for  effecting  this  separation  in 
the  water  is  that  the  soft  and  even  pressure  of  the  fluid  prevents  the 
rupture  of  the  fibers.  After  its  removal  the  inner  bark  is  stripped  of 
its  rind,  freed  from  all  woody  adhesions,  thoroughly  washed,  and  imme- 
diately dried.  It  then  readily  separates  into  minute  fibers,  and  is  ready 
for  the  market  or  for  domestic  spinning. 

In  the  provinces  where  jute  is  raised  the  distaff  is  in  every  hovel. 
The  Mohammedans,  deterred  by  some  religious  scruple,  restrict  them- 
selves to  the  manufacture  of  cotton ;  but  all  Hindoos  of  the  indus- 
trial classes,  robust  men,  in  the  intervals  of  other  employments;  children, 
too  young  for  severer  tasks ;  the  aged,  too  infirm  for  hard  work ;  invalids, 
incapable  of  active  exertion ;  and  even  the  despised  Hindoo  widow, 
whose  social  degradation  and  misery  powerfully  appeal  to  the  sympa- 
thies of  Christendom  for  relief,  engage  in  the  spinning  and  weaving  of 
jute.  The  manufacture  of  this  staple,  utilizing  the  leisure  hours  of  the 
strong  and  the  dexterous  handicraft  of  the  weak,  affords  occupation  to 
the  myriads;  but  wages  are  so  extremely  low  and  the  competition  of 
industries  so  limited,  that  jute-yarn  and  gunny-cloth  can  be  purchased 
almost  as  cheaply  as  an  equal  weight  of  the  crude  material.  No  por- 
tion of  this  substance  is  wasted.  The  leaves  and  ashes  are  used  for  ma- 
nure, the  stalks  for  baskets  and  fuel,  the  seed  for  oil  and  oil-cake,  the 
roots  for  fuel  and  paper,  and  the  silky  floss  which  escapes  from  the  fibers 
in  the  process  of  manufacture  is  wrought  into  hats. 

Till  recently  the  government  of  India  has  never  fostered  the  cultiva- 
tion of  jute;  but  without  its  patronage  this  industry  has,  within  the 
last  half  century,  risen  to  a  world-wide  importance.  In  1828  the  total 
foreign  sale  of  jute  was  less  than  40,000  pounds,  worth  $300.  Now,  Cal- 
cutta, which  is  the  great  point  of  distribution,  exports  immense  quan- 
tities of  this  staple  to  Bombay,  Madras,  Ceylon,  Burmah,  Singapore, 
Penang,  Java,  Australia,  Brazil,  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  France, 
Great  Britain,  and  the  United  States.  Only  about  one-fourth  of  the 
crop  is  reserved  for  domestic  consumption.  According  to  the  fashion  of 
the  different  countries,  pepper,  coffee,  sugar,  rice,  cotton,  soda,  lime,  the 
matte  and  regulus  of  the  precious  metals,  and  many  other  articles  ol 
commerce,  go  to  market  in  a  dress  made  of  gunny-cloth. 

The  statistics  of  the  development  of  the  jute-culture  in  India  are  im- 
pressive and  suggestive.  In  1862,  India  exported  10,000,000  pounds  of 
fiber  and  rope  and  300,000,000  yards  of  gunny-cloth.  In  1863,  Great  Brit- 
ain employed  more  than  30,000  spindles  in  spinning  80,000,000  pounds  of 
Indian  jute.  Eecently  this  staple  has  risen  to  the  dignity  of  the  fourth 
place  in  the  exports  of  India  ;  only  cotton,  opium,  and  rice  exceed  it  iu 
commercial  importance.  Some  of  the  Indian  factories  are  immense. 
There  is  an  establishment  at  Barnagpoor,  near  Calcutta,  which  employs 
more  than  4,500  workmen  and  annually  manufactures  more  than 
30,000,000  pounds  of  jute.  In  1872,  the  total  exportation  of  Indian  jute 
was  700,000,000  pounds,  of  vrhich  Great  Britain  received  upward  of 
395,000,000  pounds.  In  the  same  year  more  than  900,000  acres  were 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  jute  in  India ;  and  iu  the  thirteen  [)rovinces 
in  which  jute  is  principally  raised,  ou*-^  of  a  population  of  15,725,000, 
more  than  1,350,000  were  wholly  cr  partially  engaged  iii  this  occupation. 
These  figures  conclusively  show  the  vast  magnitude  and  importance  of 
this  industry  to  India.  Other  statistics  will  illustrate  the  value  of  this 
staple  to  an  exclusively  manufacturing  community. 


JUTE-CULTUBE.  291 

Nearly  half  a  century  ago  some  sagacious  Scotchmen  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  jute.  Their  humble  experiment  has  developed  into  a 
success  that  has  enriclied  Scotland  land  promoted  the  commerce  of  the 
world. 

At  first  many  diflBculties  arrested  their  progress.  Much  of  the  fiber 
was  discolored  by  the  tannic  acid  of  the  bark  through  improper  methods 
of  preparation ;  and  it  was  only  after  years  of  persistent  effort  that  a 
successful  process  of  bleaching  was  discovered. 

Again,  the  fiber  stubbornly  resisted  the  action  of  dye-stufife,  and  over 
this  difficulty  chemical  science  has  yet  only  partially  triumphed.  Jute 
can  now  be  dyed,  but  the  colors  are  not  fast.  Still  the  variety  of  tints 
now  imparted  to  jute  permits  it  to  be  combined  with  other  materials  in 
cheap  imitation  of  many  valuable  fabrics. 

Jute  is  mixed  with  cotton,  linen,  and  silk.  It  is  a  material  part  of 
twilled  stair-cai-peting  and  low-priced  broadcloth.  In  combination  with 
other  textiles,  it  imitates  the  gloss  of  Irish  linen,  the  luster  of  French 
silk,  the  bea-uty  of  Turkish  rugs,  and  the  splendor  of  Axminster,  Kid- 
derminster, Brussels,  and  Venetian  carpets.  Single  or  mixed,  it  enters 
into  the  manufacture  of  a  thousand  articles  of  commerce.  In  1872,  there 
were  in  Dundee  about  one  hundred  jute-mills,  employing  upward  of 
20,000  workmen,  and  ihanufaoturing  more  than  180,000,000  pounds  of 
jute  annually.  In  tlie  same  year  nearly  50,000^000  gunny-bags — most 
of  which  were  made  in  Dundee — were  exported  from  Great  Britain.  Of 
the  300,000,000  pounds  of  jute  that  were  manufactured  in  the  United 
Kingdom  in  1876,  200,000,000  pounds  were  woven  in  the  mills  of  Dun- 
dee. The  annual  value  of  the  flax,  hemp,  and  jute  manufactured  in 
Dundee  is  now  $15,000,000.  The  jute  factories  of  Dundee  have  created 
a  flourishing  city,  given  employment  to  thousands  of  workmen,  dififused 
prosperity  throughout  a  large  community,  promoted  the  commerce  of 
Scotland  in  the  importation  of  the  raw  material  and  the  exportation  of 
the  manufactured  product,  and  facilitated  the  movement  of  the  cotton 
and  grain  crops  of  the  world. 

What  has  been  so  successfully  accomplished  in  Dundee  can  be  done 
with  a  still  grander  success  in  the  United  States. 

"We  not  only  can  spin  and  weave  the  fiber,  but  we  can  also  raise  it. 

We  not  only  can  derive  the  profits  of  making  the  fabrics,  but  we  can 
also  enrich  ourselves  by  the  twofold  economies  of  the  growth  and  man- 
ufacture of  the  staple. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  experiments  in 
the  culture  of  jute  have  been  successfully  tried  in  South  Carolina,  Florida, 
Georgia,  Louisiana,  and  Texas.  These  trials  conclusively  established 
the  fact  that,  wherever  in  the  Southern  States  there  is  a  hot,  damp  cli- 
mate, and  a  moist  soil  of  sandy  clay  or  alluvial  mold,  jute  can  be  prof- 
itably raised.  It  is  probable  that  much  of  the  land  now  devoted  to  the 
growth  of  cotton,  rice,  and  sugar-cane  would  yield  larger  returns  if 
applied  to  the  culture  of  jute.  The  plant  matures  in  this  country  in 
about  the  same  time  that  it  does  in  India.  The  April  plantings  were 
cut  in  July,  and  the  June  plantings  were  cut  in  September.  Some  of 
the  stalks  reached  the  height  of  15  feet,  and  in  some  instances  the  fiber 
was,  according  to  the  judgment  of  experts,  superior  in  strength  to  that 
of  India. 

The  yield  was  in  several  cases  at  the  rate  of  3,500  pounds  to  the  acre. 
These  facts,  so  familiar  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  are  here 
repeated  for  the  information  of  those  who  have  not  seen  the  results  of 
the  experiments  inaugurated  by  it.    The  trials  that  have  been  made 


292         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

strengthen  hope  into  an  assurance  that  jute  can  be  successfally  culti- 
vated in  the  Gulf  States  and  in  Southern  Galifornia. 

The  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  and  the  practical  tests  of  experi- 
ment are  here  so  favorable  as  seriously  to  alarm  the  government  of 
India.  The  official  report  of  an  Indian  commission  appointed  by  the 
state  has  expressed  a  grave  apprehension  of  American  competition  in 
the  culture  of  jute. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  enterprise  of  the  South  will  prove  that  this 
apprehension  was  well  grounded. 

The  economic  importance  of  this  culture  to  the  United  States  is  incal- 
culable. 

No  country  in  the  world  is  capable  of  deriving  so  vast  a  benefit  from 
this  industry  as  our  own.  The  magnitude  of  our  grain  and  cotton  crops 
is  unparalleled  in  other  lands. 

In  1870  the  quantity  of  cereals  and  vegetables  produced  in  the  United 
States,  and  requiring  to  be  sacked  before  they  could  bo  sent  to  market, 
was  largely  more  than  1,500,000,000  bushels.  Ultimately  this  vast  mass 
was  handled  in  bulk  by  elevators,  barges,  canal-boats,  railroads,  and 
steamships;  biit  before  it  could  be  brought  from  the  various  points  of 
production  to  these  facilities  of  transportation  it  had  to  be  inclosed  in 
bags.  If  it  were  necessary  to  renew  these  bags  every  year,  it  would 
now  cost  the  United  States  $100,000,000  annually  for  its  grain,  pulse, 
and  potato  sacks.  This  calculation  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that 
all  the  bags  are  made  of  jute.  If  the  material  were  cotton,  flas,  or 
hemp,  the  expense  would  be  still  greater.  But  as  the  sacks  last  several 
years,  the  annual  cost  is  not  probably  one-fifth  of  the  above  aggregate. 
In  1876,  the  cotton-crop  of  the  United  States  was  about  4,500,000  bales, 
and  at  the  ruling  rates  the  cost  of  the  gunny-cloth  in  which  this  cotton 
was  sent  to  market  was  not  less  than  $3,900,000. 

Unlike  the  grain-sacks,  the  jute  baling  cannot  be  used  a  second  time, 
and  therefore  a  wholly  fresh  supply  is  necessary  every  year.  Our  native 
production  of  fibers  is  greatly  inadequate  to  meet  the  demand.  In 
1868,  the  United  States  paid  $23,000,000  for  imported  flax,  hejmp,  and 
jute.  In  1870,  the  cost  of  imported  fibers  was  more  than  $30,000,000  in 
gold.  The  quantity  of  jute  alone  imported  in  1870  was  upward  of 
19,000,000  pounds.  Yet  these  figures,  although  large,  but  imperfectly 
indicate  the  demand  which  there  would  be  for  jute  it  it  were  a  domestic 
production.  The  cheaper  fiber  would,  of  course,  bo  substituted  for  the 
more  costly  wherever  it  was  possible,  and  accordingly  jute,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  comparative  inexpensiveness,  would  supplant  hemp  and 
flax  in  the  manufacture  of  carpets  and  many  other  fabrics.  For  bagging 
and  cotton-baling,  jute  has  already  almost  entirely  superseded  the  use 
of  the  other  fibers.  But  possibly  it  will  be  found  better,  in  order  more 
fully  to  meet  the  varying  needs  of  co-mmerce,  to  interweave  jute  with 
cotton,  flax,  and  hemp;  and  in  that  event  the  introduction  of  jute, 
instead  of  depressing,  would  stimulate  the  culture  of  these  fibers.  But 
the  vast  need  of  our  country  for  grain-sacks,  cotton-bale  covers,  and  a 
cheap  warp  for  a  woof  of  other  textile  materials  will  create  a  corre- 
spondingly vast  demand  for  home-grown  jute.  It  will  indicate  alack  of 
southern  enterprise  if  American  jute  does  not  yet  rise  to  a  textile  im- 
portance second  only  to  that  of  American  cotton. 

Heretofore  the  agriculture  of  the  South  has  been  restricted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  very  few  staples.  This  narrow  limitation  of  southern 
industry  is  an  essentially  false  polic3\  The  South  has  made  the  grave 
mistake  of  confining  its  activities  almost  exclusively  to  oae  pursuit. 
But  no  country  can  realize  its  highest  possibilities  of  material  greatness 


JUTE-CtJLTURE.  293 

by  following  a  single  employment.  The  urgent  need  of  the  South  to- 
day is  a  wide  range  of  industries.  It  ought  to  superadd  manufactures 
to  a  larger  variety  of  agricultural  productions.  Then  the  competition 
of  the  different  occupations  would  impart  activity  to  business,  give  more 
employment  to  labor,  create  better  local  markets,  raise  the  price  of  agri- 
cultural and  manufactured  products,  increasing  the  profits  of  workmen, 
planters,  and  manufacturers,  and  promote  the  well-being  of  the  entire 
community. 

The  introduction  of  the  growth  and  manufacture  of  jute  presents  ^ 
new  opportunity  for  diversifying  the  industries  of  the  Southern  States. 
If  the  experiments  which  ha\«e  been  already  tried  in  the  South  are  a  safe 
guide,  then  the  profits  of  jute-culture  would  amply  reward  the  American 
planter. 

According  to  the  estimates  of  practical  experience,  jute-butts  can  be 
produced  in  the  United  States  for  3  cents  a  pound  in  currency,  and  the 
fine  fiber  for  8  cents.  The  average  price  of  Indian  butts  in  this  country 
is  3  or  4  cents  a  pound  in  gold,  and  the  fine  yarn  is  worth  8  or  1 0  cents 
a  pound  in  gold.  Nor  is  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  Indian  and 
American  jute  the  only  source  of  profit. 

There  is  a  relative  economy  in  the  cultivation  of  this  plant.  Accord- 
ing to  southern  testimony,  it  is  four  times  as  productive  as  cotton  or  flax, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  takes  not  more  than  one-tenth  as  much  labor 
to  raise  it.  In  the  manufacture  of  hemp  and  flax  there  is  a  loss  of  15  or 
20  i)er  cent,  of  the  material,  while  the  loss  in  working  jute  is  only  about 
9  per  cent.  In  our  markets  jute-bags  are  worth  from  ^  to  ^  a  cent,  a 
yard  more  than  flax-bags.  Hemp  rots  much  quicker  than  jute  does. 
The  superior  cheapness  and  durability  of  jute  are  rapidly  displacing 
flax  and  hemp  in  low-priced  manufactures. 

There  are  also  important  incidental  advantages  of  this  tillage.  The 
vigorous,  luxuriant  growth  of  the  jute  almost  exterminates  weeds  from 
the  soil  in  which  it  is  sown,  while  the  bitterness  of  its  juice  repels  the 
attacks  of  insects.  It  has  been  found  that  cotton-fields  surrounded  by 
a  belt  of  jute  were  exempt  from  the  depredations  of  the  caterpillar,  while 
unprotected  fields  in  the  same  neighborhood  suffered  from  its  ravages. 

The  profits  of  the  domestic  manufacture  of  jute  are  not  unworthy  of 
the  attention  of  capitalists.  Eighteen  hundred  and  seventy  was  a  year 
of  exceptionally  high  prices.  .  In  that  year  the  profit  on  the  home  manu- 
facture of  19,0U0,000  pounds  of  jute  was  more  than  $2,000,000.  Of  jute 
fiber,  butts,  and  rejections,*  the  total  consumption  in  the  dnited  States 
in  the  last  three  years  was  over  300,000,000  pounds.  At  present,  the 
average  cost  of  jute-butts,  delivered  in  Saint  Louis,  is  3  or  3i  cents,  gold, 
per  pound,  and  the  ruling  rate  of  the  jute-baling  manufactured  in  this 
city  is  now  12^  cents  a  yard  in  currency.  From  these  data  practical 
men  will  be  able  to  form  just  estimates  of  the  cost  and  profits  of  this 
manufacture.  Imported  gunny-cloth,  generally  of  an  inferior  quality, 
now  commands  an  average  price  of  9  or  10  cents  a  yard  in  currency ; 
but  domestic  bagging,  although  somewhat  more  expensive,  is,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  better  quality  and  make,  usually  preferred.  The  home 
manufacture  of  jute-baling  has  already  become  an  important  industry. 
In  1876  the  mills  of  Saint  Louis  alone  manufactured  6,000,000  yards  of 

*  These  are  technical  terms.  In  the  language  of  trade,  "jute-butts  "  are  eections,  12 
or  15  inches  in  length,  of  the  lower  end  of  the  plant.  These  coarser  portions  are  made 
into  heavy  baling  and  bagging.  The  "  liber"  is  the  long  silky  yarn,  -which  is  woven 
into  finer  Ibbrics ;  and  the  "  rejections  "  are  parts  of  the  "  fiber,"  which,  in  consequence 
of  being  stained,  tangled,  or  woody,  are  unfit  for  delicate  manufactures.  "  Kejections  " 
are  commonly  worked  up  with  the  butts. 


294    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

jute-bagging.  The  domestic  growth  of  jute  would  not  only  benefit  the 
producers  aud  manufacturers,  but  it  would  also  impart  prosperity  to  other 
industries.  It  would  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  cheax3  material 
to  the  paper-makers.  The  root-liber  and  other  refuse  portions  of  the 
plant,  aud  the  worn-out  baling,  sacks,  and  carpets,  can  now  be  converted 
into  a  smooth,  strong,  white  paper.  During  the  last  five  years  about 
170,000,000  pounds  of  jute  were  made  into  paper  in  the  United  States. 
The  newspapers  of  the  United  States  ought  actively  to  promote  an  un- 
dertaking the  success  of  which  would  so  greatly  redound  to  their  own 
advantage. 

It  is  a  costly  improvidence  to  pay  other  nations  for  staples  and  prod- 
ucts which  we  can  raise  and  manufacture  as  cheaply  as  they  can.  For 
all  imported  jute  fabrics  we  are  now  paying  the  cost  of  i^roduction 
in  India,  the  freight  to  England,  the  expense  of  manufacture,  the  trans- 
portation to  the  United  States,  and  the  commissions  of  ail  the  factors 
and  insurance-agents  tbrougli  whose  hands  the  goods  have  passed. 
Millions  of  dollars  are  now  annually  paid  to  foreigners  for  labors  that 
ought  to  be  perlbrmed  by  Americans.  We  are  heedless  of  the  lessons 
of  public  economy.  A  diversity  of  employments  and  an  industrial  in- 
dependence of  other  countries  will  most  efficiently  promote  the  welfare 
of  our  own  people.  It  is  the  true  ijolicy  of  the  United  States  to  intro- 
duce and  naturalize  the  industries  of  the  Old  World  and  to  foster  the 
common  wealth  of  the  nation  by  paying  to  American  handicraft  the 
millions  whicli  are  now  the  rich,  reward  of  European  skill.  The  English 
government  finds  it  very  difficult  to  introduce  improved  machinery  or 
scientific  methods  into  the  agriculture  of  India.  The  inert  masses  resist 
innovation  with  a  conservatism  born  of  centuries  of  stagnation.  The 
traditional  implements  and  processes  of  an  earlier  age  are  still  used  i^i 
the  tillage  of  India.  The  i)lows  and  harrows  and  the  machines  for 
spinning  and  weaving  are  of  the  rudest  description.  The  natives  are 
too  poor  to  buy  improved  tools  and  too  ignorant  to  use  the  better 
methods.  They  have  not  analyzed  their  soils,  ascertained  the  best  suc- 
cession of  crops,  tested  the  different  systems  of  fertilization,  or  improved 
their  primitive  processes  of  preparing  and  ruanufacturing  their  staples. 
In  fine,  their  labor  is  unintelligent,  aud  therefore  ineffective  and  un- 
thrifty. 

An  industrial  comparison  of  our  Southern  States  with  India  greatly 
encourages  our  hopes  of  success  in  this  new  industry.  The  labor  of  the 
South  is  far  more  intelligent  than  that  of  India,  and  it  is  constantly 
under  skillful  guidance.  The  southern  i)ianters  will  not  follow  an  an- 
tediluvian style  of  agriculture.  In  India,  the  best  soil  is  usually  devoted 
to  raising  jute  for  the  market,  and  the  poorer  land  is  left  for  the  pro- 
duction of  jute-seed.  The  natural  consequence  of  this  course  is  the 
deterioration  of  the  seed.  In  the  United  States,  on  the  contrary,  a 
portion  of  the  best  land  has  been  reserved  for  seed,  and  the  result  is  a 
signal  improvement  in  the  quality  of  the  seed.  American  jute-seed  is 
one-sixth  heavier  than  that  of  India.  The  broadcast  sowing  of  Bengal 
is  uneven  and  wasteful.  Our  patent  drills,  saving  10  or  15  pounds  of 
seed  to  the  acre,  do  the  work  witlx  far  greater  rapidity  aud  equality  of 
distribution.  The  efficiency  of  our  agricultural  machinery  will  more  than 
neutralize  the  seeming  advantage  which  India  possesses  in  the  cheap- 
ness of  its  manual  lq,bor.  It  would  takertens  or  hundreds  of  Indian  hands 
to  do  the  work  of  one  American  machine. 

It  wili  be  strange,  indeed,  if  the  mechanical  ingenuity  wliich  in  some 
departments  of  manufacture  has  triumphed  over  the  cheap  skilled  labor 
of  Europe,  and  enabled  the  United  States  profitably  to  export  to  the 


JUTE-CULTURE.  295  • 

great  centers  of  industrial  art  watches,  cutlery,  agricultural  implements, 
coarse  domestics,  and  some  finer  fabrics,  cannot  win  a  far  greater  vic- 
tory over  the  unskilled  hand-labor  of  India.  It  is  high  time  for  a  gen- 
eral introduction  of  the  culture  of  jute  in  our  Southern  States-  Every 
step  in  the  progress  of  naturalization  should  be  attended  by  intelligent 
experiment.  Tests  of  every  kind  of  soil  and  treatment  will  result  in 
better  seeds,  a  larger  yield,  a  rotation  of  crops  that  will  be  least  ex- 
hausting to  the  soil,  machines  for  the  cbeap  and  rapid  removal  of  the 
bark  of  the  plant,  and  processes  of  steeping  that  will  separate  the  fiber 
withoatdestroying  its  strength, color,  or  gloss.  Then  the  new  enterprise, 
giving  employment  to  home  labor  and  activity  to  domestic  capital,  will 
quicken  the  revival  of  our  languishing  industries,  aid  the  South  in  re- 
gaining its  material  prosperity,  and  enrich  the  nation  by  the  economy  of 
millions  which  have  heretofore  been  paid  to  foreign  lands. 


SALT  AND  FRESH  WATER  MARSH  HAY. 


By  a.  B.  Allen,  of  New  Yorlc. 


There  are  doubtless  some  millions  of  acres  of  salt  and  fresh  water 
marsh  lands  bordering  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  of  North  America, 
and,  in  addition,  large  areas  of  fresh-water  marsh  on  the  borders  of 
lakes  and  rivers  in  the  interior. 

The  grasses  of  salt  marshes  were  soon  found  by  settlers  near  them  to 
be  valuable  for  both  pasture  and  hay,  and  they  have  constantly  been 
pretty  generally  utilized  for  these  purposes;  but  the  taller  and  coarser 
grasses,  and  particularly  the  sedges  of  the  fresh- water  marshes,  so  far  as 
i  can  learn,  have  hitherto  been  almost  entirely  neglected.  This  herb- 
age, while  green  and  growing,  is  so  unpalatable  to  horses  and  cattle,  they 
will  not  graze  it  unless  in  a  state  of  half-starvation,  and  the  idea  of  cat- 
ting and  curing  it  for  hay  has  been  usually  considered  preposterous  by 
our  farmers. 

Having  come  into  the  possession,  a  few  years  since,  of  some  marshes 
of  the  above  kinds  near  the  Jersey  sea-shore,  and,  soon  after  this,  owing 
to  an  excessive  drought  prevailing  mostly  through  the  months  of  May 
and  June,  I  found  that  I  should  be  short  the  coming  winter  in  upland 
hay  for  my  stock — moreover,  it  rose,  directly  after  harvesting,  to  the 
high  price  of  $10  i)er  ton  and  salt-marsh  hay  to  $20  per  ton,  about 
double  the  prices  they  usually  command  here — under  these  circumstan- 
ces I  made  up  my  mind  to  experiment  the  coming  winter  for  fodder  with 
what  was  considered  the  most  worthless  of  all  the  various  kinds  of  herb- 
age growing  on  the  fresh- water  marshes  of  this  region,  which  I  had  hith- 
erto cut  and  cured  only  for  stable-bedding  and  the  mulching  of  fruit- 
trees,  shrubs,  and  strawberries. 

I  should  remark  here  that  this  kind  of  herbage  which  I  made  use  of 
is  not  a  grass,  but  one  of  the  Cyperacece,  (sedge  family,)  called  Scirpus 
jpungens,  and  containing,  as  it  is  said,  very  little  of  either  starch  or 
sugar. 

In  order  to  keep  my  stock  in  fine  condition,  I  have  always  been  in  the 
habit  of  feeding  more  or  less  bran  and  meal  of  various  sorts  even  with 
the  best  of  upland  hay,  and  I  knew  it  would  be  still  more  necessary  to 
do  this  with  the  coarse  sedge  1  had  selected  for  my  experiment.  More- 
over, in  order  that  domestic  animals  digest  and  make  available  all 
possible  nutriment  contained  in  hay,  straw,  sedge,  or  cornstalks  fed  to 
them,  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  have  other  food  mixed  with  these, 
abounding  largely  in  nitrogenous  substances.  Cottonseed,  linseed,  and 
Indian  meal  are,  perhaps,  the  most  suitable  for  this  purpose. 

I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  giving  my  horses  and  cattle  from  seven  to 
twenty  pounds  of  good  upland  hay  per  day,  according  to  their  size  and 
kind,  together  with  two  to  twelve  quarts  of  ground  feed.  The  propor- 
tions generally  of  this  ground  feed  were  in  measure  as  follows :  3  parts 
Indian  meal,  1  part  cotton  or  linseed  meal,  4  parts  wheat-bran.  Thus, 
296 


SALT   AND'FEESH   WATER   MARSH   HAY.  297 

if  the  ration  happened  to  be  four  quarts,  three  pints  would  be  Indian 
meal,  one  pint  cotton  or  linseed  meal,  and  four  pints  bran.  For  horses 
these  rations  were  of  an  equal  quantity  morning,  noon,  and  night ;  for 
cows,  morning  and  night  only. 

Enough  of  the  sedge  was  passed  through  a  hay-cutter  to  fdl  a  peck 
measure,  and  every  time  an  animal  was  fed  this  was  sprinkled  with 
water,  the  ration  of  meal  and  bran  added  to  it,  and  all  then  well  mixed 
up  together.  During  the  day  each  animal  had  as  much  of  the  loese 
sedge  as  it  would  eat  up  clean,  which  was  not  more  in  quantity  than 
they  had  usually  consumed  of  upland  hay.  All  were  stabled  and  boun- 
tifully bedded.  Each  animal  had  a  lump  of  Liverpool  rock-salt  con- 
stantly in  its  feed-box  to  lick  at  pleasure.  In  addition  to  this,  each  was 
given,  once  a  week,  a  gill  of  wood-ashes  and  a  tablespoonful  of  sulphur. 
I  never  had  stock  winter  better  or  come  out  in  finer  condition  in  the 
spring  than  my  anirbals  then  did,  and  the  same  has  been  the  case  every 
subsequent  season  when  thus  fed.  The  horses  traveled  at  the  same  pace 
as  before  and  did  the  same  amount  of  work,  and  the  cows  gave  just  as 
much  milk,  which  made  as  much  and  as  fine  a  quality  of  butter  as 
when  fed  on  an  equal  quantity  of  upland  hay. 

Another  lot  of  stock  I  have  since  tried  with  salt-marsh  hay  alongside 
of  those  on  sedge  ;  both  in  other  respects  were  treated  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  they  came  out  in  the  spring  in  like  condition.  One  farrow 
cow  in  the  sedge  lot  averaged  within  a  fraction  of  seven  pounds  per 
week  of  best  quMity  of  family  butter  from  the  time  she  was  taken 
up  from  pasture  in  autumn  till  turned  out  again  the  following  spring. 
The  only  difference  I  made  in  the  quantity  of  ground  feed  when  salt 
hay  and  sedge  were  foddered  was  to  add  one  more  measure  of  linseed 
or  cotton-seed  meal  to  the  ration  per  day.  For  example,  if  the  ration 
was  one  pint  or  one  quart  per  day  with  upland  hay,  then  I  doubled  this 
with  the  sedge,  but  did  not  increase  either  the  Indian  meal  or  bran.  The 
reason  I  did  not  make  this  addition  with  Indian  meal  was  because  the 
former  contains  a  greater  proportion  of  nitrogenous  substance  than  the 
latter. 

Eeckoning  8  per  cent,  for  interest  and  taxes  on  the  value  of  the  marsh, 
together  with  the  labor  of  cutting,  curing,  and  storing  the  sedge  in  the 
barn,  it  cost  only  $5  per  ton.  The  additional  cost  of  the  extra  linseed 
or  cotton-seed  meal  taken  to  feed  with  the  sedge  over  that  of  upland 
hay  was  about  $1  per  ton,  making  the  whole  cost,  say,  $6.  This  proved 
a  saving  that  winter  of  $34  per  ton  in  the  cost  of  hay.  As  upland  hay 
has  since  been  worth  on  an  average  here  only  $20  per  ton,  the  gain 
between  feeding  that  and  sedge  during  the  latter  time  was  only  $14  per 
ton.  Every  one  now,  from  the  above  data,  can  make  his  own  calculations 
as  to  the  economy  of  feeding  coarse  marsh  hay  or  sedge,  as  it  will  depend 
entirely  on  the  relative  value  with  him  between  this  and  upland  hay 
and  the  cost  of  meal  and  bran.  Straw  of  all  kinds,  and  corn-stalks, 
may  be  utilized  in  the  same  economical  manner,  and  thus  feeding  them 
would  considerably  increase  the  percentage  on  the  income  of  all  grain- 
growing  farmers. 

My  marshes  are  so  low  as  to  be  overflowed  whenever  an  easterly 
•wind  blows  strong  enough  to  bring  in  a  sufficiently  high  tide  froni  the 
ocean  or  bays  to  cast  the  fresh  water  back  from  the  mouths  of  rivers 
emptying  into  them.  The  sediment  of  this  fresh  river- water  is  more  or 
less  fertilizing,  and  adds  to  the  annual  growth  of  the  various  kinds  of 
herbage  natural  to  them. 

It  would  be  an  injury  to  dike  and  drain  these  meadows  I  am  now  speak- 
ing of,  as  the  soil  is  a  poor  hungry  sea  sand  or  gravel,  with  a  thin  coat  of 


298         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

overlying  muck,  formed  from  the  decayed  herbage  which  has  been  grown 
upon  them  for  past  ages.  They  would  not  produce,  drained,  near  so  well 
as  now,  subject  as  they  are  to  the  overflow  of  fresh  water,  as  I  have 
ascertained  from  some  experiments  made  on  parts  of  a  meadow  for  sev- 
eral years  past,  and  have  therefore  let  it  go  back  to  sedge  again.  If 
the  soil  were  sufficiently  deep  and  rich,  then  it  would  be  better,  proba- 
bly in  most  cases,  to  dike,  drain,  and  seed  them  with  red-top,  or  somo 
other  of  the  cultivated  grasses. 

In  conclusion,  to  encourage  others  in  making  experiments  with  coarse 
herbage  for  fodder,  I  would  refer  to  the  furze,  gorse,  or  whin,  Ulex  Euro- 
pceus,  (as  it  is  known  by  all  these  different  names,)  which  is  frequently 
made  use  of  for  this  purpose  in  Europe.  When  fall  grown,  it  is  so  high 
and  thick,  and  armed  with  so  many  thorns,  it  makes  an  impenetrable 
hedge,  as  I  have  frequently  seen  it  in  England.  Even  the  poet  warns  us 
against  coming  in  contact  with  it  then,  for  he  says— ^ 

Approach  it  not, 
For  every  blossom  has  a  troop  of  swords 
Drawn  to  defend  it. 

This  furze,  before  hardening  its  stalks,  is  cut  and  passed  through 
rollers,  like  sugar-cane,  which  bruise  or  crush  it  so  fine  that  it  can  then 
be  mixed  with  other  substances  and  profitably  fed  to  domestic  animals. 
It  is  said  to  be  particularly  beneficial  for  increasing  the  flow  of  milk  in 
cows,  and  it  also  adds  to  the  flavor  of  the  butter  made  from  it. 

But  to  return  to  the  waste  products  of  our  own  country.  Why  mpy 
we  not,  when  necessity  or  economy  demands,  resort  to  the  coarse  flag 
growing  in  swamps,  and  the  rough  stiff  rush  of  otherwise  barren  sandy 
lands,  and  utilize  these  ?  The  broom-sedge,  also,  covering  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  acres  of  old-field  at  the  South  *? 

I  well  recollect,  years  ago,  that  the  cotton-seed  left  after  ginning  the 
snowy  staple  was  considered  a  nuisance  on  the  plantation,  and  it  was  a 
great  trouble  with  the  growers  to  learn  how  they  could  be  most  easily  rid 
of  it.  At  length  they  found  out  that  it  made  a  highly  valuable  manure ; 
then,  decorticated  and  ground,  a  still  more  valuable  meal  for  stock-feed- 
ing. Now,  mix  this  with  broom-sedge,  which  makes  good  hay  if  cut 
before  the  seed  ripens,  and  from  these  two,  which  southern  planters 
formerly  were  so  anxious  to  get  clear  of  as  nuisances,  and  they  probably 
have  one  of  the  best  composite  forages  that  our  country  can  produce. 

The  moose,  the  elk,  and  the  deer  thrive,  and  even  get  fat,  on  lichen, 
moss,  shrubs,  and  the  bark  and  smaller  branches  of  trees.  Perhaps  the 
time  may  come  when  even  these  may  be  profitably  utilized  as  forage  for 
domestic  animals,  as  browse  has  already  long  been  by  the  settlers  of 
forest  lands. 


CATTLE-FEEDING  IN  NEW  YORK 


By  Pkof.  E.  W.  STEWA.RT,  Lake  View,  N.  Y. 


Tho  new  method  of  esportinj?  dressed  beef  to  Europe,  and  the  success 
that  seems  likely  to  attend  this  enterprise,  give  cew  interest  to  the 
subject  of  cattle-t'eeding  wherever  the  circumstances  are  adapted  to  that 

industry.  /.at      ^r    i      •,, 

Should  one  visit  the  interior  cities  and  large  towns  oi  ^lew  ^  orli  wiih 
a  view  of  inspecting  the  character  of  the  cattle  raised  in  the  titate,  ex- 
pecting there  to  find  a  full  representation,  he  would  be  greatly  surprised 
to  find  that  most  of  these  cattle  were  raised  from  30O  to  1,000  miles  out- 
side its  borders.  He  might  thence  infer  that  New  York  is  not  adapted 
to  cattle-raising,  or  that  it  cannot  compete  with  the  cheaper  and  fresher 
soils  of  the  West  in  the  production  of  beef.  It  is  true  that  the  fresher 
and  cheai^er  soils  of  the  West  have  an  advantage  in  requiring  so  much 
less  capital  and  furnishing  the  grain  for  fattening  at  one-halt  the 
nominal  price,  but  this  advantage  is  merely  temporary,  and  more  spe- 
cious than  real.  The  fact  that  land  and  food  are  cheap  comparatively  in 
the  West  leads  to  wastefulness  and  loss  in  feeding,  and  these  western 
advantages  ought  to  be  fully  counterbalanced  by  a  better  system  in  the 

The  true  cause  of  the  deficiency  of  beef-production,  as  compared  with 
consumption,  in  the  interior  towns  of  New  York,  may  be  found  in  the 
neglect  to  adopt  a  better  system.  That  system  of  feeding  which  produces 
a  steer  of  1,400  to  1,G00  pounds  at  twenty-four  to  30  months  will  enable 
the  New  York  farmer  to  compete  most  successfully  lu  his  home  market 
with  beef  of  western  growth ;  but  if  it  takes  four  years  to  grow  an  ani- 
mal of  that  weight,  the  cost  will  exceed  the  market-.pnce  of  the  product. 
It  thus  happens  that  those  farmers  who  have  not  improved  upon  the  old 
system  of  slow  growth  regard  beef-production  as  unprofitable,  and  have 
substituted  for  it  grain-raising  or  other  marketable  crop.  •  The  average 
farmer  is  so  conservative  of  the  ways  in  which  he  has  been  educated, 
that  he  seldom  attempts  to  improve  his  processes,  but  when  they  become 
unprofitable,  abandons  the  business  as  hopeless.  If,  m  his  opinion, 
some  crop  will  bring  more  ready  money  on  sale  than  can  be  made  by 
stock-raising,  he  raises  and  sells  the  crop,  without  a  serious  thought  as 
to  the  efi"ect  of  this  policy  upon  the  future  condition  of  the  land,  i^arly 
maturity— a  system  securing  marketable  maturity  at  twenty-iour  to 
thirty  months,  with  a  live  weight  of  1,200  to  1,600  pounds— will  bring 
success  to  beef-production  in  New  York. 

England  has  greatly  increased  her  meat-production  during  this 
century,  and  at  the  same  time  has  doubled  her  wheat-yield  per  acre. 
Grain  and  stock  raising  must  go  together  when  it  is  proposed  to  keep 
up  the  f(?rtility  of  the  soil.  Germany  has  increased  her  meat-productiou 
while  devoting  so  large  a  proportion  of  her  land  to  beet-sugar  culture. 
Even  the  refuse  of  the  beet,  after  sugar  extraction,  will  feed  more  cattle 
than  the  same  land  devoted  to  grain-crops;  so,  hkewise,  the  lands  ot 
New  York,  now  devoted  to  indifferent  grain-raising,  with  little  stock, 
would  produce  more  grain  by  doubling  the  stock. 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  CATTLE-FEEDING  IN  NEW  YORK. 

I  cannot  report  much  general  advancement  among  cattle-feeders  of 
liJew  York  beyond  the  system  of  twenty-five  years  ago ;  for,  as  already 
stated,  most  of  those  who  found  cattle-raising  unprofitable  abandoneil 
it  for  other  agricultural  products,  instead  of  attempting  to  improve  the 
system.  The  general  system  may  be  summed  up  in  this  manner :  The 
calves  are  allowed  to  suckle  the  dam  six  to  ten  days,  and  are  then  fed 
upon  a  mixture  of  new  and  skim  milk  for  a  short  time,  when  they  are 
reduced  to  skim-milk  or  whey  alone,  in  cheese  districts.  The  skim-milk, 
if  given  in  sufficient  quantity,  will  grow  a  fine  calf  in  connection  with 
grass ;  but  it  is  usually  given  in  such  scanty  measure,  that  the  calf 
makes  a  very  slow  growth,  and  at  ten  to  twelve  weeks  is  often  turned 
into  an  indifferent  pasture.  These  ordinary  skim-milk  calves  reach  a 
weight  of  250  to  300  i^ounds  at  six  months,  and  350  to  450  pounds  at  one 
year  old.  If  fed  upon  whey  alone,  they  will  scarcely  reach  the  former 
figure,  even  with  grass,  because  whey  is  only  one  element  of  food,  (sugar,) 
and  the*  calves  are  so  poorly  nourished  while  young  that  they  do  not 
thrive  when  they  come  to  rely  upon  grass.  The  second  year  the  animals 
reach  a  live-weight  of  from  550  to  800  pounds,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
third  year  850  to  1,100  pounds ;  averaging  rather  under  than  over  1,000 
pounds  at  three  years  old.  During  the  fourth  year  they  are  prepared 
for  market  by  a  little  extra  pasture  together  with  ten  tcr  twenty  bushels 
of  corn,  and  reach  a  weight  of  1,100  to  1,400  pounds  at  the  end  of  the 
fourth  year  ;  the  average  is  not  over  1,250  pounds.  This  is  an  average 
daily  gain  of  only  eight-tenths  of  a  pound  per  day.  They  are  kept  in 
a  sort  of  store  condition  until  the  last  year,  and  it  may  well  be  supposed 
they  do  not  then  readily  take  on  the  fattening  habit  after  being  kept  so 
long  in  an  unthrifty  state.  This  system  is  called  by  those  who  practice 
it  *'a  healthy,  natural  growth."  But  the  market  is  always  dull  for  this 
"natural  growth,"  and  consequently  these  animals  are  sold  for  20  per 
cent,  less  per  pound  than  those  that  make  a  rapid  growth  and  reach 
1,400  to  1,G00  pounds  at  two  and  a  half  years  old.  The  ordinary  market- 
price  of  these  four-year-old  animals  is  about  5  cents  per  pound,  live 
weight,  or  $62.50.  This  pays  the  feeder  an  average  of  only  4.42  cents 
per  day  for  four  years — certainly  very  little  encouragement — and  we 
can  easily  see  why  farmers  abandon  so  hopeless  a  business.  But, 
however  discouraging  this  statement  may  be,  it  is  as  favorable  an 
exhibit  as  can  be  truthfully  given  of  the  general  system  of  cattle-feeding 
in  New  York. 

FEEDING  CATTLE  RAISED  BY  OTHERS. 

Another  branch  of  our  system  consists  in  purchasing  steers  from  two 
and  one-half  to  three  and  one-half  years  old,  and  feeding  these  a  single 
season.  This  class  of  feeders  have  studied  the  question  of  the  cost  of 
adding  to  the  live  weight  of  cattle  more  thoroughly  than  the  farmer  who 
raises  them. 

Here  the  first  difficulty  that  confronts  the  feeder  is  the  general  un- 
thrifty condition  of  these  steers.  They  have,  in  a  majority  of  cases, 
been  kept  in  such  a  state  of  suspended  growth  as  to  lessen  the  normal 
capacity  of  the  digestive  system  and  the  powers  of  assimilation  in  the 
secretory  vessels.  It  thus  requires  from  one  to  two  months  before  these 
animals  enter  upon  a  stage  of  thrifty  growth,  and  this  time  and  the 
food  eaten  are  practically  sacrificed,  as  compared  with  animals  in  a  thrifty 
state. 

Feeders  of  experience,  therefore,  seek  animals  whose  organs  are  all 


CATTLE-FEEDING   IN  NEW   YORK.  301 

in  an  active  state,  and  capable  of  assimilating  large  quantities  of  food. 
Such  animals  may  be  made  to  gain  rapidly  in  weight  and  quality. 
They  prefer  to  buy  even  very  thrifty  two-year-olds  in  preference  to  older 
and  heavier  auimals  that  have  been  grown  by  the  slow  method.  Some 
years  since,  when  almost  every  farmer  grew  a  few  steers  for  sale,  those 
who  had  skill  in  feeding  made  a  practice  of  buying  a  lot  for  fattening 
each  year. 

The  now  venerable  John  Johnston,  near  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  was  a  con- 
spicuous instance  of  this  mode  of  feeding.  Being  a  Scotchman  and  con- 
versant with  good  farming  in  his  native  land,  he  placed  a  much  higher 
value  upon  the  manure  made  from  fattening  cattle  to  enable  him  to 
raise  large  crops  than  his  neighbors.  He  was  willing,  therefore,  to  take 
the  chances  of  success  in  this  mode  of  feeding.  Mr.  Johnston  began 
this  system  of  feeding  more  than  forty  years  ago,  and  he  has  stated 
lately  that  he  often  fed  out  45  tons  of  oil-cake  in  a  year.  Ho  had  seen 
the  good  effects  of  this  food  in  starting  thrift  in  lean  animals,  and  to 
his  free  use  of  oil-cake  is  to  be  attributed  the  greater  success  that 
attended  his  feeding  of  both  cattle  and  sheep.  Wheat  was  his  principal 
crop,  although  he  was  successful  in  the  yield  of  Indian  corn  on  his  rather 
heavy  soil,  sometimes  reaching  75  to  80  bushels  per  acre.  He  regarded 
his  land  too  valuable  for  grass,  except  in  the  rotation ;  consequently  his 
fodder  was  principally  straw  and  corn-stalks.  In  the  hands  of  most 
feeders  this  refuse  fodder  would  have  led  to  failure  in  cattle-feeding,  but 
the  intelligent  farmer  will  now  see  that  a  small  quantity  of  oil-cake 
would  supply  all  the  missing  constituents  (muscle-forming  and  fat-pro- 
ducing elements)  in  straw  and  corn-fodder,  and  render  this  as  well-bal- 
anced food  as  good  meadow  hay. 

Corn  has  too  much  starch  and  too  little  nitrogenous  matter  to  feed 
alone  with  straw.  When  Mr.  Johnston  put  up  a  lot  of  three-year-old 
steers  to  feed  he  began  with  two  pounds  of  oil-cake  and  three  to  five 
pounds  of  corn-meal,  and  this  was  increased  gradually  to  four  pounds 
of  cake  and  eight  to  ten  pounds  of  corn-meal.  He  also  avoided  the  too 
common  practice  of  feeding  a  single  food,  however  good  it  maybe  in  itself. 
He  gave  hay  once  a  day,  and  sometimes  bran  and  pea-meal  as  a  change. 
He  found,  practically,  that  his  steers  did  beiter  to  have  a  few  hours  each 
day  in  the  yard  and  sunshine  than  when  kept  constantly  in  stable. 

From  numerous  experiments,  however,  it  is  found  to  depend  more 
upon  the  habits  of  the  animals  than  upon  the  simple  fact  of  confine- 
ment. Those  steers  that  have  been  reared  in  a  wild  state,  or  never 
stabled,  feel  the  confinement  irksome,  and  must  be  broken  to  the  stable 
gradually.  This  is  why  feeding  western  steers  in  New  York  is  often 
unsuccessful  when  they  are  kept  in  stable  several  months.  A  sudden 
change  of  habit  is  nearly  always  hurtful.  But  steers  that  have  been 
stabled  from  calfhood  during  cold  weather  will  do  better  if  kept  wholly 
in  stable  for  a  period  of  several  months  while  finishing  them  for  the 
butcher. 

Mr.  Johnston  found  that  he  could  put  on  from  1^  to  3  pounds  per  head 
per  day,  depending  upon  breed  and  thrift  when  put  up  to  feed.  Good 
grade  short-horns  would,  occasionally,  make  something  more  than  3 
pounds  per  day  for  150  days;  but  this  rate  of  gain  was  exceptional. 
His  average  might  be  considered  as  reaching  2J  pounds  per  day.  He 
usually  made  a  gain  in  price  of  about  2  cents  per  pound  between  the 
purchase-price  in  the  fall  and  sale-price  in  spring.  From  this  came  his 
profit.  He  i^urchased  some  time  in  October  and  sold  i-n  March,  if  the 
X)rice  was  favorable.  If  the  steers  weighed  1,000  pounds  at  the  time  of 
ijurchase,  and  the  price  was  $4  per  hundred,  they  cost  $40  per  head ;  and 


302    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

at  the  end  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  days  would  weigh  1,318  pounds,  and 
would  bring,  at  6  cents  per  pound,  $79.08,  having  gained  in  value  $39.08, 
or  nearly  doubled.  He  fed  of  oil-cake  an  average  of  about  3^  pounds  per 
day,  or  525  i:!Ounds  per  liead  ;  of  corn-meal,  8  pounds,  or  1,200  pounds ;  of 
hay,  8  i)Ounds,  or  1,200  pounds.  Counting  these  at  rates  of  recent  years 
would  give:  oil-cake,  $9.18;  corn-meal,  $12;  hay,  $6;  in  all,  $27.18.  'This 
would  leave  $11.90  to  pay  for  his  straw  and  labor.  This  is  not  intended 
as  an  accurate  statement  of  his  gains  for  any  one  year,  but  only  as  an 
approximate  statement  of  his  results.  His  cattle  were  often  purchased 
much  lower,  and  the  oil-cake  for  $12  to  $18  per  ton,  and  other  feed  in 
proportion. 

Mr.  Johnston  was  an  excellent  judge  of  stock;  knew  what  animals 
would  feed  well,  how  to  feed  them,  and  last,  but  not  least,  how  to  sell 
them.  Besides,  he  proceeded  upon  tbe  wise  plan  of  making  ail  tho 
manure  he  could,  no  matter  how  small  the  margin  of  direct  profit  in 
feeding.  He  got  his  pay  abundantly  in  the  crops  produced  from  the 
manure.  He  has  paid  less  attention  to  warm  stables  in  feeding  than  is 
generally  considered  requisite  to  the  greatest  economy;  but  this  may  be 
explained  in  the  fact  of  his  feeding  cattle  raised  often  without  stables, 
and  too  great  a  change  in  the  habit  of  animals  is  not  conducive  to  rapid 
fattening.  Mr.  Johnston  has  been  the  best  example  of  success  in  feed- 
ing cattle  raised  by  others  with  only  common  care,  and  fed  by  him  with 
only  common  appliances,  but  with  much  skill  in  the  selection  of  food  and 
its  proper  proportion  in  the  ration.  Another  example  of  a  different  style 
of  feeding  may  be  useful. 

In  1870  we  visited  Mr.  Otis  S.  Lewis,  of  Orleans  County,  New  York, 
who  had  for  several  years  adopted  the  plan  of  buying  about  the  1st  of 
December,  in  the  Buffalo  cattle-yards,  thrifty  bullocks  from  the  West, 
averaging  1,200  to  1,300  pounds.  He  selected,  as  far  as  he  could,  cattle 
that  had  been  handled,  so  that  they  might  take  kindly  to  a  warm  stable. 
These  were  put  up  and  fed  about  one  hundred  days.  The  daily  ration 
was  made  up  of  5  pounds  of  clover-hay,  15  pounds  of  straw,  9  pounds 
of  corn-meal,  and  one-half  bushel  of  swede  turnips,  pulped  and  mixed 
with  the  short-cut  hay  and  straw,  and  then  all  thoroughly  steamed  to- 
gether. Sometimes  4  pounds  of  wheat-middlings  was  substituted  for 
so  much  of  the  corn-meal.  This  ration  canie  out  of  the  steam-box  with 
a  most  savory  and  appetizing  smell,  and  the  cattle  eat  it  with  a  great 
relish.  He  bought  cattle  in  good  condition,  requiring  only  a  short  time  to 
finish  them  for  first-class  beef.  His  lotof  25  head  at  this  time  cost  6  cents 
per  pound  and  averaged  1,250  pounds  per  head.  At  tbe  end  of  one  hun- 
dred days  they  averaged  1,550  pounds  per  head,  having  gained  3  pounds 
per  day.  They  sold  at  7f  cents,  and  brought  an  average  price  of  $  J  20.12 ; 
and,  costing  $75  per  head,  gave  an  increase  of  $45.12.  He  estimated 
the  cost  of  food,  besides  straw,  at  $20  per  head,  and  the  actual  cost 
of  labor  at  $4,  leaving  $20.12  to  pay  for  straw  and  profit.  He  was 
able  to  raise  turnips  at  7  cents  per  bushel,  but  estimated  them  as  worth 
for  feeding  12  cents  per  bushel.  In  other  years  the  cost  and  sale  price 
were  different,  but  the  result  nojirly  similar.  Those  cattle  were  fed  in  a 
warm  stable,  and  not  let  out  until  sold.  This  ration  seemed  to  have  the 
same  effect  upon  the  cattle  as  the  most  succulent  grass,  and  produced  a 
gain  almost  equal  to  the  most  favorable  pasturage  at  the  best  season. 
Mixing  pulped  turnips  with  the  other  food,  and  steaming,  diffused  tbe 
odor  through  the  whole  mass.  It  is  a  great  point  iu  fattening  to  render 
the  food  so  very  palatable  that  the  aniiuai  is  tempted  to  eat  to  the  limit 
of  its  digestion. 


CATTLE-FEEDING   IN  NEW   YORK.  303 

AN  EXPERIMENT. 

I  will  give  an  experiment  of  my  own,  many  years  ago,  in  feeding  a 
lot  of  forty  head  of  small  two-and-a-half  and  three-and-a-half  year  old 
steers.  They  had  been  raised  by  various  parties  in  an  adjoining  county, 
and  few  of  them  had  made  a  respectable  growth  for  their  age,  but  were 
all  in  a  healthy  state,  and,  as  we  thought,  good  selections  to  experiment 
upon  and  determine  how  long  it  takes  to  change  the  habit  of  unthrifty 
animals  and  put  all  the  secretory  vessels  into  active  work,  so  that  full 
rations  may  be  digested  and  assimilated.  An  animal  that  has  had 
scanty  nutrition  usually  possesses  a  small  capacity  for  digestion,  and  it  is 
a  slow  process  to  change  this  stunted  habit  to  one  of  thrift.  The 
average  weight  of  this  lot  was  only  850  pounds,  although  some  two- 
thirds  of  them  were  three  and  a  half  years  old.  They  cost  only  $3 
per  hundred,  or  $17  per  head.  We  put  them  in  comfortable  quarters 
on  the  3d  of  December.  After  making  all  reasonable  allowance  for 
their  condition,  we  thought  the  price  would  permit  the  trial  of  an  ex- 
periment without  loss,  but  we  discovered  in  the  end  that  the  estimate 
was  a  very  close  one.  We  began  by  feeding  a  daily  ration  of  2  pounds 
oil-meal,  2  pounds  bran,  and  2  pounds  corn-meal  per  head,  mixed  with 
2  bushels  of  short-cut  straw,  and  all  well  cooked  together.  This  was 
given  in  two  feeds,  morning  and  evening,  with  about  3  pounds  of  hay 
at  noon.  This  was  found  to  be  a  full  ration  at  first,  and  after  cooking 
came  to  them  in  a  most  savory  condition.  They  soon  took  it  with  greedi- 
ness. Those  steers  that  had  previously  enjoyed  sheker  began  to  show 
a  marked  improvement  over  the  others  in  three  weeks,  but  at  the  end 
of  thirty  days  the  lot,  on  weighing,  were  found  to  have  gained  only  an 
average  of  10  pounds  in  weight.  The  gain  in  weight  does  not,  however, 
represent  the  whole  of  the  real  gain.  A  lean  animal  gradually  loses  a 
proportion  of  the  water  in  the  fluids  of  its  system  before  it  begins  to 
increase  in  weight  when  fed  upon  grain.  This  loss  of  sap  is  replaced 
with  fatty  matter.  Lean  flesh  holds  50  per  cent,  more  water  than  fat 
meat.  So  lean  animals,  when  put  up  to  feed  upon  grain,  may  be  making 
good  progress  for  a  time  without  any  increase  in  weight.  But  when 
animals  are  fed  properly  they  are  always  in  a  condition  to  lay  on  fat 
in  due  proportion.  Ten  of  these  steers  had  gained  in  thirty  days  25 
pounds  each,  and  ten  had  gained  nothing  in  weight.  The  next  thirty 
days  the  ration  was  increased  2  pounds  of  bran  and  2  pounds  of  corn- 
meal  per  day.  The  increase  in  the  ration  was  made  to  correspond  with 
the  increasing  wants  of  the  steers.  This  additional  4  pounds  of  grain 
could  now  be  digested  and  assimilated.  The  next  thirty  days  showed  a 
marked  improvement  in  most  of  the  lot,  but  especially  in  those  that  had 
gained  most  in  the  first  period.  Ten  had  gained  li  pounds  per  day,  20 
had  gained  f  pound  per  day,  and  10  only  i  pound  per  day;  an  average 
of  only  25  pounds  per  head.  The  ration  for  the  next  thirty  days  was 
increased  by  2  pounds  of  corn-meal  and  2  pounds  to  the  noon  ration  of 
hay,  and,  besides,  one  gallon  of  cheap  molasses  was  used  in  the  water  for 
wetting  the  straw,  &c.,  for  the  steamed  ration.  This  was  b't  a  small 
amount  of  sweet  to  be  diflused  through  90  bushels,  but  it  ad  1  so  de- 
cidedly to  its  flavor  as  to  become  at  once  apparent.  The  steer  now 
nearly  all  of  them  got  into  a  thriving  condition,  and  during  tL..  jt^ciiod 
of  thirty  days  the  gain  was  much  more  rapid.  The  best  ten  gained  2^ 
pounds  each  per  day;  twenty  gained  1:|  pounds,  and  ten  only  ^  pound; 
an  average  of  41;^  pounds  each  for  the  lot.  The  first  ninety  days  had 
only  produced  an  average  gain  per  head  of  76^  pounds. 


304         REPORT   OF   THE   COMSIISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 
* 
To  show  the  risk  of  loss  in  feeding  such  animals,  we  will  see  how  the 
account  stands  at  the  end  of  ninety  days : 

Dr. 

40  head  of  steers,  34,000  pounds,  at  2  cents 680  00 

Oil-meal,  7,200  pounds,  at  If- cents 12(3  00 

Bran,  12,000  pounds,  at  §  cents 90  CO 

Corn-meal,  14.400  pounds,  at  1  cent 144  00 

Hay  13,200  pounds,  at-/^ycents 79  20 

30  gallons  molasses,  at  30  cents 9  00 

1, 128  20 
Cr. 
By  40  steers,  37,050  pounds,  at  3  cents 1,  111  50 

Apparent  loss,  besides  labor 16  70 

Cattle  and  beef  at  this  time  were  very  low,  and  it  will  be  perceived  that 
the  first  ninety  days  had  lost  ua  all  our  apparent'good  bargain ;  but  these 
animals  were  now  better  worth  3  cents  per  pound  than  2  cents  ninety 
days  before.  They  were  now,  most  of  them,  ready  to  make  a  thrifty  gain 
with  the  same  good  food  and  care.  The  ration  of  the  last  thirty  days 
was  continued  tor  the  next  sixty  days.  Everything  now  seemed  favor- 
able, and  at  the  end  of  this  period  the  leading  ten  head  had  gained  3 
pounds  live  weight  per  day,  twenty  head  had  gained  2^  pounds  each  per 
day,  and  ten  head  two  pounds  per  day.  Here  was  an  average  gain  of 
of  2 J  pounds  per  head,  or  150" pounds  in  sixty  days ;  a  remarkable  gain, 
considering  tbeir  condition  at  the  beginning.  At  this  period  twenty 
head,  averaging  1,150  pounds,  were  sold  at  4  cents  per  pound,  or  $920. 

The  account  now  stands : 

40  head,  3,705  pounds,  cost $1,123  20 

Expense  of  keep  last  60  days .- 390  00 

1  518  20 

By  20  steers  sold,  23,000  pounds,  at' 4  cents 920  00 

By  20  steers  on  hand,  20,050  pounds,  3J  cents 651  68 

1,571  62 
Showing  an  apparent  gain  of 53  42 

The  reader  will  have  observed  that  this  expense  account  does  not 
reckon  the  32  tons  of  straw  fed,  which  at  any  price  would  absorb  more 
than  the  apparent  protit.  Bat  straw  is  seldom  taken  into  the  account, 
the  manure  made  from  it  being  considered  an  equivalent.  The  reader 
will  also  pardon  the  effort  to  show  a  little  protit  in  this  case,  as  it  is 
evidently  a  desperate  one,  and  requires  strategy. 

Another  point  that  tells  in  its  favor  is  the  high  price  of  grain,  com- 
pared with  the  then  low  iDrice  of  beef.  But  under  these  discouraging 
circumstances,  suppose  the  class  of  cattle  had  been  better,  had  been  as 
good  as  these  were  after  ninety  days'  feeding,  and  the  price  paid  had 
been  50  per  cent,  higher,  or  3  cents  per  pound,  the  reader  will  see  that 
by  feeding  them  ninety  days,  with  a  gain  of  2^-  pounds  each  per  day, 
there  would  have  been  a  substantial  profit  upon  everything  fed,  leaving 
the  manure  for  the  labor.  And  I  should  be  quite  willing  to  take  a  con- 
tract to  feed  cattle  in  the  most  comfortable  stable,  furnish  all  the  mate- 
rial, and  take  all  the  labor  requisite  to  the  most  approved  method  of 


CATTLE-PEEDINa  IN  NEW  YORK.  305 

A  few  years  later  I  fed  ten  head  of  three-year-old  steers  for  one  hnn 
dred  daj^s  keeping  an  accurate  account  of  the  daily  Srtbeir^ncre^^^^ 
every  thirty  days  a^d  for  the  whole  period.   They^wLe  lar.eTy  ©rsS^^ 
horn  blood,  (sired  by  a  seven-eighths  blood  bull  JS  bee^'SVaS- 
as  that  term  is  generally  understood,  and  accustomed  from  cllf  hood  to 
be  handled  and  stabled.    They  averaged  1,210  pounds,  fnd  cos  4^  cents 
l!ut  IS^'^  ^^^^'   ^^'°^  *^  ^  *^"fty  condition,  and  accustomed  lo^ood 
tt^I'  S^^S'^^  ^9«<^  ^i^dly  to  tl^eir  new  quarters  when  put  mX 
yember  20.    Kegardmg  this  as  a  favorable  lot  of  steers  for  rS  fSf en" 
/A^'t  ^'^^^^^  foUowing  combined  ration,  made  by  grindin?  to^^^^^^^^ 
ieth^r  w""^  "'T'  ^^\^?T^^'>  8  bushels  if  oats  anf  p^  ^^Jown  to- 

pound^  ThT?.^Uf  ^  ^  ^''^^^  ^^^.^^  «^^^'  ^^  P^'^^^i^  J  making  1  000 
S^^  2      •  ,    ^  ^^.*^®  proportion,  and,  when  evenly  mixed  and  Sronnd 

can\^mLt'uDo??f'°  A?  r^^^^^^  ^^  ^T^^^^^  that^itt^e  imp^ofement 
100  nonnH«  T^h^fi  .  f  *  *^®  ^l""^.  mentioned  this  ration  cost  $1.10  per 
100  pounds.  The  first  two  weeks  10  pounds  of  this  was  mived  with  21 
bushels  of  cut-s  raw,  and  all  well  steamed  together,  Is  thTSailvrSioI 
of  each  steer,  given  in  two  feeds,  morning  and  evening  with  six  oonnd^ 
of  long  hay  at  noon.  This  proportion  of  flaxseed  makes  the  rationTust 
iS-'thr"^^^^'  health  and  its  oil  is  also  worth  alU?  costs  inlay^^^^^ 
on  fat ;  the  corn  is  very  rich  in  starch,  and  the  pease  and  oats  in  album? 
noids;  and  the  straw  is  so  softened  by  the  steamLg  an^so  per^Ti 
with  the  flavor  of  the  grain  as  to  give  it  a  fine  relish  for  the  stee?^  In 
fact,  this  cooked  ration  with  straw  is  eaten  as  eagerly  as  if  miSi  with 
hay     About  2  ounces  of  salt  is  added  for  eachlteer  belbr^SmTil 

^  11  nounT'^^Tr'^'."^*^"  third  week  the  grain-ration  was  Increased 
to  11  pounds.  These  steers  seemed  as  contented  in  their  new  Quarter^ 
as  If  they  had  been  raised  in  them.  This  demonstrated  the  rdvanta<i| 
comfo?'?^^'''  Tfff  ^«^/^^?i^g  tb^t  have  been  accustomed  toihe 
comtorts  of  a  good  stable.  At  the  end  of  the  first  thirtv  davs  thf^Z  tPn 
steers  had  gained  an  average  of  75  pounds  each  or  2?poS  pe?  dav 
Two  steers  tnat  appeared  more  perfectly  formed  than  any  of  tIS 

PolrLTo^n'?^-^^"'^ -^f  Sp^'  "^^'  and^urnedVe  scaKn^JS^ 
pounds,  and  on  being  weighed  now  were  found  to  have  gained  to-ether 

foLrforVe'nex?r '/  ?'^  '''^  ^"^-  ^^^^  '^'"'^  '^^'  increased  2 
pounas  lor  the  next  thirty  days.    Care  was  taken  to  feed  onlv  so  muoh 

wSund  toT.f.li  H^f '  "f/.'  ^"""^«  ^^  ^'^'^  ''  this  co^bSo^ 
wasiound  to  be  ail  that  would  be  eaten  clean  by  these  steers  of  ovpr 
1,300  pounds'  weight.  At  the  end  of  the  second  thirty  days  the  avera^^^ 
gam  waj  found  to  be  100  pounds,  or  3^  pounds  per  day     The  ration  f?r 

SLrandli'^'-P^f  ^.^'  '^^^  ^'  ^^'«  "^«  inLaS  to  ISpounds  of 
grain,  and  the  gam  for  this  period  was  also  an  average  of  100  no  n(?^ 

Lr„S'stooTtr„s1""  ™'^  "^''°  '""'  ^'  «4  -"'^  l>e?Pouod!?nS: 

10  steers,  12  100  ponnds,  r.t  4^  cents .^,  .  _„ 

11,560  pounds  of  grain,  at  $1.10 *?^~  ,2 

5,400  ponnds  of  hay,  at  60  cents.  ^r7.  ^^ 

13,500  pounds  of  straw,  at  40  cents  .  r    ^^ 


Cr. 

By  10  steers,  14,850  pounds,  at  G^  cents 


54  00 

758  06 

929  12 


Balance  to  pay  labor  and  profit T^TTi^ 

20  A  " ^^^^^ 


606         KEPOET  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

This  is  an  unusually  favorable  case  of  feeding  steers  raised  by  others, 
bat  such  a,  rate  of  gain  can  often  be  reached  with  steers  of  your  own 
riisinu  In  this  ration,  double  the  amount  of  oil-meal  may  be  substi- 
tuted lor  the  flaxseed  and  wheat-middlings,  or  bran  for  the  oats  and 
uea«e,  with  the  quantity  slightly  increased;  but  oats,  pease,  and  corn, 
with  flaxseed  or  oil-meal,  is  a  combination  of  food  easily  obtained  in 
many  parts  of  our  country,  and  is  a  great  improvement  over  that  of 
corn  alone.  So  good  a  result  could  not  be  expected  with  that  amount 
of  food  without  cooking  the  ration  and  feeding  in  a  warm  stable. 

TRUE  SYSTEM  OP  MEAT-PRODUCTION  FOR  NEW  YORK. 

We  have  thus  far  discussed  cattle-feeding  in  New  York  as  it  has  been 
heretofore  and  is  now  principally  conducted.  The  early  system  was 
based  upon  the  fact  that  many  parts  of  the  State  were  adapted  to  graz- 
ing and  not  to  grain-raising ;  and  these  early  farmers  were  m  the  habit 
of  raising  a  few  animals  each  year  and  feeding  them  very  sparely  through 
the  winter,  but  giving  them  a  good  range  of  pasture  in  summer,  and  at 
three  and  a  half  years  old  they  sold  them  to  other  farmers  to  be  finished 
upon  grain-feeding.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  these  very  slow-growing  an- 
imals did  not  feed  profitably  upon  grain,  it  requiring  so  long  a  time  to 
get  them  into  a  fattening  condition.  This  system  is  so  extremely  un- 
profitable to  both  sides  that  it  has  been  largely  abandoned ;  and  now 
the  question  arises  whether  New  Yorlc  must  abandon  meat-production, 
or  whether  she  may  not  adopt  a  better  system  and  produce  meat  with  a 
profit,  besides  bringing  the  more  important  result  ot' keeping  her  soil  in 
perpetual  fertility.    The  solution  of  this  problem  is  found  m  the  system 

FULL  FEEDING  AND  EARLY  MATURITY. 

In  feeding  animals,  as  in  other  things,  time  is  a  most  essential  element 
of  success.  Nature  has  most  clearly  pointed  out  to  us  the  road  to  suc- 
cess in  cattle-feeding.  It  is  found  in  this  law  that  the  young  animal 
takes  the  least  amount  of  food  to  produce  a  pound  of  growth,  and  that, 
all  other  things  being  equal,  each  succeeding  pound  of  growth  or  live 
weight  up  to  maturity  of  the  animal  costs  more  than  the  preceding 
pound.    This  has  been  established  by  so  many  facts  tnat  it  may  be  laid 

'  ^Two  interesting  experiments  were  conducted  by  Professor  Miles  at 
the  Michigan  Agricultural  College  farm  in  1860  and  18Cb.  In  the 
former  year  three,  and  in  the  latter  six,  pigs  were  fed  upon  milk.  Ihese 
mo-s  were  from  four  to  six  weeks  old  at  the  beginning  ot  the  experiment. 

It  took  an  average  amount  of  milk  to  produce  a  pound  live  weight  as 
follows :  first  week,  G.76  pounds ;  second  week,  7.75  pounds ;  third  week, 
12  28  pounds :  fourth  week,  10.42  pounds.  The  professor  attributes  the 
cause  of  its  taking  a  greater  amount  of  food  the  third  week  than  the 
fourth  to  a  "  derangement  of  the  digestive  organs  during  this  week,  as 
shown  in  a  tendency  to  constipation,"  and  he  remarks  that  "  the  milk  to 
produce  a  pound  live  weight  constantly  increases."    ,  ^     ^       ^  , 

The  experiment  of  1808  was  continued  afterward  for  twenty  weeks 
upon  corn-meal.  The  time  was  divided  into  five  periods  of  four  weeks 
each  It  required  of  corn-meal  to  make  a  pound  live  Aveight :  first  pe- 
riod, 3.81  pounds ;  second  period,  4.05  pounds  ;  third  period,  4.22  pounds ; 
fourth  period,  5.24  pounds ;  fifth  period,  5.98  i)Ounds. 

Another  experiment  with  a  larger  number  of  pigs  had  a  similar  result. 
It  will  be  perceived  that  in  the  fifth  period,  when  the  pigs  were  twenty- 


CATTLE-FEEDING   IN  NEW    YORK.  307' 

eight  weeks  old,  it  took  about  75  per  cent,  more  food  to  make  a  pound 
live  weight  than  in  the  first  period  when  they  were  eight  to  twelve 
weeks  old. 

The  writer  tried  a  similar  experiment  in  1874  with  a  miscellaneous 
lot  of  ten  calves  fed  wholly  upon  skim-milk.  The  milk  was  all  weighed 
daily  and  the  calves  each  week.  It  required  of  milk  for  one  pound 
gam  :  first  week,  11.02  pounds;  second  week,  13.18  pounds:  third  week, 
1-3.17  pounds ;  fourth  week,  13.40  pounds ;  fifth  week,  14.60  pounds : 
sixth  week,  15.05  pounds ;  seventh  week,  16.71  pounds:  eighth  week 
16.80  pounds;  ninth  week,  17.01  pounds;  t«nth  week,' 16.08  pounds; 
eleventh  week,  16  pounds ;  twelfth  week,  15.90  pounds.  The  decrease 
ot  milk  to  make  one  pound  live  weight,  beginning  the  tenth  week,  was 
caused  by  the  calves  learning  to  eat  grass.  These  calves  were  each 
weighed  separately,  as  was  the  milk  fed  to  each,  and  the  gain  was  very 
unequal  m  diflerent  calves,  as  they  were  not  a  uniform  lot;  but  the 
result  stated  is  the  average  of  the  ten.  We  regarded  this  experiment 
with  great  interest,  not  only  as  showing  the  gradual  increase  of  cost  to 
put  on  live  weight  as  the  animal  grows  larger  and  older,  but  as  showing 
the  value  of  skim-milk  in  growing  calves.  It  has  a  value,  when  properlv 
ted,  much  above  that  usually  attached  to  it.  We  should  also  mention 
the  experiments  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Lawes,  of  Eothamstead,  England,  which 
proved  the  precise  point  under  consideration,  that  the  cost  of  putting 
on  live  weight  is  in  proportion  to  the  age  and  size  of  the  animal. 

Mr.  C.  b.  Marvin,  of  Oxford  Depot,  Orange  County,  New  York,  raised 
the  steer  called  "  Uncle  Abe,"  and  Hon.  George  Geddes  states  the  fol- 
lowing  facts    coucerniug   his    growth:    At    birth,  October   19,   1864, 
weighed  134  pounds;  at  ninety  days,  385  pounds,  having  gained  251 
pounds  or  2.79  pounds  per  day.     During  this  time  he  iiad  the  milk  of 
his  mother,  and  after  ten  days  old  a  quart  of  meal  and  oats  per  day,  the 
mother  having  all  the  meal  she  would  eat.    At  six  months  old  he 
weighed  070  pounds,  having  gained  285  pounds  during  the  second  period, 
or  3.10  pounds  per  day,  its  food  having  been  gradually  increased  to 
two  quarts  of  meal  per  day.    At  one  year  old  weighed  1,036  pounds 
having  gained  the  second  six  mouths  360  pounds,  or  2.03  pounds  per 
day.    At  eigbteeu  months  weighed  1,354  pounds  ;  gaining  the  third  six 
months  olb  pounds,  or  1.76  pounds  per  day.    At  two  years  old  weighed 
1,010  pounds,  having  gained  the  fourth  six  months  202  pounds,  or  1.45 
pounds  per  day.    At  two  and  a  half  years  old  weighed  1,830  pounds,  gain- 
ing 214  pounds,  or  1.18  pounds  per  day.     At  three  years  old  weighed  2,070 
pounds,  gaiuing240  j)ounds,  or  1.33  iiounds  per  day.     At  three  and  a  half 
years  old  weighed  2,270  pounds,  gaining  200  pounds,  or  1,11  pounds  per 
day.    At  four  years  old  weighed  2,360  jiounds,  and  at  the  end  of  four 
years  and  four  mouths  weighed 2,530  pounds  ;  having  gained  in  the  last 
ten  mouths  260  pounds,  a  trifie  more  than  in  the  first  ninety  days,  the 
rate  of  increase  fcilling  to  j\%  of  a  pound  per  day.     As  the  age  increased 
the  tood  was  increased  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  animal,  and  at  two  and 
a  halt  years  eight  quarts  of  meal,  with  good  roots,  hay,  or  grass,  was 
given.     It  IS  easy  for  the  reader  to  see  that  this  steer  m'ight  have  been 
sold  at  a  profit  at  any  time  up  to  two  years  old.     At  this  latter  period 
he  would  have  brought  in  market  as  good  beef  $100,  which  would  have 
given  a  profit,  but  would  have  brought  a  better  profit  at  one  year  old, 
as  he  would  then  have  sold  for  about  $70.    It  will  be  noted  also  that  it 
took  two  years,  or  till  he  was  three  years  old,  to  double  his  weight  at  the 
end  of  the  first  year ;  or,  in  other  words,  it  costs  less  than  one-half  as 
much  to  produce  a  given  weight  the  first  year  as  during  the  second  and 
third  years.    This  is  the  earliest  complete  case  of  actual  weights  given 


308    EEPORT  OF  THP  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

at  periods  of  six  months  that  we  have  seen ;  but  since  that  several  cases 
of  actual  weighings  at  short  i)eriods  have  been  reported,  among  which 
tho  following  is  the  most  complete  and  instructive.  It  was  first  pub- 
lished in  the  Live-Stock  Journal  for  May,  1873.  It  is  the  history  of  a 
pair  of  grade  short-horn  twins  raised  by  Mr.  William  Wallace,  of  Grant 
Park,  Kankakee  County,  Illinois  : 

"ELLSWORTH  TWINS." 

They  were  dropped  April  2, 1870,  and  called  the  "  Ellsworth  Twins." 
Their  food  the  first  summer  was  sour  milk,  oil-meal,  and  grass.  This 
produced  as  fine  a  growth  as  whole  milk.  They  weighed  on  the  2d  of 
October,  at  six  months,  1,340  pounds.  Their  growth  is  shown  in  the 
following  weighings : 

Pounds. 

January  3, 1871,  tbey  weighed,  together 1,550 

February  30,  1871,  each  weighed  865  pounds ;  together 1, 730 

April  2,  1871,  one  vear  old,  together 1,960 

July  2,  1871,  weighed,  together 2,330 

August  24,  1871,  each  weighed  1,250  pounds  ;  together 2,500 

October  14, 1871,  weighed,  together 2,692 

November  25,  1871,  weighed,  together 2, 880 

January  2,  1872,  weighed,  together 2,950 

January  31,  1872,  weighed,  together 3,062 

February  15,  1872,  weighed,  together 3, 125 

Februarv  28,  1872,  each  weighe'd  1,599  pounds ;  together 3, 180 

March  16,  1872,  weighed,  together 3,265 

April  2, 1872,  two  years  old,  together 3, 305 

April  28,  1872,  weighed,  together 3,400 

July  1,  1872,  weighed,  together 3,575 

August  31,  1872,  weighed,  together , 3,650 

October  28,  1872,  each  weighed  1,950  pounds  ;  together 3, 900 

December  6,  1872,  weighed,  together 4, 145 

February  5,  1873,  each  weighed  2,150  pounds  ;  together 4,300 

April  1, 1873,  three  years  old,  together 4, 500 

These  steers  were  fed  upon  grass,  hay,  and  corn,  in  the  open  air,  and 
never  stabled.  It  will  be  observed  that  these  twins  reached  a  greater 
weight  at  two  years  and  three  years,  with  only  sour  milk  and  oil-meal 
the  first  six  months,  than  the  steer  Uncle  Abe,  that  had  full  rations 
of  whole  milk.  This  is  a  valuable  example,  showing  that  butter-dairy- 
men may  raise  excellent  calves  and  get  all  the  profit  from  the  cream.  In 
this  case  we  also  see  a  very  steady  and  comparatively  uniform  growth, 
yet  XI  gradual  decline  in  the  ratio  of  gain  per  day  from  the  beginning. 

The  error  of  exposure  to  the  weather  the  first  winter  is  very  obvious. 
They  gained  the  first  six  months  (if  we  suppose  them  to  have  weighed 
180  pounds  when  dropped)  1,160  pounds,  while  the  second  six  months 
(winter)  they  gained  only  G20  jjounds.  Had  they  been  kept  warm,  they 
would,  undoubtedh^,  have  gained  200  pounds  more.  Their  gain  the  first 
year  was  1,780  pounds;  second  year,  1,345  pounds;  third  year,  1,195 
pounds,  a  constant  decrease  the  older  they  grew.  But  the  reader  will 
note  the  omission  of  one  most  important  fact  in  this  case,  and  that  is, 
the  amount  of  feed  given  in  all  the  different  periods;  this  would  have 
added  greatly  to  its  interest. 

ANOTHER  EXAMPLE. 

As  teaching  by  example  is  more  efi'ectual  than  by  precept,  another 
case  of  rapid  growth,  occurring  the  past  year,  is  given.  It  relates  to  a 
grade  shorthorn  calf  and  its  mate,  fed  wholly  upon  skim-milk.    The 


CATTLE-FEEDING   IN   NEW   YORK.  309 

calf  was  dropped  March  1,  187G.  At  four  weeks  old  this  calf  weighed 
IbO  pounds,  aud  was  purchased  by  C.  H.  Farnum,  of  Concord,  N.  H.,  for 
a  mate  to  another  one  that  weighed,  at  the  same  age,  205  pounds.  His 
purpose  was  to  raise  these  for  oxen  if  they  should  grow  alike  in  form 
and  size.  Their  feed  was  exclusively  skim- milk,  but  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  the  IGO-pouud  calf  was  outweighing  the  other,  and  he 
abandoned  the  project  of  rearing  them  for  oxen.  At  8*  months  old  the 
one  originally  the  largest,  but  now  the  smallest,  was  slaughtered.  His 
girth  was  5  feet  2  inches,  and  his  dressed  weight  522  pounds.  This  was 
a  remarkable  dressed  weight,  as  its  live  weight  must  have  been  800 
pounds  5  but  the  other  calf  was  so  much  better  that  it  was  determined 
to  teed  it,  on  experiment,  till  one  year  old.  The  last  three  months  its 
teed  was  principally  skim-milk  and  shorts,  and  his  girth,  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  was  G  feet  and  5  inches,  and  he  so  fat  that  his  hips  were  hardly 
discernible.  He  was  purchased  by  a  butcher  at  10  cents  per  pound  for 
his  dressed  weight,  and  slaughtered  on  the  1st  day  of  March,  1877,  at 
just  one  year  old.    His  live  weight  was  1,200  pounds  and  dressed  weight 

•,P^^^^1^'  ^^^^'  '^^^  pounds;  hide  and  tallow,  154  pounds.  Price 
paid,  $90.20. 

These  cases  clearly  show  that  new  milk  is  not  indispensable  in  grow- 
ing the  best  calves,  and,  further,  that  the  system  of  giving  up  the  whole 
milk  ot  the  dam  to  suckle  the  calf  is  wasteful  and  unnecessary. 

THE  PROFIT  OF  EARLY  MATURITY. 

Many  more  cases  might  be  cited  to  show  the  practical  effect  of  high 
feeding  at  an  early  age.  It  may  be  stated  as  an  established  fact  that 
calves,  according  to  breed,  may,  as  an  average,  be  grown  to  the  weight 
of  800  to  1,000  pounds  at  one  year,  and  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  the 
second  year.  And  it  may  be  further  added  that  the  animal  shall  also 
have  arrived  at  the  same  stage  of  maturity  as  is  usual  at  three  and  a 
halt  to  four  years  of  age  under  the  old  system. 

M.  Eenault,  at  a  cattle  fair  in  France,  in  1846,  found  a  bull,  only  two 
years  old,  that  had  all  his  permanent  teeth,  and  all  the  points  of  devel- 
opment and  maturity  in  perfection,  and,  on  investigation,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  high  breeding  and  feeding  had  produced  this  result  as  a 
natural  consequence;  that,  the  growth  being  accelerated  bv  the  improved 
alimentation,  the  ripening  and  maturing  of  all  parts  of  the  system  had 
made  equal  progress.  It  is  therefore  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  animal 
is  as  immature  as  its  age  would  indicate,  judged  by  the  old  system. 

It  may  be  a  mystery  to  some  that  an  increased  amount  of  food  should 
be  required  the  second  year  to  produce  a  given  gain  in  weight.  But  the 
reason  may  be  regarded  as  twofold :  first,  that  while  the  voung  animal 
IS  in  Its  most  active  stage  of  growth  the  waste  of  its  system  is  much  less, 
m  proportion  to  weight,  than  when  mature ;  and,  second,  its  accumulated 
weight  tbe  second  year,  on  which  waste  accrues,  is  more  than  double 
that  ot  the  first  year.  Take  the  case  of  the  steer  Uncle  Abe.  Its 
weight  at  birth  was  134  pounds,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  1,036 
pounds;  it  gained,  therefore,  902  pounds ;  half  of  this  gain  is  451  pounds, 
which,  added  to  its  birth-weight,  gives  585  pounds  as  his  average  weight 
the  first  year.  He  gained  580  pounds  the  second  year ;  half  of  this,  290 
pounds,  added  to  1,036  pounds,  his  weight  at  the  beginning  of  the  sec- 
ond year,  makes  his  average  weight  for  that  year  1,326  pounds ;  and  in 
the  same  way  his  average  weight  for  the  third  year  is  1,843  pounds. 

Now,  it  is  evident  that  it  must  take  more  than  double  the  food  the 
second  year  to  supply  the  waste  of  the  system  that  was  required  the 


310         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

first  year,  and  the  third  year  50  per  cent,  more  than  the  second  year. 
This,  then,  exphiins  the  reason  of  the  increased  cost  of  putting  on  live 
weight  as  the  animal  grows  older  and  heavier.  And  if  this  be  a  law  of 
nature,  it  certainly  behooves  the  cattle-feeder  to  take  note  of  it,  and 
regulate  his  system  in  harmony  with  it.  If,  then,  the  cost  of  growing 
beef  constantly-  increases  with  the  age  and  weight  of  the  animal,  it  must 
follow  that  economy  requires  that  the  animal  should  be  sold  at  the 
earliest  period  of  maturity  suited  to  the  requirements  of  the  market. 
This  period  is  indicated  at  two  years;  and  well-grown  animals  intended 
for  beef  should  not  be  kept  beyond  this  period,  except  when  an  unfavor- 
able market  requires  it. 

COST  OF  A   TWO-YEAR-OLD  STEER. 

Having  been  driven  by  carefully-tried  experiments  to  the  conclusion 
that  profit  can  only  be  expected  from  full  feeding  under  the  system  of 
early  maturity,  and  that  to  carry  out  this  system  to  the  best  advantage 
the  animals  should  be  raised  and  finished  for  the  butcher  upon  the  same 
farm,  I  propose,  in  conclusion,  to  examine  the  real  margin. for  profit 
under  this  best  system. 

Let  us  take  the  average  gain  of  good  thrifty  calves  fed  upon  20  pounds 
per  day  of  skim-milk  for  the  first  ninety  days,  with  an  average  of  one 
half  j)ound  of  flaxseed  and  one  pound  of  wheat-middlings  or  oat-meal 
after  the  first  ten  days,  giving  much  less  at  first,  but  increasing  it  to 
that  amount ;  and  the  second  three  months,  10  pounds  of  milk,  1  pound 
of  oil-meal,  and  2  pounds  of  middlings  per  day,  with  pasture.  The  cost, 
then,  of  the  first  six  months  will  be,  for  milk,  2,700  pounds,  at  ^  cent, 
$6.75;  30  pounds  flaxseed,  90  cents;  91  pounds  oil-meal,  $1.82;  272 
pounds  middlings,  $2.04 ;  100  pounds  hay  daring  first  ninety  days,  50 
cents  ;  pasture  three  months,  at  15  cents  per  week,  $1.87 ;  in  all,  $13.88. 
With  this  feed  the  calves  should  average  500  pounds'  weight  at  six 
months. 

The  second  six  months  it  will  require  10  pounds  of  hay  per  day,  or  1,820 
pounds,  $9.10;  182  pounds  of  oil-meal,  $3.61;  three  pounds  per  day  of 
middlings,  546  pounds,  at  $15  per  ton,  $4.10,  amounting  to  $16.84;  and 
the  gain  should  to  be  2i  pounds  per  day,  or  410  pounds,  averaging  at  one- 
year  old  910  pounds,  costing  $30.72. 

The  second  sununer,  pasture  at  30  cents  i)er  week  will  cost  $7.80; 
three  [)ounds  per  day  of  middlings,  or  oats,  $4.10;  total,  $11.90.  The 
second  winter  he  will  require  15  pounds  of  hay  per  day,  or  2,730  pounds, 
$13.65;  6  pounds  of  corn-meal,  $10.42;  4  pounds  bran  per  day,  $5.46 — 
$16.38 ;  total  cost  of  second  year  $41.93.  The  steer  will  gain  an  average 
of  li  pounds  per  day,  or  547  pounds,  weighing  at  two  years  old  1,457 
pounds.  This  steer  will  cost  at  our  figures,  at  two  years  old,  $72.65, 
and  such  rapidly-matured  steers  will  always  bring,  in  this  State  at  least, 
6i  cents,  or  $94.70.  This  would  leave  a  profit  of  $22.05.  But  it  must 
be  remembered  that  we  have  estimated  for  the  most  expensive  food  and 
for  feeding  wholly  on  hay  as  fodder.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that 
although  $72.05  may  be  considered  a  great  price  for  a  two-year-old  steer 
to  cost,  yet  it  is  made  up  of  the  products  of  the  farm  all  estimated,  and 
that  the  steer  will  pay  a  handsome  profit  upon  that,  while  the  ordinary 
steer  will  cost  two-thirds  as  much  and  not  bring  in  market  more  than 
one-third  the  price.  I  have  raised  calves  upon  the  food  here  estimated, 
and  at  a  cost  of  only  $25  for  the  fii'st  year,  weighing  900  pounds,  sub- 
stituting straw  for  half  of  the  hay. 

Another  formula  for  raising  good  calves  and  steers  is  as  follows:  The 


CATTLE-FEEDING   IN   NEW   YORK.  311 

same  amount  of  milk  as  before,  driving,  after  first  twenty  days,  one-half 
pound  of  oat -meal  aud  one  pound  of  bran  per  day  till  three  months  old, 
then  during  next  three  months  one  pound  oats  uuground  and  two  pounds 
of  bran  per  day,  with  pasture.  This  wouUl  make  cost  of  first  six  months : 
milk,  $0.75;  oats,  $1.27;  bran,  $2.28;  pasture,  $1.80;  total,  $12.10.  The 
second  six  months'  feed,  8  pounds  of  hay,  with  straw  ad  libitum,  $7.28; 
one  pound  of  oats  and  two  pounds  of  bran  per  day,  $6.37  ;  total,  $13.65 ; 
cost  for  the  year,  $25.75.  The  second  year  the  cost  would  be  :  pasture, 
$7.80;  4  pounds  bran  per  day,  with  pasture,  $5.40  ;  cost  of  six  months: 
summer,  $13.20.  Winter  feeding:  8  pounds  hay,  $7.28  ;  6  ])oiinds  corn- 
meal,  $10.92;  4  pounds  bran,  $5.40;  six  winter  months,  $22.60;  cost 
second  year,  $35.80.     Total  cost,  two  years,  $61.55. 

This  formula  has  produced  an  average  live  weight,  with  us,  of  825 
pounds  the  first  year  and  1,350  the  secoud  year.  This  steer  will  bring 
6  cents,  or  $81 ,  and  leave  a  profit  of  $19.45.  I  do  not  feed  corn  or  corn- 
meal  the  first  year,  because  the  object  should  be  to  produce  a  large  growth 
of  frame  and  muscle,  and  not  to  lay  on  fat  excessively.  Besides,  corn- 
meal  is  very  apt  to  derange  the  digestive  functions,  producing  a  feverish 
state  of  system.  It  is,  however,  allowable  to  grind  one  bushel  of  corn 
with  two  bushels  of  oats,  or  one  bushel  of  corn  with  one  of  pease;  but 
if  pea-meal  is  used  for  calves,  it  should  be  cooked,  when  it  will  be  found 
an  excellent  food  to  grow  a  rangy  calf.  A  variety  of  food  will  be  found 
preferable  to  any  single  kind,  and  we  have  found  oats,  bran,  and  corn 
a  combination  promotive  of  both  health  and  growth.  I  should  advise, 
when  obtainable,  the  use  of  a  small  quantity  of  oil-meal  or  flax-seed : 
even  a  half-pound  daily  will  have  an  excellent  influence  in  winter-feed- 
ing to  keep  the  bowels  in  the  proper  condition  where  roots  are  not  fed. 

These  estimates,  it  will  be  understood,  are  made  to  suit  prices  in  New 
York  and  most  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  of  course  are  much  too  high 
for  the  West,  and  higher  than  the  prices  of  cattle-food  often  are  in  New 
York ;  but  they  are  intended  to  show  that  with  all  these  points  against 
the  Eastern  States  cattle  may  be  raised  at  a  profit.  We  have  not  esti- 
mated the  money-value  of  the  manure,  which  would  increase  the  profit 
side  of  the  account  into  fine  x>roportions.  The  best  English  feeders 
think  themselves  well  paid  if  they  can  be  re-imbursed  for  the  cost  of  the 
food  in  the  value  of  the  animal,  charging  all  the  labor  and  profit  to  the 
manure. 

Let  those  farmers,  who  think  these  estimates  produce  steers  of  greater 
cost  than  they  can  afford,  take  the  trouble  to  estimate  in  the  same  way, 
and  as  fairly  as  we  have  done,  the  cost  of  those  common,  thin,  scrimped 
animals  which  they  do  raise,  and  compare  the  cost  with  their  value  in 
market,  and  they  will  then  see  forcibly  the  point  we  have  tried  to  illus- 
trate. If  they  will  figure  the  cost  of  these  common  steers  at  two  years 
old,  charging  fair  prices  for  what  they  actually  eat,  it  cannot  be  brought 
under  $35,  and  they  will  seldom  bring  in  market  over  $25.  This  system 
of  full  feeding  and  early  maturity  ofters  the  only  feasible  plan  by  which 
the  lands  of  the  Middle  and  Eastern  States  may  be  brought  into  a  high 
state  of  fertility.  With  this  system,  like  the  lands  of  England,  they 
may  be  caused  to  double  their  production  in  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

It  ofl'ers  a  plan  by  which  all  the  crops  of  the  farm  may  be  fed  to  ani- 
mals, and  so  go  back  to  enrich  the  soil,  receiving  a  full  compensation  ior 
the  value  of  the  crops  in  the  sale  of  beef.  And  as  a  good  augury  for 
the  future,  it  is  only  the  best  animals  that  can  be  sold  to  supply  this 
great  opening  market  for  our  meats  in  England  ;  and  we  trust  this  may 
be  an  eflectual  stimulus  to  the  farmers  of  New  York  to  strive  and  grow 
two  animals  where  one  has  grown  before,  and  that  each  animal  may  oat- 
weigli  two  of  its  predecessors. 


FRESH-MEAT  SHIPMENT  TO  EUROPE. 


For  many  years  there  has  been  a  search  for  new  outlets  to  American 
meat-products.  Numbers  in  proportion  to  population  have  not  been 
maintained,  but  size  and  quality  have  both  been  improved,  especially  in 
beeves,  since  the  advent  of  the  short-horn.  Shipments  of  cured  and 
pickled  beef,  as  well  as  of  hams,  pork,  and  lard,  have  largely  aug- 
mented in  bulk  and  value;  but  growers  and  shippers  have  not  been 
satisfied,  craving  the  higher  prices  of  prime  fresh  beef,  or  the  saving 
of  heavy  transportation  bills  by  the  processes  of  concentration.  Nu- 
merous patents  have  been  granted  for  extract  of  beef  or  other  cooked 
and  canned  products  convenient  for  safe  and  cheap  shipment.  The 
results  have  not  been  altogether  satisfactory,  as  the  profits  only  war- 
ranted the  use  of  cheap  beeves  in  Texas.  Enterprising  shippers 
believed  it  possible  to  send  abroad  our  best  corn-fed  beef,  by  the  use 
of  refrigerating  processes,  in  our  fastest  steamships,  and  present  it  in 
the  principal  markets  of  Great  Britain  in  perfect  soundness  of  condi- 
tion, in  competition  on  its  own  merits  with  English  beef  of  famous 
repute. 

Little  more  than  a  year  ago  a  pioneer  experiment  was  made  in  New 
York  with  such  success  as  to  command  a  constant  extension  of  the 
business,  until  the  weekly  shipments  have  reached  an  average  of  fifteen 
hundred  beeves,  and  Philadelphia  and  other  cities  have  inaugurated 
similar  eaterprises. 

The  success  of  the  experiment  has  caused  a  sensation  in  England 
among  producers  and  consumers.  The  Liverpool  Daily  News  says  that 
the  quality  of  American  beef  is  in  no  way  inferior  to  that  of  British  pro- 
duction, and  can  be  sold  at  2d.  to  3d.  per  pound  lower  retail  rates.  About 
600  tons  weekly  are  now  shipped,  mostly  going  to  London,  and  taken  by 
west-end  clubs  and  other  institutions.  A  portion  is  sent  to  Birmingham, 
where  it  has  reduced  the  price  of  English  beef  2d.  per  pound,  and  to 
other  towns.  In  Manchester  and  Liverpool  a  combination  of  butchers 
has  prevented  its  extensive  consumption.  The  Queen,  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  the  lord  mayor,  the  governor  of  the  Bank  of  England,  and  other 
persons  of  influence  have  indorsed  the  quality  of  this  meat,  and  the 
butchers  themselves  acknowledge  it  to  be  "  good,  sound  meat."  Its 
price  is  a  further  commendation,  being  Qd.  per  pound. 

The  Agricultural  Gazette  of  London,  of  January  29,  1877,  has  the 
following  items  of  wholesale  and  retail  prices : 

On  Wednesday  last  the  City  of  Eichmond  arrived  at  Liverpool  -with  808  quarters  of 
American  beef,  consigned  to  Messrs.  Arclier  &  Malthouse,  of  the  Central  Meat-Market, 
London ;  650  quarters  were  sold  in  the  large  towns  in  tho  north  of  England,  and  158 
quarters  in  tho  London  market.  The  prices  realized  for  the  whole,  by  the  carcass,  was 
6^d.  per  pound. 

The  eale  of  American  beef  in  Dublin  on  Saturday  was  very  considerable.  The 
butchers'  shops  in  which  it  was  sold  in  different  parts  of  the  city  were  regularly  be- 
sieged by  purchasers.  The  beef  was  sold  at  Qd.  ®  lOd.  per  pound.  Next  week  several 
shops  for  the  sale  of  beef  will  open  in  the  city.  A  panic  has  almost  been  caused  by 
the  sale  of  the  beef,  which  is  pronounced  better  than  home  produce. 

An  English  member  of  Parliament,  Mr.  Barclay,  has  been-  discussing 
before  his  constituents  the  probability  of  disastrous  results  of  competition 

312 


FRESH-MEAT   SHIPMENT   TO   EUROPE.  313 

of  American  with  British  meat-production.  He  admits  that  it  is  of  good 
quality,  tells  where  it  is  produced,  and  recites  the  advantages  possessed 
in  the  great  plains  and  mountains,  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
for  growing  young  cattle  in  preparation  for  feeding  in  more  eastern 
localities.  He  deems  the  situation  somewhat  grave,  but  concludes  that 
the  ability,  perseverance,  and  frugality  of  British  farmers  may  overcome 
an  advantage  of  a  penny  a  pound  in  price.    He  says : 

I  adhere  to  the  opinion  I  expressed  at  Forfar,  that  if  they  were  allowed  full  scope 
and  liberty  in  dealing  with  the  land  and  crops  on  it  in  such  a  manner  as  they  should 
find  most  profitable,  and  if  they,  in  addition,  were  fully  secured  for  that  capital  which 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  must  be  invested  in  land  to  produce  the  best  results,  I  have 
no  doubt  they  would  meet  the  competition  from  any  quarter  of  the  world. 

Eelative  to  the  difference  in  price  of  British  and  American  beef,  he 
is  thus  reported : 

Before  proceeding  further  ho  wished  to  coiTect  what  seemed  to  be  a  misapprehension 
in  regard  to  the  price  which  farmers  in  this  country  were  getting  for  beef.  As  they 
were  all  aware,  the  farmer  sold  his  animal  alive  at  a  price  per  cwt.  of  the  caTcass 
dead,  and  although  he  appeared  to  get  a  high  price  per  pound  for  the  beef,  there  had 
to  be  deducted  fiom  it,  in  comparing  it  with  the  price  of  American,  the  value  of  the 
hide,  tallow,  oifal,  &c.  On  looking  to  the  price  of  meat  in  the  London  dead-meat 
market,  he  found  that  for  the  best  beef  it  varied  from  48.  6d.  to  5s.  2d.  i)er  stone  of  8 
pounds,  the  average  being  about  4s.  IQd.  per  stone,  or  l^d,  per  pound ;  but  from  that  a  half 
penny  fell  to  be  deducted  for  carriage  to  London,  so  that  the  price  which  a  farmer 
actually  got  for  his  beef  was  little,  if  anything,  over  Q^d.  per  pound,  or  Id.  more  per 
pound  than  the  wholesale  price  of  American.  Of  course  a  difference  of  Id.  per  pound 
is  a  very  serious  one.  He  would,  therefore,  recur  to  the  point  from  which  he  started. 
Was  the  importer  able  to  bring  the  beef  to  this  country  and  sell  it  at  that  price  with 
profit  ?  And,  if  so,  did  it  pay  the  producer,  and  would  the  supply  be  likely  to  continue 
or  increase  ? 

He  found  from  figures  that  the  cost  of  bringing  across  the  beef,  including  freight 
and  other  charges,  was  from  £7  10s.  to  £8  per  ton,  so  that,  added  to  the  price  at  New 
York,  would  bring  the  cost  of  the  beef  to  52s.  6d.  or  53s.  per  cwt.,  which  would  leave 
the  whole  of  the  tallow,  offal,  &c.,  as  a  profit  to  the  shipper ;  and  he  believed  that 
would  be  considered  a  very  handsome  profit  indeed,  and  sufficient  to  meet  certain  con- 
tingencies which  of  course  had  to  be  encountered  in  every  trade.  Apart  from  the 
figures  he  had  given,  the  continuous  increase  of  the  trade,  and  the  fact  that  one  line 
of  steamers  after  another  was  making  accommodation  for  carrying  on  the  trade, 
showed  that  they  had  confidence  that  it  could  be  conducted  at  a  profit  and  was  likely 
to  continue. 

The  next  important  question  was,  Could  the  farmers  in  America  produce  beef  so  as 
to  be  able  to  sell  it  at  the  price  he  had  indicated  in  Chicago  f  Before  directly  going 
into  that  matter,  ho  would  point  out  the  new  state  of  things  which  withhi  the  pasft 
few  years  had  begun  to  obtain  in  America.  For  many  years  in  Texas  and  other  States 
in  America  there  had  been  an  unlimited  number  of  cattle,  but  the  quality  of  thern^ 
with  a  few  exceptions,  was  poor,  and  would  not  suit  the  English  market,  although  it 
suited,  to  a  very  large  extent,  the  American  public.  In  fact,  there  was  not  in  that 
country  a  very  large  demand  for  the  first  quality  of  beef  so  long  as  the  secondary 
kind  could  be  obtained  at  almost  nominal  prices.  But  now  this  new  state  of  matters 
obtained,  that  the  farmer  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada  could  get  what  he  con- 
sidered a  very  good  price  for  the  higher  quality  of  beef ;  and  the  difficulty  which  had 
arisen  now  was,  where  was  he  to  find  his  supply  of  young  cattle  for  fattening  ?  Ho 
could  got  any  quantity  of  Texan  cattle,  but  they  were  not  very  fat.  After  remarking 
that  the  original  settlers  in  America  were  generally  men  of  limited  capital,  and  that 
they  naturally,  therefore,  turned  to  the  cultivation  of  the  cereals  as  the  easiest  way  to 
get  money  out  of  the  land,  and  that  it  would  take  time  to  develop  the  breeding  of 
cattle,  Mr.  Barclay  went  on  to  say  that  in  many  of  the  older  States  the  raising  of 
stock  had  been  developed  to  a  certain  extent,  and  that  in  Kentucky  and  Pennsylvania 
there  were  farms  as  well  farmed  and  fenced  as  any  in  this  country,  and  that  in  the 
former  States  there  were  some  of  the  finest  herds  of  short-horns. 

The  London  Live-Stock  Journal  admits  that  importation  of  meat  from 
America  is  "the  chief  topic  of  conversation  at  the  farmstead,  at  the 
markets  ordinary,  and  in  all  places  where  agriculturists  do  congregate, 
and  is  the  new  element  introduced  into  the  stock-breeders'  calculations; " 
also  that  the  new  year  opens  with  "  an  appreciable  disturbance  of  the 


314         RERORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE. 

meat-market,  and  already  tbe  gloobiy  propbets  of  evil  are  predicting  a 
time  of  increased  pressure  when  the  English  farmer's  last  resoarce  shall 
be  taken  from  liim." 

This  trade  is  a  very  promising  feature  in  the  meat-distribution  of  this 
country.  It  may  grow  into  a  business  of  vast  importance  to  our  farm- 
ers. Its  extension  must  depend  upon  tbe  continuance  of  a  difference 
between  American  and  English  prices  sulBcient  to  constitute  a  satisfac- 
tory margin  lor  expenses  and  profits.  One  condition  needing  amend- 
ment is  evidently  tbe  weight  of  our  beeves.  Were  there  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  heavy,  fully-fattened  animals,  the  price  realized  would  be 
increased  above  the  advance  in  cost.  Feeders  have  their  share  in  this 
work,  and  must  co-operate  with  shippers  if  they  would  develope  a  per- 
manent and  profitable  Industry.  The  competition  will  tend  to  advance 
home-prices  in  proportion  to  the  comparative  magnitude  of  the  ship- 
ments. Such  advance  would  tend  to  limit  the  growth  of  the  trade,  even 
to  the  destruction  of  the  business,  if  the  margin  should  be  reduced  below 
expense  of  shipment.  A  more  scientific  course  of  feeding,  the  exercise 
of  skill  and  the  practice  of  economy  in  all  the  methods  of  management 
and  feeding,  become,  therefore,  essential  elements  of  growth  and  suc- 
cess in  transatlantic  shipment  of  American  beef. 

The  history  of  the  beginning  of  this  new  enterprise  -^hich  Is  here  pre- 
sented is  the  result  of  the  investigation  of  Col.  F.  D.  Curtis,  of  New 
York,  an  intelligent  breeder  of  several  varieties  of  farm-stock  and  an 
enthusiastic  promoter  of  true  progress  in  American  agriculture : 

In  October,  1875,  Mr.  Timothy  C.  Eastman  began  his  first  shipments 
of  fresh  beef  from  America  to  England.  Mr.  Eastman  is  the  pioneer  in 
this  enterprise,  which  has  now  assumed  such  extensive  proportions.  His 
first  shipment  consisted  of  forty-five  cattle  and  fifty  sheep.  In  Decem- 
ber following  he  continued  the  export,  increasing  the  number  of  cat- 
tle to  a  hundred,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  made  weekly 
consignments  of  from  one  hundred  to  several  hundreds,  gradually  in- 
creasing the  trade  until  during  the  close  of  1876  and  the  beginning  of 
1877  his  shipments  were  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  per  week. 
The  first  week  in  February,  1877,  he  shipped  ten  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  cattle  and  seven  hundred  sheep.  Mr.  Eastman  ships  by  the  Williams 
and  Guion,  the  White  Star,  and  Anchor  lines  of  steamships.  He  has 
shipped  about  thirty  thousand  in  all,  and  has  opened  a  market  in  Lon- 
don, Liverpool,  Manchester,  Sheffield,  Birmingham,  Leeds,  Newcastle, 
Glasgow, Edinburgh,  Dundee,  andother  towns  in  England  and  Scotland. 
The  meat  is  kept  iresh  by  a  process  on  which  a  patent  was  obtained  by 
Mr.  Bate,  of  which  Mr.  Eastman  is  the  sole  owner.  The  patent  is  for 
preserving  meat  fresh  by  inclosing  it  in  an  air-tight  chamber  and  forcing 
among  it  a  current  of  cold  dry  air.  Refrigerators,  or  air-tight  chambers, 
are  constructed  between  decks,  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  steamers 
or  the  demands  of  trade,  the  largest  one  being  on  the  Wisconsin,  (Will- 
iams and  Guion  line,)  which  is  40  feet  wide,  100  feet  long,  and  7  feet 
high.  These  immense  air-tight  chambers  are  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  three  air-tight  walls  made  of  matched  lumber  covered  with  air-tight 
paper,  which  is  made  so  by  being  saturated  with  rosin.  Between  these 
surrounding  walls  there  is  an  open  space  of  an  inch  and  a  half,  making 
the  walls  as  perfect  non-conductors  as  possible. 

An  ice-house  is  constructed  on  one  side  or  end  of  the  refrigerator,  as 
is  most  convenient,  and  is  filled  with  ice.  The  ice-compartment  is  in  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  the  refrigerator,  and  is  lined  with  galvanized  sheet- 
iron.  Fifty  tons  of  ice  are  required  by  the  Bate  process  for  saving  60 
tons  of  meat.    A  cast-iron  fan  or  blower  is  placed  inside  of  the  meat- 


FRESH-MEAT   SHIPMENT   TO   EUROPE.  315 

cbamber,  counected  by  a  belt  to  a  small  steam-engine  on  tbe  deck  above. 
The  fans  vary  in  size,  accordinp;  to  workreqnired  The  belt  is  inclosed 
in  an  airtight  box.  Flues,  or  air-passages,  10  inches  high  and  IG  inches 
wide,  made  of  matched  boards,  extend  from  the  fan  along  the  bottom  of 
the  floor  to  the  sides  of  the  refrigerator,  where  they  connect  with  upright 
tubes  or  pipes,  of  half  the  size,  which  stand  against  the  outer  wall,  into 
which  the  air  of  the  refrigerator  is  drawn  by  the  suction  of  the  fan,  and 
driven  into  the  middle  of  the  ice-chamber  through  a  large  flue  made  of 
matched  boards,  where  it  circulates  through  the  ice  and  is  drawn  down 
and  passed  back  into  the  refrigerator  through  an  open  space  about  three 
inches  wide  left  at  the  bottom  of  the  ice.  The  fan  makes  about  eight 
hundred  revolutions  per  minute,  and  is  kept  going  constantly.  These  fans 
are  large  or  small,  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  meat-chambers.  In  this 
way  a  constant  circulation  of  cold  air  is  kept  up  during  the  entire  voyage. 
A  thermometer,  suspended  in  a  tin  pipe  which  reaches  from  the  upper 
deck  down  into  the  refrigerator,  indicates  the  temperature,  which  is  kept 
as  near  38°  as  possible.  A  cap  is  kept  over  the  top  of  the  pipe  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  the  cold  air  from  the  meat-chamber.  A  ujore  rapid 
circulation  of  air,  which  can  be  made  by  increasing  the  speed  of  the 
fan,  will  lower  the  temperature.  The  steam  to  run  the  fan-engine  is 
supplied  from  the  steam*  r's  boiler. 

As  soon  as  the  meat  is  received  and  put  into  the  refrigerator  it  is 
closed,  not  to  be  opened  until  the  steamer  is  ready  to  discharge  her 
cargo  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  quarters  of  beef  are  sus- 
pended on  hooks  and  also  laid  on  the  floor.  When  hogs  are  shipped 
they  also  lie  on  the  floor,  and  the  meat,  being  packed  closely,  docs  not 
move  about  when  the  steamer  rolls  at  sea.  If  the  supply  of  ice  should 
run  too  low,  it  can  be  added  to  from  the  stock  kept  on  all  steamers. 
Usually,  however,  uiore  or  less  ice  remains  in  the  ice-chamber,  and  is 
sold  at  the  port  of  destination.  The  meat  is  generally  loaded  at  night, 
on  account  of  the  cooler  temperature  and  the  less  liability  of  delays  in 
getting  the  trucks  onto  the  docks  and  alongside  of  the  steamers. 

Only  the  best  and  heaviest  beeves  are  selected  to  be  sent  to  Europe. 
To  be  the  most  profitable,  they  should  weigh  when  dressed  not  less  than 
800  pounds,  although  lighter  ones  are  sent  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
first-class  animals. 

Mr.  Eastman  prepares  his  meat  for  shipment  at  the  slaughter-houses 
at  West  Fifty-ninth  street,  New  York,  and  at  the  stock-yards  of  the 
New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad,  where  large  refrigera- 
tors have  been  constructed  by  him  on  the  same  princiiileas  those  on  the 
steamers.  The  refrigerators,  called  at  the  slaughter-houses  "chilling- 
rooms,"  are  situated  jast  in  the  rear  of  the  platforms  where  tbe  cattle  are 
killed  and  dressed,  and  are  so  constructed  that  the  sides  of  beef  can  be 
run  into  them  on  cars  attached  to  the  timbers  overhead.  The  sides  of 
beef  are  suspended  to  the  cars,  hanging  by  tbe  gambrel-joint,  and  as 
soon  as  dressed  are  conveyed  into  tbe  chilling  rooms  and  transferred  to 
tbe  books  overhead.  These  rooms  are  kept  shut  except  when  opened 
to  let  in  the  meat,  and  tlu-n  they  are  closed  as  soon  as  possible.  In  this 
way  handling  tbe  meat  is  avoided,  and  the  animal  heat  is  expelled  as 
soon  as  possible,  which  is  considered  very  important  in  preparing  meat 
forlongshipments.  Themeatsoon  becomes  bard  and  firm.  Each  quarter 
is  inclosed  in  coarse  canvas,  before  being  removed  from  tbe  cbilliug- 
rooms,  to  keep  it  clean  and  prevent  wearing  or  rubbing  in  handling  and 
while  being  transported.  In  no  case  is  the  meat  allowed  to  freeze,  but 
tbe  aim  is  to  keep  it  as  near  the  same  degree  of  temperature  as  possi- 
ble. 


316    REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  meat  remains  in  the  chilling-rooms  until  the  steamer  is  ready  to 
receive  it,  and  then  it  is  carefully  conveyed  on  trucks  with  springs,  so 
as  to  avoid  mussing.  Mr.  Eastman  has  never  lost  a  single  quarter  by 
spoiling,  and  says  that  his  beef  is  in  better  order  to  ship  to  the  interior 
markets  after  it  lands  and  keeps  better  than  beef  fresh-killed  on  the 
spot.  He  says  that  he  shipped  several  hundred  quarters  last  summer 
when  the  thermometer  stood  at  lOOo,  and  not  a  pound  was  tainted  or 
spoiled.  It  was  taken  from  the  chilling-room  at  night  and  rapidly 
transferred  into  the  refrigerators  on  the  steamers,  and  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic  was  sent  forward  under  a  very  trying  temperature.  He 
thinks  that  the  cold  atmosphere  effectually  closes  the  pores  or  sears  the 
surface  of  the  meat,  so  that  it  is  not  as  susceptible  to  the  effects  of  heat 
and  taint  as  freshly-killed  meat,  while  at  the  same  time  it  looks  as  fresh 
and  bright  as  the  newly  killed,  and  does  not  lose  anything  in  flavor. 
This  beef  sells  in  the  foreign  markets  at  7  to  8  pence  per  pound,  and  is 
pronounced  just  as  good  as  the  home  fed,  which  sells  at  10  to  12  pence 
13er  pound.  The  American  beef  is  lighter,  and  this  is  really  the  greatest 
and  possibly  the  only  difference.  If  the  American  farmer  will  feed  his 
cattle  more,  thereby  bringing  them  to  a  higher  condition,  and  making 
the  beef  better  and  more  weighty,  he  may  reasonably  expect  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  the  same  price  for  his  beef  in  the  English  market  which  the 
home-produced  brings.  But  the  light  and  thin  beeves,  which  make  up  a 
large  proportion  of  the  supply  sent  to  the  seaboard,  will  not  compete 
with  the  stall-fed  short-horns  and  other  improved  breeds  of  the  English 
and  Scotch  graziers. 

The  cost  to  Mr.  Eastman  is  about  $26  per  head,  in  gold,  for  preparing, 
freight,  and  cost  in  transit,  including  commissions  on  the  other  side. 
The  averaged  price  realized  is  about  $90,  gold.  Mr.  Eastman  is  now 
engaged  in  constructing  three  additional  large  refrigerators  or  chilling- 
rooms  at  West  Fifty-ninth  street,  and  will  enlarge  his  operation  accord- 
ingly. At  the  present  time,  on  an  average,  fifteen  hundred  cattle  i^er 
week  are  shipped  from  New  York. 

While  Mr.  Eastman  may  be  properly  considered  the  pioneer  in  this 
enterprise,  being  the  first  to  establish  a  i^aying  trade  in  fresh-meat  ex- 
portation, the  fact  should  be  recorded  that  Mr.  John  J.  Bate,  of  New 
York,  made  several  experiments  in  this  direction.  He  tells  the  story  of 
this  experimental  operation  as  follows : 

On  the  11th  February,  1875,  I  Bhipped  by  the  steamer  Baltic,  in  refrigerator,  twelve 
quarters  of  beef,  twelve  sheep,  and  sis  hogs.  The  managers  of  the  White  Star  line 
thought  80  little  of  the  enterprise  that  they  refused  me  the  use  of  steam  to  run  the 
fan-blower.  The  meat  reached  Liverpool  in  good  condition  by  the  use  of  hand-power 
to  operate  the  fan.  On  the  6th  of  June  following  I  shipped  on  the  steamer  WiscoDsin 
ten  carc&sses  of  beef,  thirty  sheex^,  and  twelve  hogs,  the  meat  reaching  Liverpool  in 
good  condition.  On  the  10th  of  August  following  I  shipped  on  the  steamer  Britannic 
twenty  carcasses  beef  and  one  hundred  and  forty  sheep  in  refrigerator.  The  meac 
arrived  in  Liverpool  in  good  condition.  Used  steam.  In  October  following  Mr.  T.  C. 
Eastman  made  the  next  and  all  succeeding  shipments. 

Gillett  and  Sherman,  another  large  shipping  firm  in  New  York, 
slaughter  and  prepare  their  beef  at  the  New  Jersey  stock-yards, 
located  at  Harsimus  Cove,  in  connection  with  the  Pennsylvania  Central 
and  Erie  Eailroads.  They  are  sending  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred 
cattle  per  week,  and  ship  on  three  steamers  of  the  Inman  line,  two  of  the 
Cunard  line,  with  one  steamer  on  the  National.  This  firm  began  in  August, 
1875,  with  a  shipment  of  seventy-one  cattle.  They  have  sent  about  tbree 
thousand  five  hundred  altogether,  and  estimate  the  cost  of  shipment  and 
sale  to  be  $23,  gold,  and  the  average  sale  per  head  to  be  $90,  gold.  Their 
largest  refrigerator  is  in  the  City  of  Chester,  (Inman  line,)  and  will  hold 


FRESH -MEAT   SHIPMENT    TO    EUROPE.  317 

three  hundred  cattle.  They  send  the  best  cattle  they  can  buy,  none  less 
than  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds'  weight,  if  possible  to  get  them. 
Their  last  shipment,  February  1,  averaged  850  pounds  dressed  weight. 
Their  principal  market  is  London. 

Messrs.  Gillett  and  Sherman  ship  under  the  patent  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Cravens, 
which  is  a  process  for  radiating  cold  air  and  preserving  fresh  meat.  A 
refrigerator-chamber  is  constructed  between  decks  by  making  double 
walls  of  planks  and  lining  the  inside  of  both  of  the  plank  walls  with  pat- 
ent roofing-paper,  and  so  placing  the  plank  that  where  they  Join  the  crac)t3 
will  not  be  opposite  each  other.  The  doors  are  made  in  the  same  way, 
and  the  whole  room,  fitted  in  this  manner,  is  made  as  air-tight  as  possible. 
Galvanized-iron  pipes,  2|  inches  in  diameter,  connected  together,  are 
placed  one  above  the  other,  reaching  from  the  ceiling  to  the  iloor,  1-!^  in 
all,  and  extend  around  the  walls  and  through  the  middle  of  the  room, 
through  which  brine  is  forced  by  a  Knowles  bilge-pump  located  outside 
of  the  apartment.  The  pump  runs  on  an  average  of  eighty  strokes  a 
minute.  The  brine  is  pumped  into  the  top  pipe  and  runs  by  its  own 
gravity  and  the  pressure  of  the  pump  down  through  all  of  the  pipes,  and 
is  returned  into  the  reservoir  from  whence  it  came.  The  reservoir  is  a 
water-tight  compartment  situated  alongside  of  the  refrigerator,  and  is 
filled  with  ice  and  salt,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  sacks,  four  bushels  to  a  sack, 
of  Liverpool  salt  and  forty  tons  of  ice.  This  amount  of  ice  and  salt  is 
sufficient  for  preserving  the  carcasses  of  one  hundred  cattle  for  13  days, 
which  is  longer  than  the  time  usually  required  for  transportation  from 
America  to  England.  It  is  calculated  that  the  pipes  will  radiate  a  cold 
temperature  for  18  feet,  sufficient  to  keep  the  meat,  and  for  any  space 
beyond  18  feet  another  set  or  tier  of  pipes  must  be  had.  A  waste-pipe 
at  the  top  of  the  reservoir  allows  any  excess  of  brine  to  escape.  The 
brine  is  pumped  from  the  bottom  of  the  reservoir  and  returned  to  it  from 
the  refrigerator  at  the  top,  so  that  a  constant  circulation  is  going  on  and 
the  extremes  of  cold  are  iDrought  into  use.  The  ice  and  salt  are  put  into 
the  reservoir  a  couple  of  days  before  the  steamer  sails,  and  before  the 
meat  is  placed  into  the  refrigerator  the  pump  is  set  going  to  cool  the 
room  and  have  it  ready  for  the  meat,  Water  is  put  into  the  reservoir 
to  create  a  brine,  if  it  is  necessary  to  do  so  before  the  ice  may  melt  suf- 
ficiently to  cool  the  pipes.  When  the  meat  is  put  in  and  hung  up  on  the 
hooks  overhead — as,  under  this  system,  it  is  never  laid  on  the  floor — 
the  refrigeratar  is  closed  tight,  and  the  pump  kept  going  constantly 
during  the  voyage.  The  shipper  is  obliged  to  have  a  man  in  attendance 
to  regulate  the  pump  and  watch  the  temperature,  which  is  kept  between 
35°  and  40°^— as  near  36°  as  possible.  Greater  cold  is  produced  by  a 
more  rapid  pumping  of  the  brine  through  the  pipes.  The  steam  is  sup- 
plied by  the  steamer.  A  screen  is  placed  over  the  mouth  of  the  feed- 
pipe to  prevent  the  pump  getting  choked.  A  thermometer  is  placed 
near  the  pipes,  and  one  at  some  distance  off,  to  note  the  degree  of  tem- 
perature. These  are  seen  through  a  glass  plate  placed  in  the  wall.  After 
the  refrigerators  have  been  shut  a  few  hours  a  rapid  condensation  takes 
place,  and  the  pipes  are  covered  over  by  coating  of  ice,  and  the  atmos- 
phere is  thereby  rendered  dry.  If  the  temperature  runs  up  to  40°,  it  must 
be  reduced  rapidly,  or  the  meat  will  spoil.  It  costs  $2,000  to  fit  up  a  re- 
frigerator under  the  Cravens  patent  large  enough  to  hold  one  hundred 
and  fifty  cattle.    Under  the  other  patents  the  expense  is  not  so  great. 

Messrs.  Gillett  &  Sherman  have  an  extensive  cooling-room  at  the 
slaughter-house  connected  with  the  New  Jersey  stook-yards,  which  is 
fitted  up  with  an  ice-reservoir  and  pipes  the  same  as  on  board  of  the 
Bteamer.    This  room  is  used  for  storing  the  meat  before  shipment,  but 


318         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

these  gentlemen  do  not  think  that  any  artificial  cooling  is  necessary 
in  winter,  neither  do  the  other  shippers  who  prepare  their  meat  at  these 
yards.  Allot'  the  quarters  are  bagged;  that  is,  sewed  up  in  canvas. 
Messrs.  Gillett  &  Sherman  send  from  forty  to  sixty  sheej)  with  each  ship- 
ment of  beef,  but  no  hogs,  as  tliey  are  so  unsalable  in  the  English  market, 
Englislimeu  not  having  learned  to  cat  fresh  pork  sufficiently  to  create  a 
demand  beyond  the  liome-produciion.  Forty  cubic  feet  of  space  aro 
estimated  to  hold  a  ton,  according  to  ship-measurement,  and  the  shipper;; 
of  fresh  meat  are  charged,  according  to  this  rating,  30  shillings,  English 
money,  per  ton.  Shippers  in  all  cases  have  to  be  at  the  expense  of  fit- 
ting up  the  refrigerators,  and  have  to  furnish  the  engine,  pumps,  and 
fans,  as  well  as  the  ice  required. 

Under  the  Bate  system  no  extra  man  is  required  to  go  with  the  shi))- 
ments.  Shippers  are  i  equired  to  pay  for  the  space  occupied  by  the  i-efrig- 
erators  and  ice-chambers  on  the  outward  passage,  whether  used  by  them 
or  not.  On  the  return  voyage  they  are  usually  filled  with  fine  goods, 
being  a  secure  place  for  such  freight- 
Though  Gillett  and  Sherman  are  intending  to  increase  the  numbers 
of  refrigerators,  and  are  now  negotiating  with  the  National  line  for  this 
purpose,  Mr.  Gillett  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  future  does  not  look  as 
promising  for  success  as  he-wishes  it  might.  The  English  market  is  ex- 
ceedingly sensitive  and  changeable,  and  in  London  the  prices  of  beef 
have  been  known  to  vary  a  penny  in  one  hour,  and  two  pence  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  They  have  been  obliged  to  sell  as  low  as  four  pence  per 
pound,  but  their  average  sales  have  been  about  six  pence,  at  which 
price  it  would  pay  to  ship. 

In  mutton  we  can  successfully  compete  with  the  English  and  Scotch 
graziers,  as  the  quality  is  equal  to  theirs,  although  not  so  fat  usually  or 
so  thick  on  the  rib;  and  if  our  beef  was  as  carefully  fattened  we  could 
challenge  competition,  and  there  would  be  no  doubt  of  the  future  suc- 
cess of  the  trade. 

Samuels  and  Company  ship  from  New  York  on  two  steamers,  on  the 
National  line,  directly  to  Loudon,  whenever  their  steamers  go  out. 
Each  one  is  fitted  up  with  a  meat-chamber  large  enough  to  hold  one  hun- 
dred cattle.  They  use  the  Smith  process,  which  is  similar  to  that  of  Bate. 

Daniel  Toffey  and  Company  also  ship  on  three  other  steamers  of  the 
National  line,  whenever  these  vessels  sail  from  America.  The  refrigera- 
tors on  these  three  ships  are  each  calculated  for  one  hundred  cattle,  and 
this  is  the  number  they  send  forward.  They  use  the  Banta  process, 
whieh  is  also  similar  to  that  of  Bate.  They  send  lighter  beef  than  the 
others,  the  carcasses  not  averaging  more  than  600  pounds.  They  do  not 
contemplate,  with  the  present  outlook,  an^^  increase  in  their  trade. 

Martin,  Fuller  and  Company  and  Messrs.  Morris  and  Allerton  ship 
from  Philadelphia,  using  the  Cravens  patent.  These  two  firms  together 
ship  five  hundred  cattle  per  week.  They  have  all  the  necessary  outfit 
of  chilling-rooms  and  other  appliances  under  these  patents  which  are  re- 
quired to  make  their  business  a  success.  Live  cattle  are  sent  from  Phila- 
delphia, but  not  in  any  considerable  numbers.  They  have  also  been 
shipped  from  New  York  in  small  quantities,  but  the  space  required  is 
too  great  for  auj'  extensive  trade.  From  Portland,  Maine,  about  six 
hundred  cattle  are  shipped  weekly  by  Wells  and  Company. 

When  greenbacks  get  to  be  at  par  with  gold  the  margin  of  profit  will  be 
so  reduced  that,  in  the  opinion  of  shippers,  it  can  only  be  maintained 
by  a  reductiou  in  home  cost  and  a  better  quality  of  meat,  so  as  to  com- 
pete more  successfully  with  the  foreign  beet^  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
cost  of  transportation  of  cattle  from  the  West  to  the  seaboard,  and  also 


FRESH-MEAT  SHIPMENT  TO  EUROPE.  319 

across  the  Atlantic,  can  be  much  rednced.  A  more  systematic  and 
thorough  manner  of  feeding  must  be  inaugurated  to  cheapen  the  pro- 
duction. An  increase  of  production  ^^\\\  not  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  case  unless  such  increase  is  improved  in  quality  much  beyond  the 
avera<2;e  rate  now  sent  to  market.  Stall-feeding  must  take  the  place  of 
the  wuHteful  and  careless  fattening  in  the  pastures  and  corn-fields  as  is 
now  generally  practiced.  Let  the  vast  areas  of  pasture  in  the  border 
States  and  Territories  be  employed  for  breeding  and  feeding  the  rattle 
until  they  are  tv/o  years  old,  and  then  let  them  be  sent  forward  to  the  older 
sections  to  be  fed  a  year  on  corn  and  rounded  up  to  the  proportions  of 
the  foreign  demand. 

The  following  extract  from  the  London  Mark  Lane  Express  of  Janu- 
ary 15  will  be  of  interest  here : 

Tbc  excitement  upon  the  subject  of  the  importation  of  meat  from  America  increases 
as  the  news  of  largo  freights  received  circulates  through  the  country,  losing  nothing, 
■we  may  depend,  in  its  course.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  large  supplies  recently  sent 
to  London  and  Liverpool  have  had  a  considerable  effect  upon  the  trade  of  those  im- 
portant meat-markets,  although  up  to  the  present,  prices  in  the  country  have  not  been 
appreciably  affected.  The  present  supplies  of  American  moat,  if  spread  anything  evenly 
over  the  country,  would  be  absorbed  without  producing  any  noticeable  effect  upon  the 
demand  of  homo-produced  meat.  But  the  supplies  are  not,  nor  are  they  over  likely  to 
be,  evenly  spread  over  the  country.  Indeed,  in  hot  weather,  unless  the  cold-air  proc- 
ess is  kept  up  after  disembarkation  and  during  transit  by  rail,  the  foreign  meat  cannot  be 
sent  far  into  the  inland  districts.  What,  however,  will  amount  to  the  same  thing  will 
be  this,  that  the  price  of  meat  being  lower  in  London  and  other  large  ports  than  in  the 
country  markets,  less  homo-grown  meat  will  be  sent  to  the  former,  and  the  supply,  and 
therefore  the  prices,  will  be  again  equalized.  Then,  as  we  have  remarked,  if  tho 
American  supply  is  not  larger  than  it  is  now,  its  effect  upon  the  price  of  meat  will  be 
infinitesimal.  But  there  are  those  who  tell  us  that  the  trade  is  only  in  its  infancy,  and 
as  we  know  but  little  of  the  resources  of  America  for  meat-producing,  we  cannot  dis- 
prove the  prediction.  Only  last  week  one  large  importer  stated  that  he  had  a  thou- 
sand carcasses  of  beef,  and  as  many  of  both  mutton  and  pork  as  well,  on  the  sea  be- 
tween New  York  and  Liverpool.  Such  little  recitals  as  that  are  calculated  to  cause 
alarm ;  but  until  we  know  more  about  American  resources  it  will  be  foolish  to  gladden 
the  hearts  of  consumers  and  cause  producers  to  tremble  with  visions  of  cheap  meat. 
It  has  not  yet  been  proved  that  America  can  keep  up  her  present  shipments  of  meat  of 
fine  quality,  and  it  would  not  pay  to  send  any  other  ;  still  less  that  she  can  increase 
the  supply.  Nor  has  it  yet  been  shown  that  American  farmers  can  rear  and  fatten  bul- 
locks to  send  to  England  and  sell  with  a  profit  at  sis  pence  a  pound.  We  could  not  do 
it  here  with  land  rent  free. 

A  new  impulse  has  been  given  to  the  business  by  the  increased  facili- 
ties for  handling  meat  on  its  arrival  in  England.  An  immense  refriger 
ator,  covering  an  area  of  nearly  an  acre,  with  numerous  apartments, 
each  of  which  contains  a  cooling  apparatus  like  that  in  use  on  the 
steamers,  has  been  built  and  is  used  for  storing  the  meat  and  obviating 
the  neces&ity  of  immediate  distribution  and  compulsory  sale  at  any 
price  that  could  be  obtained  at  the  moment. 

The  following  official  fiigures  show  the  increase  of  this  trade  in  eighteen 
months : 


320         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIOTNER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Statement  of  the  quantity  and  valm  of  fresh  heef  exported  from  the  United  States  to  Great 
Britain  during  the  eighteen  months  ended  March  31,  1877,  furnished  ly  Dr.  Young,  Chief 
of  the  Treasury  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

[Prepared  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics.] 


Year. 


1875 
1S75, 
1875, 
1876 
1876 
187B 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876, 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1877, 
1877 
1877 


Month. 


October . . . 
November. 
December . 
January... 
February . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . . . 
September 
October  ... 
November. 
December . 
January... 
February.. 
March 

Total, 


From  New  York.      \  From  rhiladolphia. 


Pounds. 


3C,  000 

36,  000 

134,  000 

162,  000 

292, 000 

302,  000 

1, 256,  000 

1, 012,  (100 

1, 140,  000 

1,  170,  200 

1,  365,  000 
a,  451,  5.50 
2, 569,  075 

2,  974,  480 
3, 036,  980 
1,  796,  000 

3,  005,  010 
6,  262, 355 


29,  601,  250 


Dollars. 


2,800 

2,  800 

10,  700 

12,  700 

24, 000 

24,  300 

106,  400 

77, 400 

68,  000 

101, 230 

134,  811 

219,005 

224,-730 

275,  550 

257, 843 

185, 550 

293.  838 

547,  762 


2, 588,  439 


Potjnds. 


150,  010 
1,  219,  000 

737,  500 

776,  450 
1,  348,  000 

445, 500 


4,  077, 500 


Dollars. 


14, 303 
115,852 

0>*,  06-2 

f,9,  880 
127,  019 

42, 323 


438,  044 


Year. 


Month. 


To  England. 


Pounds. 


Dollars. 


To  Scotb«nd. 


Pounda. 


Dollars. 


Total  exports. 


Pounds. 


Dollars. 


1875 
1875 

1875 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1877 
1877 
1877 


October ... 
November. 
December . 
January . . . 
February.. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August  .. 
September 
October . . . 
November. 
December . 
January... 
February.. 
March 

Total. 


30, 000 
36,000 
134, 000 
162, 000 
292, 000 
302, 000 

1, 256, 000 
912, 000 
940,  000 
645,200 

1, 037,  000 

1,  838,  550 

2,  202, 685 

3,  598, 980 
3, 364,  480 
2,  312, 450 
4,410,010 
5,  099,  055 


2,800 

2,800 

10, 700 

12, 700 

24, 000 

24,300 

100,  400 

09,  400 

72,  000 

44,  .TOO 

101,811 

154,  275 

185,  088 

331,  402 

286, 055 

226,  430 

371,557 

435,  585 


100, 000 
200, 000 
525, 000 
328, 000 
613,  000 
517,000 
595,  COO 
410,000 
260,  000 
543, 000 
1,  608,  800 


8,000 
16,  000 
56,  750 
33, 000 
63,  730 
.53, 950 
60,  000 
39,  850 
29, 000 
49,  900 
154,  500 


36, 000 

36,  000 

134, 000 

102,  000 

292,  000 

302,  000 

1,  256, 000 

1,  012, 000 

1, 140,  000 

1,170,200 

1,  365,  000 

2,  451, 550 
2,  719,  685 
4, 193,  9fc0 
3, 774,  4^0 
2,  572,  450 
4,953,610 
6, 707,  855 


2,800 

2,800 

10,700 

12,  700 

24,  000 

24,  300 

106,  400 

77,  400 

88,  000 

101, 2.50 

134,811 

218, 005 

239,  033 

391,402 

325, 905 

255, 430 

421, 457 

590, 0S5 


28,  579,  010 


2,  461,  803 


5,699,800  I  564,680 


34,278,810  3,026,483 


RINDERPEST. 


[The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  having  submitted  to  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  the  question,  Whether  the  disease  of  rinderpest  could  be 
transmitted  to  this  country  through  the  medium  of  dry  or  salted  hides  ? 
the  response  was  the  following  opinion  by  Prof.  James  Law,  of  Cornell 
University.] 

In  answer  to  the  question  submitted  to  me,  I  would  reply  that  while 
perfectly  fresh  hides,  like  all  other  products  of  the  victims  of  the 
rinderpest,  are  capable  of  communicating  the  disease,  no  authentic 
instance  can  be  adduced  of  its  conveyance  by  dried  (hard)  or  salted 
hides.  On  the  contrary,  a  number  of  experiments,  instituted  with  the 
object  of  trying  this  question,  has  established  that  dry  or  salted  rinder- 
l)est  hides  are  harmless.  These  experiments  have  been  conducted  in 
t)Oth  east  and  west  of  Europe  with  similar  negative  results.  Dr. 
Eawitsch  made  "  many  experiments  with  dried  hides,  and  with  skins 
which  had  been  hung  up  in  the  open  air  and  exposed  during 
twenty-four  hours.  These  skins  never  infected  a  single  animal.  On  the 
same  cattle  were  afterward  laid  fresh  hides,  or  they  were  inoculated 
with  fresh  virus,  and  they  died.  Professor  Brauell  also  experimented 
largely  by  inoculating  cattle  with  dried  skins  and  dried  hair,  but  when 
these  articles  were  inoculated  more  than  forty-eight  hours  after  their 
removal  from  the  animal  furnishing  them  no  case  of  infection  resulted. 
These  experiments  were  conducted  in  the  Russian  steppes.  In  the 
north  of  Europe,  Weith,  Lorinzer,  and  Spinola  have  found  the  hides 
infecting  on  the  eighth  day  after  removal  from  the  body.  No  doubt  the 
cold,  perhaps  even  the  freezing,  of  the  elements  prevented  their  decom- 
position. But  the  disease  has  nowhere  been  even  plausibly  traced  to 
dry  or  salted  hides. 

Contrary  to  what  is  true  of  most  animal  poisons,  that  of  rinderpest 
is  very  easily  destroyed,  and  it  seems  probable  that  the  chemical 
changes  occurring  in  skins  rolled  up  in  balls  or  hung  up  so  as  to  be  freely 
exposed  to  the  air  are  quite  sufficient  to  destroy  the  contagion.  As  an 
instance  of  its  rapid  extinction  I  may  note  that  at  the  experimental 
stables  at  Albert  Veterinary  College,  London,  in  1866,  sick  and  healthy 
animals  were  kept  in  adjacent  stables,  under  one  roof,  and  looked  after 
by  the  same  attendant,  who  thrice  a  day  supplied  the  wants  of  the 
healthy  and  those  of  the  diseased.  On  no  occasion  did  he  return  to  the 
healthy  for  several  hours  after  visiting  the  sick,  and  in  this  interval  the 
virus  about  his  clothes  must  have  been  decomposed,  as  this  state  of 
things  lasted  several  weeks  without  any  harm  coming  to  the  sound  cattle. 
Finally  Professor  Gerlach,  of  Hanover,  visited  the  sick  animals,  and 
went  straight  from  them  into  the  stable  of  sound  stock,  with  the  result 
that  two  days  thereafter  two  of  those  showed  signs  of  rinderpest,  and 
the  stable  was  permanently  infected. 

In  view  of  such  facts  as  the  above,  most  European  nations  permit  the 
free  traffic  in  dry  and  salted  hides,  and  we  may  do  so  with  equal  safety. 
Even  if  they  came  more  in  contact  with  cattle  than  they  do  after  the 
21 A  321 


322    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

importation,  the  facts  would  not  warrant  us  in  stopping  the  trade.  Only 
it  must  be  carefully  guarded  against  abuse,  as  frozen  hides,  or  those 
that  have  been  stripped  from  the  victims  on  board  ship  and  hurriedly 
salted  to  qualify  for  admission,  may  introduce  the  disease,  and  the  accli- 
matization of  such  a  poison  in  the  continent  is  far  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  any  temporary  loss,  however  great.  Fresh  and  frozen  hides  must 
be  rigidly  excluded. 

The  distinction  made  by  Mr.  Thompson  between  the  hides  of  calves 
and  grown  cattle  cannot  be  supported,  as  rinderpest,  like  other  conta- 
gious diseases,  proves  congenital;  bat  calves'  hides,  like  others,  may  be 
admitted  when  thoroughly  dried  or  salted. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  contagion  of  rinderpest  is  always 
destroyed  by  drying.  On  the  contrary,  it  has  often  been  conveyed  long 
distances  in  dried  fibrous  material — notably  in  hay  and  straw — in  which 
case  the  exclusion  of  the  air  is  probably  the  cause  of  its  preservation. 
An  importation  of  the  malady  into  the  north  of  Scotland,  in  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  was  made  through  the  medium  of  Dutch  hay. 

Hon.  D.  Christie  is  in  error  in  saying  thatjiigs  are  susceptible  of  this 
disease.  In  one  instance  only,  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  was  an  animal 
at  all  related  to  the  i)ig  (the  peccary) affected;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
in  all  the  countries  of  Euroi)e  pigs  have  mingled  continually  with  the 
diseased  cattle  during  each  epizootic  of  rinderpest  without  a  single  case 
of  infection  of  the  species. 

While  the  restriction  placed  upon  cattle  should  be  extended  to  all 
ruminants,  horses  and  pigs  ought  to  be  admitted  without  quarantine,  but 
with  the  simple  precaution  of  sponging  the  one  with  a  weak  solution  of 
chloride  of  lime  or  carbolic  acid.  Any  fodder  or  litter  accompanying 
them  from  infected  countries  should  be  burned,  and  all  clothing  packed 
in  trunks  or  boxes  should  be  fumigated  with  sulphur  smoke  or  heated 
to  a  temperature  of  140°  Fahr. 

I  feel  called  upon  to  add  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  clause  providing  for 
the  admission  of  blooded  stock  on  a  consular  certificate  must  render  the 
whole  order  a  dead-letter.  What  but  blooded  stock  is  imported  into  the 
United  States  from  Europe?  And  how  is  a  consular  certificate  to  pro- 
tect us  against  a  disease  that  may  be  contracted  on  the  infected  quays 
at  the  time  of  shipping  1  We  have  already  imported  apthous  fever,  in 
1870,  exactly  in  this  way :  Two  fine  short-horn  cows,  taken  from  a  sound 
herd  and  in  every  way  worthy  a  certificate  of  health  when  they  started, 
contracted  the  seeds  of  the  disease  at  the  shipping-port  of  Liverpool, 
passed  through  it  on  the  Atlantic,  were  landed  at  Quebec,  and  conveyed 
the  infection  to  the  herd  of  their  owner,_ whence  it  spread  throughout 
Canada  and  over  the  Korthern  States.  Now,  this  affection  has  a  shorter 
period  of  latency  than  rinderpest,  and  was,  therefore,  less  likely  to 
escape  detection.  Having,  then,  already  imported  apthous  fever  with 
blooded  stock  taken  from  healthy  herds  in  England,  what  guarantee  have 
we  that  we  shall  be  saved  from  a  similar  introduction  of  rinderpest  ? 

To  sum  up,  I  would  advise  the  following : 

1.  That  all  ruminating  animals,  of  whatever  breed,  be  subjected  to  ex- 
amination by  an  expert,  to  a  quarantine  of  four  days,  and  to  a  disin- 
fection of  their  surfaces  with  a  weak  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  or  car- 
bolic acid. 

2.  That  horses  and  swine  be  admitted,  without  quarantine,  after  their 
skins  have  been  disinfected  as  above ;  and 

3.  That  all  thoroughly-dried  hides,  and  such  as  have  been  salted  in 
Europe  before  shiping,  be  admitted  without  any  restriction. 


RECENT  INVENTIONS  FOR  INSECT  DESTRUCTION. 


By  Daniel  Breed,  Washington,  D.  C. 


There  are  few  crops  cultivated  in  any  part  of  the  country  that  are 
not  at  some  period  of  their  growth  liable  to  injury  from  some  form 
of  insect  life.  Some  of  our  agricultural  districts  have,  within  a  few 
years  past,  been  signally  visited,  and  in  some  sections  extensive  crops 
have  been  wholly  destroyed.  Kansas,  Colorado,  and  adjoiniug  States 
have  suffered  severely,  even  to  such  an  extent  as  to  call  for  legislative 
action  both  from  the  State  and  General  Governments. 

Many  of  the  older  States  have,  in  view  of  the  gradual  encroachment 
of  predatory  insects,  by  legislative  enactments  endeavored  to  check 
the  evil  by  making  it  a  penal  offense  to  destroy  insectiverous  birds,  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that  such  laws  have  resulted  in  much  benefit, 
especially  to  cultivators  of  fruit. 

Some  crops  appear  to  be  more  exposed  to  the  depredations  of  insects 
than  others,  the  protection  of  which  has  called  into  action  the  inventive 
genius  of  man,  and  patent  rights  have  been  sought  for  the  construction 
and  use  of  machines  and  instrumentalities  designed  for  that  purpose. 

Among  the  most  exposed  may  be  named  the  cotton,  potato,  wheat,  and 
other  small  grain  and  grass  crops.  A  machine  or  device  that  will  afford 
protection  to  one  class  of  plants  may  not  to  another.  For  example,  the 
cotton-plant  is  preyed  upon  by  the  army-worm,  larva  of  a  night-flying 
moth,  {Leucania  unipuncta,)  and  the  cotton-worm,  larva  of  ap  olive-brown 
moth  called  Aletia  argyllacea.  From  the  well- 
known  nocturnal  habits  of  these  moths,  and  the 
certainty  of  their  being  destroyed  by  a  light,  a 
cheap  and  effective  mode  of  destroying  them, 
shown  in  the  annexed  figure,  has  been  adopted. 
It  consists  of  a  pan  of  viscid  matter  placed  upon 
a  stake,  which  is  set  in  the  field  of  cotton  at 
suitable  distances.  A  block  of  wood  is  placed 
in  the  center  of  the  pan,  upon  which  is  placed 
a  lighted  glass  lantern.  The  moths,  being 
attracted  by  the  light,  dash  against  it  and  fall 
into  the  pan,  and  are  thus  destroyed  before 
depositing  their  eggs  upon  the  tender  leaves  of 
the  growing  plant. 

The  army-worm  is  arrested  in  its  migrations 
by  plowing  a  deep  furrow  around  the  field,  and 
making  it  smooth  by  drawing  a  smooth  log  of 
wood  along  the  furrow.  The  worms  fall  into 
this,  and  are  unable  to  ascend  the  steep  sides. 
A  safe  and  novel  method  for  killing  the  worms 
has  recently  been  invented.  It  is  shown  in 
Figure  2.    It  consists  of  a  sheet-iron  furnace,  having  the  form  of  a  half 

333 


324        REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 


cylinder,  tapered  at  the  ends,  in  which  a  fire  is  built,  and  this  heated 
furnace,  being  drawn  along  the  furrow,  destroys  the  worms.  Previous 
to  this  invention  it  was  customary  to  strew  dry  staw  along  the  furrow 
and  set  fire  to  it,  but  this  was  often  attended  with  danger.  This  heated 
iron  boat  can  bo  used  without  danger,  and  at  the  same  time  it  serves  to 
keep  the  inside  of  the  furrow  in  a  smooth  and  firm  condition. 

Fig.  2. 


The  potato-plant  has  for  many  years  been  exposed  to  the  depreda- 
tions of  an  insect  commonly  known  as  the  potato-fly,  {Gantharis  vittata,) 
now  generally  known  under  the  name  of  Lytta  vittata.  Various  modes  of 
treatment  have  been  adopted  for  its  extermination.  Latterly  a  new 
enemy  has  appeared,  known  as  the  Colorado  beetle,  {BorypJiora  decemli- 
neata,)  which  is  more  destructive  than  the  former. 

The  unusual  ravages  of  these,  especially  the  latter,  have  awakened  a 
spirit  of  inquiry  as  to  an  appropriate  remedy,  and  a  number  of  valuable 
inventions  have  resulted  from  such  investigation.  Among  these,  we  find 
one  for  sifting  Paris  green  (arsenite  of  copper)  upon  the  growing  plants,  a 
view  of  which  is  shown  in  figure  3.    But  it  has  been  seriously  questioped 

whether  the  use  of  a  deadly  poison 
upon  food-producing  plants  is  a  jus- 
tifiable proceeding.  Is  it  not  pos- 
sible that  the  pores  of  plants  thus 
treated  will  absorb  some  of  the  poi- 
sonous elements,  thus  rendering  the 
product  unfit  for  the  human  stom- 
ach? It  is,  on  the  one  hand,  claimed 
that  in  those  sections  of  the  country 
Fig.  3.  where  Paris  green  has  been  used 

no  evil  has  resulted  from  its  use.  On  the  other  hand,  some  well- 
informed  physicians  claim  that  gastric  diseases  are  more  prevalent 
where  it  is  freely  used  than  in  adjoining  sections  where  it  is  not  used. 
It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  destruction  by  mechanical  means  is  a  safer 
method. 

Among  the  mechanical  devices  there  are  two  that  seem  to  be  quite 
feasible.    The  one  shown  in  figure  4  may  be  described  as  follows :  The 

rear  end  of  the  machine  is  mounted  upon 
two  wheels.  A  trough,  with  a  runner- 
like bow,  containing  some  adhesive  mat- 
ter, is  suspended  ui)on  each  side  of  the 
row.  A  vibrating  arm  or  beam,  carry- 
ing whisps  or  brushes,  is  adjustably  sus- 
pended from  the  frame,  and  as  the  ma- 
chine is  pushed  along  astride  the  row  of 
.plants  the  insects  are  shaken  into  the 
troughs,  from  which  they  are  unable  to 
escape. 
Another  machine,  constructed  upon 
Fig.  4.  the  same  general  ijrinciple,  instead  of 

having  a  trough,  with  adhesive  matter,  to  entrap  the  insects,  is  pro- 


EECENT   INVENTIONS   FOE   INSECT  DESTRUCTION. 


325 


Fisr.  i 


vided  with  a  pair  of  crushing-rollers,  as  shown  in  figure  5,  between 
which  the  insects  are  crushed.  The  ma- 
chine is  supported  upon  two  wheels,  one  in 
the  rear  of  the  other.  The  body  is  hopper- 
shaped,  with  a  pair  of  crushing-rollers  at 
the  bottom.  On  each  side  there  are  re- 
volving-wings, which  sweep  the  insects 
into  the  hopper,  and  in  addition  to  these 
there  are  two  gathering-fingers,  which' 
support  the  vines  during  the  passage  of 
the  machine. 

"  The  destructive  insects,  popularly  known  in  this  country  by  the  name 
of  grasshoppers,  but  which  in  our  version  of  the  Bible  and  other  works 
in  the  English  language  are  called  locusts,  have,  from  a  period  of  very 
high  antiquity,  attracted  the  attention  of  mankind  by  their  lamentable 
ravages.  It  should  be  here  remarked  that  in  America  the  name  of  locust 
is  very  improperly  given  to  the  Cicada  of  the  ancients,  or  the  harvest-fly 
of  English  writers." — Harris,  In  what  may  be  here  presented,  the  terms 
"locust"  and  "grasshopper"  may  be  taken  to  mean  one  and  the  same 
insect,  of  which  there  are  a  number  of  species,  all  of  which  belong  to  the 
order  Ortlioptera.  From  accounts  we  have  in  the  Bible,  and  the  relation 
of  modern  travelers  in  the  East,  we  learn  that  this  insect  has  again  and 
again  proved  a  terrible  scourge  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  quarter.  Al- 
though the  ravages  of  locusts  in  America  have  not  been  so  destructive  as 
in  the  eastern  continent,  yet  they  have  been  sufficiently  formidable  to  at- 
tract attention,  and  not  unfrequently  have  laid  waste  considerable  tracts 
of  country,  and  thus  have  occasioned  no  little  loss  to  the  cultiva- 
tors of  the  soil.  More  than  a  hundred  years  ago  different  parts  of 
New  England  suffered  severely  from  the  ravages  of  locusts.  It  is 
stated  in  Williamson's  History  of  Maine  that  in  1743  and  1756  they  cov- 
ered the  whole  country  and  threatened  to  devour  every  green  thing. 
Indeed,  so  great  was  the  alarm  they  occasioned  among  the  people,  that 
days  of  fasting  and  prayer  were  appointed  on  account  of  the  threatened 
calamity. 

Colorado,  Kansas,  Minnesota,  and  other  Northwestern  States  and 
Territories  have,  of  late  years,  suffered  severely  from  this  locust- 
scourge.  A  convention  of  governors  has  been  held  to  devise  ways  and 
means  to  stay  their  destructive  ravages,  and  a  commission  has  been 
created  by  Congress  to  investigate  the  subject,  and,  if  possible,  to 
devise  means  of  relief. 


PEOGEESS  OF  INDUSTEIAL  EDUCATION. 


In  thirty-six 'States  there  are  now  thirty-nine  colleges  which  have 
received  the  congressional  land-grant  of  July  2,  1862.  There  are  also 
branch  institutions  in  Georgia  and  Missouri.  The  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College  of  Texas  has  been  opened  during  the  year.  All  the 
colleges  are  now  in  operation,  except  that  of  Florida,  which  is  expected 
to  be  opened  early  in  1877.  The  professors  and  assistaaits  in  these  col- 
leges during  the  year  numbered  473,  and  the  students,  4,211.  There 
are  eleven  States  which  have  not  sold  all  the  scrip  or  land  granted  by 
Congress;  Illinois,.  Iowa,  Kansas,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Ne- 
braska, Nevada,  New  York,  Oregon,  and  Wisconsin.  They  have  sold 
during  the  year  51,405  acres,  at  an  average  price  of  S4.41  per  acre,  and 
1,463,505  remain  unsold.  The  largest  average  price  obtained  per  acre  by 
any  State  was  $8.38,  by  Michigan,  and  the  smallest,  $2.20,  by  Iowa.  The 
annual  interest  received  by  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges  of 
the  several  States  from  the  proceeds  of  all  the  lands  thus  far  sold 
amounts  this  year  to  $525,745.  Thirty-four  of  the  colleges  have  farms, 
which  contain,  in  the  aggregate,  15,418  acres,  and  their  estimated  value 
is  $1,321,092.  Statistics  more  in  detail  may  be  found  in  the  tables  at  the 
close  of  this  article. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  some  of  the  colleges  of  which  a  report  is  made  in 
the  folowiug  pages,  the  number  of  students  i)ursuing  agricultural  or  me- 
chanical studies  is  much  smaller  in  proportion  to  the  number  in  attendance 
than  in  others.  This  may  be  owing  to  several  causes.  In  some  cases 
the  colleges  have  been  recently  established,  and  have  not  yet  been 
brought  into  practical  working  order ;  in  others  the  students  were  poorly 
prepared  when  they  entered,  in  conse(fuence  of  the  low  standard  of 
education  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  in  others  inducements  were 
greater  to  enter  upon  other  courses  of  study  which  seemed  to  promise 
more  immediate  prolit ;  but  these  embarrassments  are  gradually  becom- 
ing less,  and  when  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  require  higher  quali- 
fications for  their  practice  and  become  more  remunerative,  they  will, 
no  doubt,  entirely  disappear.  Some  of  the  colleges  have  ali-eady  at- 
tained a  high  standard  of  excellence,  considering  the  time  they  have 
been  in  operation  and  the  fact  that  they  have  largely  to  educate  their 
own  educators.  A  large  number  of  students  graduate  at  these  colleges 
every  year,  and  enter  upon  practical  farming  and  the  mechanic  arts,  or 
become  professors  in  industrial  institutions  of  our  own  or  other  countries. 

AT.AT^AMA, 

Agricultural  and  Zlechanical  College  of  Alabama,  at  Auhurn  /  Rev.  1.  T. 
Tichenor,  D.  D., president. — "Our  college," says  the  president,  "is  steadily 
increasing  in  popularity.  The  people  of  the  State  are  beginning  to 
understand  our  aims  and  to  appreciate  our  efforts."  During  the  year 
French  and  German  books,  plates,  and  models,  and  various  kinds  of  ap- 
paratus have  been  imported  for  reference  and  illustration  of  the  difter- 
ent  branches  taught. 
386 


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PROGRESS    OF    INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  327 

The  college-farm  contains  100  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $2,000.  The 
soil  is  naturally  poor,  but  by  skillful  cultivation  and  manuring  it  has 
been  greatly  improved.  Crops  of  corn,  wheat,  oats,  cotton,  grasses,  and 
a  great  variety  of  vegetables  have  been  cultivated  during  the  yenr.  Not- 
withstanding the  season  was  very  unfavorable,  in  consequence  of  severe 
drought,  corn  yielded  50  bushels,  wheat  18J  bushels,  and  cotton  400 
pounds  per  acre.  The  great  success  attending  the  ellbrts  to  improve 
the  fertility  of  the  college-farm  has  excited  much  interest  among  the 
neighboring  farmers,  and  led  to  a  general  improvement  of  the  agricult- 
ure of  the  surrounding  country.  Similar  success  has  attended  the 
labors  of  the  superintendent  of, the  experimental  farm,  called  the  Ex- 
perimental Station,  near  Courtland,  in  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  referred  to  in  our  report  for  1875.  The  superintendent  says: 
"  The  grasses  are  splendid,  far  exceeding  my  most  sanguine  hopes,  and 
came  out  of  the  drought  unscathed,  except  timothy,  which  is  not  so 
promising.  They  are  the  admiration  of  all  who  see  them,  and  demon- 
strate that  ours  is  a  grass-growing  country. 

The  college  building,  represented  in  the  accompanying  engraving,  is 
a  fine  brick  edifice,  70  feet  long,  GO  wide,  and  tbree  stories  high  above 
the  basement,  and  is  said  to  be  the  best-constructed  building  in  the 
State.  In  the  basement  there  are  seven  rooms,  and  twenty-six  in  the 
stories  above.  They  consist  of  lecture,  recitation,  professors'  laboratory, 
cabinet,  library,  drawing,  reading,  assembly,  and  ordnance  rooms,  and 
a  gymnasium.  They  are  well  finished  and  airy,  those  of  the  basement 
being  10  feet  high,  of  the  first  and  second  stories  17,  and  of  the  third  13, 
and  each  of  the  towers  is  85.  The  sum  of  $1,400  has  been  expended 
during  the  year  for  improvements  of  various  kinds  and  repairs  on  the 
buildings.  The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  con- 
gressional land-scrip  is  nominally  $20,280,  but  in  consequence  of  the 
depreciated  State  certificates  in  which  it  is  paid  the  college  actually 
receives,  on  an  average,  only  about  $16,224. 

Professors  during  the  collegiate  year,  5 ;  assistants,  2 ;  students,  104j 
pursuing  agricultural  or  mechanical  studies,  80. 

ARKANSAS. 

ArJcansas Industrial  University,  at Fayetteville ;  iV.P.  Gates,  A.M. ^presi- 
dent.— The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  now  amounts  to  $10,400.  The  experimental  farm  contains 
IGO  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $12,000.  Experiments  have  been  made 
in  testing  the  qualities  and  adaptability  of  Tapi)ahannock  wheat, 
Surprise  oats,  and  clover.  Ten  acres  seeded  to  clover,  which  has 
been  considered  a  very  doubtful  crop  in  Arkansas,  have  yielded  very 
largely,  and  indications  are  that  it  will  succeed  well  in  that  climate  on 
soil  properly  prepared.  All  the  labor  on  the  farm  has  been  performed 
by  the  students  at  prices  varying  from  5  to  10  cents  per  hour,  according 
to  their  efficiency  or  skill. 

Professors  in  the  university,  9 ;  assistants,  3;  students,  270;  students 
iu  the  agricultural  course,  25 ;  in  the  mechanical,  20.  The  professors  give 
instruction  in  common  in  the  university  and  the  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical department. 

CALIFORNIA. 

.  University  of  California — Colleges  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanics,  at 
Berkeley;  John  Le  Conte,  31.  D.,  president. — The  course  of  study  in  the 
college  of  agriculture  has  been  so  changed  during  the  year  as  to  include 


328         REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

three  instead  of  two  years  in  the  undergraduate  course,  general  and 
economic  botany  being  taught  in  the  sophomore  instead  of  the  junior 
year.  Students  are  not  only  enrolled  in  separate  colleges,  but  in  each 
college  they  may  enter  on  regular  or  special  courses.  The  special  courses 
are  adapted  to  those  who  desire  to  acquire  proficiency  in  a  single  branch, 
or  -who  are  unable  to  remain  long  enough  to  pursue  a  full  course.  Spe- 
cialists are  also  received  into  post-graduate  courses  in  chemistry  and  engi- 
neering, and  such  other  specialties  as  may  be  provided  by  the  heads  of 
thediiferent  departments.  An  opportunity  is  thus  offered  to  any  student 
who  jnay  feel  himself  deficient  in  a  branch  of  study  which  he  has  pur- 
sued in  the  regular  course  to  acquire  such  additional  information  as  he 
may  desire. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant,  is  now  $45,000.  The  college-farm  contains  200  acres,  and 
valued  at  8200,000.  This  includes  the  whole  domain  at  Berkeley, 
40  acres  of  which  have  been  under  cultivation  with  experimental 
crops.  It  is  the  design  of  the  university  to  develop  this  domain 
for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  capabilities  of  the  State  for  special 
cultures,  as  forests,  fruits,  field-crops,  &c.  It  wUl,  therefore,  be  the 
station  where  new  plants  and  processes  will  be  tested  and  the  results 
made  known  to  the  public.  Experiments  have  been  made  on  the  effects 
of  different  depths  of  plowing  and  on  five  kinds  of  fertilizers  in  the  pro- 
duction of  wheat  and  oats.  In  the  laboratory,  investigations  have  been 
conducted  in  the  analyses  of  soils,  subsoils,  fertilizers,  waters  and  their 
purification,  grape  sirups,  seeds  of  the  Ehamnus  Californicus,  proposed 
as  a  substitute  for  coffee,  and  of  commercial  products  for  economic  use. 
The  garden  of  economic  botany  has  also  been  improved  by  grading  and 
underdraining. 

Professors  in  the  colleges,  10;  .assistants,  9;  students,  50  j  professors 
in  all  the  departments,  12 ;  assistants,  23  j  students,  307. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Yale  College — Sheffield  ScientifiG  School  at  Netc  Haven;  Rev.  Ifoali  Por- 
ter, D.  ]).,  LL.  D.,  'president. — The  Peabody  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
referred  to  in  our  last  report  is  now  completed,  at  a  cost  of  $140,000 ; 
includiug  cases,  $175,000.  The  money  was  given  for  this  purpose  by 
George  Peabody,  of  London.  The  plan  of  the  building  is  so  arranged 
that  it  can  be  enlarged  at  any  time  when  more  room  is  needed  with- 
out injuring  its  symmetry  or  beauty.  The  basement  is  devoted  to  the 
sandstone  collections  of  fossil  foot-prints  from  the  Connecticut  Valley 
and  to  work  and  store  rooms ;  the  first  story,  to  the  mineral-cabinet 
and  recitation  and  lecture  rooms;  the  second,  to  geology;  the  third, 
to  zoology;  the  fourth,  to  archsBology  and  ethnology.  A  part  of  the 
collections  have  already  been  deposited  in  their  appropriate  rooms  and 
systematically  arranged.  The  museum  is  now  open  to  students  daily. 
Instruction  in  mineralogy,  zoology,  and  comparative  anatomy  will  be 
given  in  this  building,  and  the  laboratory  of  determinative  mineralogy 
has  already  been  moved  into  it.  During  the  past  two  years  two  pro- 
fessors have  been  added  to  the  faculty  of  the  school,  William  G-.  Mix- 
ter.  Ph.  B.,  professor  of  chemistry,  and  Sidney  I.  Smith,  Ph.  B.,  profes- 
sor of  comparative  anatomy.  These  professorships  are  both  new,  and 
the  gentlemen  selected  to  fill  them  have  prepared  themselves  by  study 
in  this  country  and  in  Germany  with  special  reference  to  the  particular 
branches  they  are  required  to  teach. 

Large  additions  have  been  made  to  the  zoological  collections,  consist- 


PROGRESS   OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  329 

ing  of  fishes,  insects,  and  a  vast  number  of  the  lower  orders  of  inverte- 
brates. The  geological  cabinet  has  also  been  increased  by  several 
thousand  species  of  interesting  vertebrate  fossils,  collected  in  different 
parts  of  our  country.  Among  the  especially  interesting  additions  may 
be  mentioned  the  skeleton  of  the  celebrated  mare  Esnea,  imported  from 
Arabia,  and  a  series  of  fifty  casts  of  human  and  other  mammalian 
brains,  obtained  from  the  Eoyal  College  of  Surgeons,  London.  In  geol- 
ogy, excursions  are  made  for  the  purpose  of  examining  geological  phe- 
nomena and  making  special  collections  of  rocks  and  minerals.  The 
governing  board  in  their  report  say  that  the  school  has  always  had  stu- 
dents pursuing  agricultural  sndies,  although  the  number  taking  the 
regular  agricultural  course  has  been  small ;  that  its  teachers  in  agricult- 
ure from  the  foundation  of  the  school  have  wielded  a  powerful  infiuence, 
not  only  in  this  State,  but  also  throughout  the  whole  country,  in  matters 
appertaining  to  both  practical  and  scientific  agriculture,  and  that  the 
trustees  have  constantly  endeavored  to  carry  out  the  intent  of  the  con- 
gressional act  of  1862  in  every  particular.  The  annual  interest  derived 
from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-grant  is  $8,100.  A  dona- 
tion of  $1,000  has  been  made  for  painting  Sheffield  Hall,  and  the  work 
was  completed  during  the  summer  vacation. 

Professors  in  the  scientific  school,  IG ;  assistants,  15 ;  students,  230  ; 
professors  in  all  the  departments,  48 ;  assistants,  41 ;  students,  1,021. 


DELAWARE. 

Delaivare  College,  at  Netoarlc;  William  E.  Purnell,  LL.D.,  president— 
No  changes  have  been  made  in  the  general  management  of  the  college. 
The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land- 
scrip  grant  is  now  $4,980.  The  professor  of  agriculture  has  a  farm  of 
80  acres.  The  students  cultivate  portions  of  it  for  instruction  in  prac- 
tical agriculture,  while  those  who  perform  labor  not  educational  receive 
a  liberal  compensation,  by  which  they  are  enabled  to  pay  a  part  of  their 
college  expenses.  It  is  the  design  of  the  college  to  give  the  students 
such  a  course  of  thorough  instruction  in  agriculture  as  will  enable  them 
to  conduct  the  operations  of  the  farm  intelligently  and  profitably,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  secure  thorough  mental  discipline  by  the  introduction 
of  such  other  studies  as  constitute  a  substantial  education.  The  usual 
crops  have  been  cultivated  on  the  farm,  among  which  the  sugar-beet 
has  received  special  attention  by  the  professor  of  agriculture,  who  prom- 
ises a  full  account  of  his  experiments  and  their  results  in  a  report  soon 
to  be  published. 

Professors,  5 ;  assistants,  3 ;  students,  43,  16  of  whom  were  pursuing 
agricultural  or  mechanical  studies. 

FLORIDA. 

Florida  State  Agricultural  College,  at  Uau  Gallic ;  Mr.  William  WatJcin 
Hides  president  of  the  trustees. — The  college  building,  referred  to  in  our 
report  of  last  year,  has  been  completed.  It  is  fire-proof,  having  stone 
partitions  between  the  rooms  and  a  tin  roof,  and  is  designed  principally 
for  lecture-rooms.  A  dormitory,  tool-house,  and  other  outbuildings  have 
also  been  built  during  the  year.  The  trustees  intend  to  erect  the  main 
college  edifice  and  several  cottages  as  soon  as  the  means  can  be  fur- 
nished. The  college  has  not  yet  been  opened,  but  it  is  expected  that 
the  work  of  instruction  will  commence  early  in  the  spring  of  1877.  Pro- 
fessor A.  G.  Hill  has  been  employed  by  the  trustees  to  take  charge  of 


330         EEPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTUEE. 

the  buildings,  the  improvement  of  the  college-grounds,  and  the  experi- 
mental farm.  A  fine  pair  of  mules  and  the  necessary  tools  for  farm- 
work  have  been  provided,  and  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  clearing  up 
the  farm  for  planting  an  orange-grove  and  other  tropical  fruits. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  now  amounts  to  86,068,  and  is  paid  regularly  in  gold.  The 
college  ovv^ns  4,000  acres  of  good  land,  mostly  wild,  which  is  valued  at 
$0,000,  and  the  improvements  already  made  at  §2,500.  Of  this  land, 
2,320  acres,  besides  several  village  lots,  were  given  by  W.  H.  Gleason, 
and  1,000  by  W.  E.  Arno. 

An  avenue  nearly  two  miles  long  and  various  cross-streets  about 
the  buildings  have  been  opened  and  are  in  good  condition  for  travel. 
An  avenue  has  also  been  opened  from  Indian  liiver  to  Lake  Washing- 
ton, a  distance  of  six  miles.  It  passes  through  the  college  lands  and 
greatly  increases  their  value.  About  one  hundred  lots  in  the  village- 
plat  have  been  surveyed  and  will  soon  be  put  into  the  market  for  sale. 
All  the  land,  except  what  is  reserved  for  the  college  grounds,  park,  and 
experimental  farm,  will  ultimately  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  college. 
College  Place  is  opposite  to  College  Park,  and  is  designed  for  the  site 
of  the  main  college  edifice.  The  location  is  high,  salubrious,  and  pic- 
turesque. 

GEORGIA. 

University  of  Georgia — Georgia  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  the 
Mechanic  Arts^  at  Athens;  Rev.  Henry  H.  Tuclcer.  I).  D.,  LL.  D.,  chan- 
cellor of  the  university ;  L.  H.  Charbo7inier,  A.  M.,  president  of  the  college. — 
No  important  changes  have  been  made  during  the  year.  A  considera- 
ble amount  of  apparatus  has  been  purchased  for  illustration  in  natural 
history  and  chemistry.  The  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the 
congressional  land-grant  is  now  $17,010,  of  which  $3,000  are  paid  to 
the  North  Georgia  Agricultural  College,  at  Dahlonega.  The  college 
farm  contains  60  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $1,500,  not  incliiding  the  stone 
house  on  it,  which  originally  cost  $24,000.  Experiments  have  been 
made  on  the  farm  in  the  culture  of  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  pota- 
toes. The  prominent  agricultural  studies  with  which  the  students  are 
required  to  become  familiar  are  agricultural  chemistry,  physics,  mechan- 
ics, botany,  zoology,  economics,  geology,  and  jurisprudence 

It  is  proposed  by  the  trustees  to  put  in  operation,  as  soon  as  means 
will  permit,  a  physical  laboratory,  in  which  students  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  experimentally  verifying  tlie  laws  of  mechanics  and  physics 
illustrated  in  the  lecture-room  ;  such  as  the  laws  of  the  mechanical 
powers,  friction,  specific  gravity,  hydronomics,  heat,  electricity,  and 
magnetism.  A  large  hall,  34  by  50  feet,  is  used  by  the  students  in 
drawing.  They  are  employed  in  this  exercise  during  a  part  of  the 
course  from  one  to  two  hours  each  day.  The  full  course  includes 
orthographic  and  isometrical  projections,  development  of  surfaces,  prac- 
tical perspective,  linear,  free-hand,  and  object  drawing,  building  and 
architectural  drawing,  masonry  drawing,  drafting  for  carpenters,  me- 
chanical drawing,  drawing  and  shading  from  solid  objects,  drawing 
copies,  as  teeth  of  wheels,  details  of  the  steam-engine,  lathes,  drilling- 
machines,  pumping-machines,  and  hydraulic-presses.  The  students  are 
exercised  in  military  tactics  three  times  a  week  during  the  year.  The 
State  legislature,  at  its  last  session,  granted  to  the  university  two  hun- 
dred stands  of  arms,  to  be  used  by  the  students  of  the  State  college  and 
the  academic  departments.  One  hundred  stands  have  already  been 
received.  All  the  students  of  these  departments  are  required  to  take 
paxt  in  the  regular  military  drills  unless  excused  for  satisfactory  reasons. 


PROGRESS    OP   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  331 

Professors  in  the  college,  8 ;  students,  93  j  professors  in  all  the  de- 
partments, 28 ;  assistants,  5 ;  students,  512. 

North  Georf/ia  Agricultural  College,  {a  department  of  theuniversity,)  at 
Dahlonega;  David  W.  Leivis,  A.M.,  president. — The  part  of  the  annual 
interest  received  by  this  college  on  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  $3,000.  The  college-farm  contains  25  acres,  and  is  valued 
at  $1,000.  In  consequence  of  its  limited  means,  and  for  other  reasons, 
the  college  has  not  been  able  to  enter  upon  experiments  in  practical 
agriculture  on  the  farm.  Most  of  the  young  men  in  the  college  are  the 
sons  of  farmers,  who  have  more  knowledge  of  farming  than  of  books. 
As  soon  as  they  are  sufficiently  advanced  in  the  rudimentary  branches, 
they  will  enter  upon  a  regular  course  of  instruction  in  agriculture. 
Education  in  that  part  of  the  State  is  in  a  backward  condition,  and  the 
board  of  trustees  have  been  making  strenuous  efforts  to  raise  the 
standard  by  establishing  common  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  surround-* 
ing  country,  and  educating  competent  teachers  to  instruct  them.  For 
this  purpose  a  normal  department  has,  for  some  time,  been  established 
in  connection  with  the  college,  and  no  fewer  than  fifty  young  men  and 
women  who  received  their  education  in  this  school  were  engaged  as 
teachers  duiing  a  i^ortion  of  this  year. 

The  trustees  are  now  fitting  up  rooms,  which  will  be  free  of  rent, 
expressly  for  young  men  who  obligate  themselves  to  teach  in  the  fall 
months.  By  these  facilities,  and  free  tuition,  the  expenses  of  living 
have  been  much  diminished,  and  students,  by  clubbing  together,  have, 
in  some  instances,  reduced  them  to  about  $6  per  month.  As  soon  as 
the  students  and  people  are  prepared  for  it,  and  means  can  be  provided, 
it  is  proposed  by  the  trustees  to  establish  a  school  of  mines  as  a  depart- 
ment of  the  college.  Dahlonega  is  located  in  the  midst  of  the  gold-belt 
of  Georgia.  Gold-mines  exist  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  college, 
and  nearly  all  the  precious  metals  may  be  found  within  a  short  dis- 
tance from  it.  In  the  opinion  of  Professor  Raymond  and  other  geolo- 
gists, no  better  location  for  such  a  school  can  be  found  in  the  United 
States.  Many  of  the  young  men  now  in  the  college  have  some  practi- 
cal knowledge  of  mines  and  mining.  The  college  has  been  in  operation 
four  years,  and  has  already  had  under  its  instruction  nearly  one  thou- 
sand students.  The  average  attendance  has  been  very  high,  not  being 
surpassed  by  any  other  institution  iu  the  State. 

Professors,  5 ;  students,  245,  30  of  whom  pursued  agricultural  or  me- 
chanical studies. 

ILLINOIS. 

Illinois  Industrial  University,  at  TJrhana ;  John  M.  Gregory,  LL.  D., 
regent. — The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congres- 
sional land-grant  is  now  $28,200.  iSTone  of  the  land  has  been  sold 
during  the  year.  Experiments  were  made  on  the  experimental  farm 
with  chemical  and  other  fertilizers  to  ascertain  their  relative  value  as 
compared  with  stable-manures  in  the  different  modes  of  applying  the 
latter,  and  in  feeding  cattle  to  test  the  effect  of  the  quantity  of  food 
consumed.  Investigations  have  also  been  made  upon  the  temperature 
of  the  soil  in  different  situations  and  under  different  treatment,  upon 
the  depth  of  roots  of  ordinary  field-crops,  and  upon  microscopic  and  in- 
jurious fungi.  The  experimental  farm  contains  IGO  acres,  and  is  valued 
at  $16,000.  It  is  used  for  experiments  iu  testing  the  different  varieties 
and  modes  of  culture  iu  field-crops  and  in  the  treatment  of  soils,  about 
GO  acres  being  devoted  to  this  purpose.  It  is  also  used  for  exi)eri- 
ments  in  horticulture  and  feeding  animals  of  different  ages  and  develop- 


332  EEPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

ment  on  various  kinds  of  food.  There  is  another  farm  called  the  stock- 
farm.  It  contains  410  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $40,000.  A  large  stock- 
barn  has  been  provided  for  it,  with  fronts  north  and  west,  each  80  feet 
long,  and  each  limb  or  L  is  40  feet  wide,  being  fitted  up  with  stables, 
pens,  yards,  cooking-rooms,  steam-boiler  for  steaming  food,  and  engine 
for  grinding,  thrashing,  and  cutting.  This  farm  is  designed  more 
especially  for  breeding  and  rearing  all  kinds  of  valuable  stock,  but  is 
also  used  to  illustrate  practical  agriculture  and  to  exhibit  to  farmers 
a  model  farm.  The  barn  on  the  experimental  farm  is  of  less  size, 
but  is  fitted  up  with  great  convenience,  and  supplied  with  a  mill  for 
grinding  feed,  which  is  run  by  a  large  windmill.  These  farms  have 
been  very  sucessfully  conducted  daring  the  year  under  the  direction  of 
the  head  farmer,  Mr.  Edwin  L.  Lawrence,  both  in  experiments  and  profit, 
showing  a  balance  of  about  $3,500  in  their  favor. 

The  university  claims  to  have  made  a  larger  exhibit  at  the  Centennial 
than  any  other  institution  of  learning,  for  which  it  receiviad  a  medal. 
Medals  were  also  awarded  to  it  for  a  cabinet  of  the  woods  and  minerals 
of  Illinois,  which  it  collected.  It  also  exhibited  a  collection  of  climatic 
varieties  of  maize,  obtained  from  the  whole  extent  of  the  corn-growing 
region  of  the  Korth  American  Continent.  The  practical  departments 
are  gaining  in  popularity  and  efficiency,  and  the  number  of  students 
is  increasing.  In  the  machine-shop  the  odontograph,  referred  to  last 
year,  is  now  made  in  quantities  for  sale  to  the  trade.  Three  other  in- 
ventions have  been  patented.-  A  number  of  compound  microscopes, 
excellent  working  instruments  of  new  patterns,  are  now  being  finished. 

Professors  in  the  university,  13;  assistants,  14;  students,  386;  of  whom 
303  were  gentlemen  and  83  ladies;  professors  and  assistants  engaged  in 
giving  instruction  in  agricultural  and  mechanical  studies,  15;  students 
in  agriculture  and  horticulture,  49 ;  in  mechanical  studies,  138. 

INDIANA. 

Purdue  TJnwersity — Indiana  Agricultural  College^  at  La  Fayette ;  Emer- 
son E.  WJiite,  LL.  Z>.,  president. — Judge  John  Purdue,  who  donated 
$150,000  to  the  university,  died  on  the  12th  of  September,  1870,  in  the 
seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age.  The  money  was  to  be  paid  in  ten  equal 
installments  of  $15,000  each.  x\t  the  time  of  his  death  six  installments, 
$90,000,  had  been  paid,  and  the  remainder,  $60,000,  was  voluntarily 
secured  by  him  on  a  valuable  tract  of  real  estate  situated  in  Warren 
County.  The  university  has  been  reorganized  during  the  year,  and  now 
embraces  three  departments :  1  the  university  academy;  2  the  college  of 
general  science;  3  special  schools  of  science  and  technology.  The  agri- 
cultural and  mechanical  college  is  included  in  the  last  department, 
which  embraces  the  schools  of  agriculture  and  horticulture,  civil  engi- 
neering, industrial  design,  physics  and  mechanics,  chemistry  and  me- 
tallurgy, and  natural  history. 

The  buildings  of  the  university  now  completed  and  in  use  are  the 
boarding-house,  dormitory,  laboratory,  boiler  and  gas  house,  military 
hall,  gymnasium,  farm-house,  and  barn.  The  barn  has  been  built  during 
the  year,  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  It  is  42  by  GO  feet,  with  stone  basement, 
and  all  the  improvements  of  modern  construction.  The  rooms  of  the 
dormitory  are  now  used  for  recitation-rooms,  cabinet,  and  library. 
A  large  college  building,  with  suitable  rooms  for  recitation,  chapel, 
library,  cabinet,  and  societies  is  now  in  course  of  construction.  The 
foundation-walls  and  basement-story  are  finished,  and  it  is  expected  that 
the  building  will  be  completed  during  1877.    Other  improvements  have 


PROGRESS   OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  333 

been  made  on  grounds,  farm,  &c.,  to  the  amount  of  $4,239.  Also,  $3,442 
were  paid  for  apparatus  and  machinery,  and  $1,051  for  books  and  peri- 
odicals. The  college  is  well  supplied  with  apparatus  for  imparting  in- 
struction in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  The  farm  is  large,  in 
good  condition,  and  well  stocked ;  and  students  in  the  mechanic  arts  have 
an  opportunity  of  working  a  part  of  each  day  at  the  bench,  vise,  lathe, 
drill,  or  planer.  In  the  laboratory  analyses  have  been  made  in  various 
soils,  indigenous  woods,  and  milk  from  the  farm-cows.  A  large  number 
of  forest  and  ornamented  trees  have  been  set  out,  two  acres  planted  with 
grapes,  and  four  acres  with  orchard-trees  of  various  kinds. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  now  $20,314.  The  college  farm  contains  159  acres,  and 
is  valued  at  $47,700.  Experiments  have  been  made  in  the  culture  of 
various  crops.  One  hundred  and  sixty  bushels  of  Fultz  wheat  were 
raised  on  five  and  one-third  acres,  120  bushels  of  Alabama  wheat  on  live 
and  two-thirds  acres,  360  bushels  of  oats  on  ten  acres,  1,950  bushels  of 
corn  on  thirty  acres,  75  tons  of  hay  on  forty-five  acres,  and  a  large  supply 
of  garden  vegetables  for  the  boarding-house  during  the  season  and  for 
winter  use.  Five  thorough-bred  Jersey  cattle  and  several  Berkshire, 
Essex,  and  Poland-China  swine  have  been  added  to  the  live  stock  kept 
on  the  farm.  The  herd  of  cattle  now  consists  of  five  short-horns  and 
five  Jerseys.    Tiie  five  short-horns  cost  $3,000. 

Professors  in  the  university,  6 ;  assistants,  2;  students,  120;  16  of 
whom  are  in  the  regular  university  classes,  and  the  remainder,  104,  are 
in  the  preparatory  department.  Only  one  student  has  been  pursuing 
a  course  of  agricultural  studies,  but  it  is  probable  that  several  now  in 
the  preparatory  department  will  enter  upon  this  course  when  they  are 
properly  prepared  to  do  so. 

IOWA. 

Iowa  State  Agricultural  College^  at  Ames;  A.  8.  Welch,  LL.  D.,  j)rm- 
dent. — It  has  been  a  prominent  object  of  the  trustees  to  make  this  college 
really  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  institution.  Seven-eighths  of  the 
branches  taught  have  an  immediate  relation  to  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts.  During  the  year  special  courses  have  been  prepared  in 
chemistry,  botany,  veterinary  science,  geologj'-,  physics,  and  general 
agriculture ;  so  that  any  student  who  desires  to  do  so  may  become  a 
proficient  in  any  one  of  them.  A  boiler-house  has  been  erected  and  a 
new  heating  apparatus  put  into  the  main  college  building,  by  which  it 
is  heated  throughout  by  steam.  The  building  has  also  been  thoroughly 
repaired,  at  an  expense  of  $15,000.  The  heating  apparatus  cost  $11,000. 
Seven  i^ure  blood  short-horns  have  been  purchased  for  the  farm. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  i3roceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  now  amounts  to  $34,822.  The  number  of  acres  of  the  grant 
sold  during  the  fiscal  year  is  5,956,  at  $2.20  per  acre,  and  the  number 
remaining  unsold  is  175,244.  The  experimental  farm  contains  850  acres, 
and  is  valued  at  $51,000.  Experiments  have  been  made  with  different 
varieties  of  grain  and  corn,  and  with  grasses;  also,  chemical  analyses  of 
several  of  the  cereals,  as  corn,  oats,  rye,  and  barley,  have  been  made  by 
the  chemist.  Nearly  all  the  heavy  work  on  the  farm  has  been  performed 
by  students,  largely  from  the  freshman  class,  who  have  been  paid  for 
their  labor  from  3  to  9  cents  per  hour.  A  few  seniors,  who  have  special 
capacity  for  the  business,  are  employed  as  foremen  under  the  several 
superintendents.  At  the  spring  of  the  year  the  young  men  are  detailed 
for  manual  labor,  in  convenient  numbers,  to  the  farm,  garden,  and  work- 
shop j  and  the  young  women  are  api^ointed  to  the  different  departments 


334         REPORT  OP   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

of  the  diuing-room  and  kitchen.  No  difference  is  made  in  the  pay  of 
jouDg  men  and  young  women  for  their  labor. 

Sixty-nine  of  the  mnety-niue  counties  of  the  State  sent  students  to  the 
college.  The  largest  number  was  from  Story  County,  in  which  the  colleo-e 
IS  located,  being  fifty-six.  Several  hundred  volumes  have  been  added 
to  the  library,  which  now  contains  5,000  volumes,  among  which  may  be 
mentioned  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  and 
the  American  Cyclopaedia,  Audubon's  Birds  of  America,  and  the  promi- 
nent works  on  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  applied  science. 

Professors,  7;  assistants,  8;  students,  300;  02  of  whom  were  in  the 
agricultural  course  and  13  in  the  mechanical. 

KANSAS. 

Kansas  State  Agricultural  College,  at  Manhattan;  Rev.  John  A.  Ander- 
son, preside^it.—Dnv'mg  the  year  a  laboratory  building,  having  the 
form  of  a  cross,  has  been  built  of  stone^  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  It  is 
one  story,  containing  a  large  office,  lecture-room,  balance-room,  and 
tour  spacious  rooms  for  laboratory  work.  The  professor  of  chemistry 
William  K.  Kedzie,  says  that  the  building  has  more  than  realized  the 
expectations  which  had  been  entertained  of  it.  The  water-system 
proves  perfect.  The  sky-light  ventilators  maintain  the  air  of  the  work- 
ing-laboratory as  fresh  as  a  home  parlor.  The  system  of  sky-light  ven- 
tilators in  the  large  physical  laboratory  gives  not  only  admirable  per- 
pendicular light  for  handling  apparatus,  but,  when  partitioned  off  by 
white  screens,  furnishes  an  apartment  for  photograph  purposes  which  is 
equaled  by  few  galleries  in  the  State.  Also  a  stone  horticultural  build- 
ing ha^  been  erected,  one  story  high,  with  basement,  and  containing  two 
large  lecture-rooms,  recitation-rooms,  workshop,  and  cellars.  Besides 
these,  a  small  blacksmith-shop,  with  two  forges,  has  been  built.  The 
college  buildings  now  completed  are  as  follows :  The  old  college  build- 
ing, three  stories,  40  by  60;  college  building,  two  stories,  42  by  100; 
laboratory  building,  one  story,  109  by  109 ;  horticultural  building,  one 
story,  31  by  80;  mechanical  building,  two  stories,  38  by  102;  and  black- 
smith-shop, 20  by  40 ;  all  of  stone  except  the  latter,  which  is  of  wood. 

The  college-farm  contains  255  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $25,000.  Ex- 
periments have  been  made  with  corn,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  potatoes,  and 
grasses.  In  the  experiment  of  potatoes,  250  varieties  were  employed, 
including  nearly  all  those  cultivated  in  the  Eastern  States.  Those  which 
succeeded  best  were  the  Kansas,  Cheuery,  Red  Jacket,  Carpenter's  Seed- 
ling, Extra  Early  White,  Great  Britain,  and  Ohio  Beauty.  Among  the 
forage-plants  and  grasses,  alfalfa,  timothy,  and  orchard-grass  proved  the 
most  satisfactory.  The  result  of  the  experiment  with  corn,  by  plant- 
ing in  hills  and  drills,  was  621  bushels  per  acre  by  the  former  mode  and 
71  by  the  latter.  An  experiment  in  labor  on  the  farm  is  being  tried  by 
giving  to  each  student  who  desires  it  the  use  of  a  plat  of  land,  teams, 
&c.,  and  allowing  him  to  cultivate  it  as  he  pleases,  under  the  direction 
ot  the  superintendent,  and  to  have  the  profit  of  the  crop.  This  is  extra 
labor,  as  all  the  students  are  required  by  the  regulations  of  the  college 
to  devote  daily  one  hour  each  to  educational  labor  without  compensa- 
tion. 

The  annual  interest  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land- 
grant  IS  $20,491.  During  the  fiscal  year  5,604  acres  have  been  sold,  at 
$a.83  per  acre,  and  31,461  acres  remain  unsold.  A  paper,  called  the  In- 
dustrial, is  published  weekly  by  the  printing  department  of  the  college, 


PR0GRESS   OP  INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  335 

on  a  neat  quarto  sheet,  at  75  cents  per  year,  postage  prepaid.    It  is  de- 
voted principally  to  science  and  college  matters. 

Professors,  G;' assistants,  8;  lecturers,  2;  students,  303. 186  males  and 
117  females,  all  pursuing  agricultural  or  mechanical  studies.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  six  years'  course  of  study,  females  receive  practical 
instruction  in  dress-making,  printing,  telegraphy,  scroll-sawing,  carv- 
ing, engraving,  photography,  and  instrumental  music. 

.      KENTUCKY. 

KenUicky  University — Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College^  at  Lexing- 
ton; Jolm  B.  Bowman,  LL.  D.,  regent. — Ko  changes  have  been  made  in 
the  course  of  study,  except  that  the  military  school  has  been  placed  on 
the  same  basis  as  the  other  schools  and  made  optional.  The  patronage 
of  the  college  hus  been  considerably  reduced  for  the  last  two  or  three 
years  by  the  necessity  of  discouraging  the  attendance  of  poor  young 
men,  not  State  students,  who  wished  to  secure  their  education  by  their 
labor,  for  the  compensation  of  which  no  means  were  available. 

The  farm  contains  433  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $130,000.  Experiments 
have  been  made  with  new  varieties  of  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  hemp.  The 
Clawson  wheat,  furnished  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  proved  to 
be  a  successful  variety.  Valuable  collections  of  plants  have  been  re- 
ceived from  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  and  the  superintendent 
of  the  congressional  greenhouses  at  XVashington.  The  annual  interest 
derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-grant  is  $9,900. 

Professors  in  the  college,  7;  assistant,  1;  students,  94,  all  pursuing 
agricultural  or  mechanical  studies;  i)rofessors  in  the  university,  24; 
assistants,  3;  students,  273. 

LOUISIANA. 

Louisiana  State  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  at  New  Orleans; 
Mr.  J.  L.  Gross,  president. — The  "  board  of  control"  say  that  the  college 
has  made  very  satisfactory  progress  during  the  past  year,  and  that,  con- 
sidering the  short  time  it  has  been  in  operation  and  the  limited  means  at 
its  command,  they  may  justly  feel  a  pride  in  its  present  flourishing  condi- 
tion. At  the  close  of  the  summer  session  six  gold  medals  were  bestowed 
on  the  most  deserving  students,  according  to  general  merit,  as  indicated 
by  the  result  of  daily  markings  for  scholarship  and  deportment.  The 
night-school  has  been  continued  for  the  convenience  of  mechanics  and 
other  students,  who,  in  consequence  of  daily  labor  at  their  trades,  can- 
not attend  during  the  day;  and  such  has  been  its  popularity  and  success, 
that  there  are  now  fifty  students  in  constant  attendance  on  its  exercises. 
The  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus  is  quite  deficient  at  present, 
but  additions  will  be  made  as  soon  as  an  appropriation  from  the  State 
can  be  obtained. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  land-scrip 
grant  now  amounts  to  $18,734.  The  part  of  the  fund,  amounting  to 
$130,800,  pledged  by  the  State  to  make  good  the  loss  occasioned  when 
the  proceeds  of  the  national  endowment  were  consolidated  into  new 
State  bonds,  has  not  yet  been  paid,  and  no  interest  is  at  present  derived 
from  this  source.  A  bill  has  been  prepared  and  presented  to  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  State,  which  provides  for  its  payment  by  a  special  State  tax 
of  three-fourths  of  a  mill  on  a  dollar.  It  is  expected  that  the  fund  will 
be  restored  to  its  original  value.  The  land  owned  by  the  college  com- 
prises GOO  acres,  a  part  of  which  will  be  used  as  an  experimental  farm, 


336    REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

when  the  college  buildings  are  erected  upon  it.    The  land  is  valued  at 
$40,000. 

Professors,  6 ;  students,  209,  of  whom  115  were  pursuing  agricultural 
or  mechanical  studies. 

MAIIIE. 

Maine  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  MecMnio  Arts,  at  Orono; 
Charles  F.  Allen,  D.  D.,  president— ThQ  terms  of  the  college-year  have 
been  changed  from  three  to  two  and  the  courses  of  study  revised.  The 
course  for  students  not  intending  to  i)ursue  agriculture  is  called  "  the 
course  in  science  and  literature."  A  building,  called  Society  Hall,  has 
been  erected  by  the  students  for  society  meetings.  A  vertical  circle, 
made  by  Messrs.  Eepsold  and  Sons,  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  has  been 
added  to  the  astronomical  apparatus,  and  271  volumes  and  167  pam- 
phlets given  to  the  library. 

In  the  laboratory,  determinations  of  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  various 
kinds  of  sugar-beets  raised  on  the  farm  have  been  made,  and  also  num- 
erous analyses  of  common  grasses,  clover,  and  cereals  at  different  stages 
of  their  growth,  including  both  roots  and  foliage. 

Experiments  have  been  conducted  on  the  farm  in  testing  the  efficacy 
of  Professor  Stockbridge's  fertilizers,  the  value  of  different  manures  in 
top-dressing  grass-land,  the  effect  of  subsoiliug  on  the  wheat-crop,  the 
different  methods  of  sowing  wheat  and  planting  potatoes,  the  compara- 
tive merits  of  different  breeds  of  cows  for  the  production  of  milk  and 
butter,  and  the  value  of  cooked  and  raw  meal  and  skimmed  milk  in 
feeding  swine.  The  farm  contains  370  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $10,000. 
The  annual  interest  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-scrip 
is  $7,864. 

Professors,  6 ;  assistants,  2 ;  students,  115.  All  the  students  pursue 
agricultural  or  mechanical  studies. 

MARYLAND. 

Maryland  Agricultural  College,  at  College  Station;  William  R.  ParTcer, 
president. — The  financial  condition  of  the  college  has  been  greatly  im- 
proved during  the  last  two  years.  The  total  amount  received  from  the 
State  since  September,  1875,  is  $15,709.50.  During  the  same  period 
there  have  been  paid  on  the  old  college  debt  $10,561.46 ;  for  necessary 
repairs,  $3,916.89 ;  and  on  the  farm,  $1,138.25.  The  amount  remaining 
unpaid  on  the  debt  is  $2,215.42;  due  for  tuition,  $1,436.86;  leaving  the 
present  indebtedness  of  the  college  only  $778.56. 

Experiments  have  been  made  on  the  farm  with  wheat,  rye,  barley, 
garden-seeds,  fertilizers,  Cotswold  sheep,  and  Berkshire  and  Chester 
hogs.  Twenty-one  acres  have  been  sown  with  wheat  and  grass,  and  fer- 
tilized with  Missouri  bone,  British  mixture,  and  Taylor  superphosphate, 
at  the  rate  of  200  pounds  per  acre.  The  boundaries  of  each  kind  of  fer- 
tilizer used  were  marked,  so  that  its  effects  could  be  easily  ascertained. 
There  have  been  raised  on  the  farm  800  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  200  of 
oats,  600  of  turnips,  large  quantities  of  both  summer  and  winter  vege- 
tables, and  30  tons  of  hay.  Five  Cotswold  sheep  sheared  55  pounds  of 
wool,  8  calves  were  sold,  and  2,000  pounds  of  pork  will  be  packed. 
The  farm  contains  285  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $14,250.  The  annual 
interest  on  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-scrip  is  $6,900. 

Professors,  6 ;  students,  77, 40  of  whom  pursued  agricultural  or  mechan- 
ical studies. 


PROGRESS    OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  337 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College^  at  Amherst;  William  S.  ClarTc,  Ph. 
D.,  LL.  D..,  president. — la  consequence  of  an  invitation  from  the  govern- 
ment of  Japan,  President  Clark  obtained  a  leave  of  absence  and  sailed 
for  that  country  on  the  1st  of  June,  187G,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
there  an  agricultural  college  like  that  of  Massachusetts.  Three  grad- 
uates of  the  college  went  with  him,  expecting  to  remain  as  professors. 
The  professor  of  veterinary  science  and  practice  has  been  dismissed,  in 
consequence  of  inadequacy  of  means  to  pay  his  salary,  and  the  super- 
intendent of  the  farm  has  been  superseded  by  a  graduate  of  the  college. 
The  farm  contains  383  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $37,000.  Great  improve- 
ments have  been  made  on  it  during  the  year  by  underdraining, 
grading,  and  filling  depressions;  and  a  change  has  also  been  made  in 
its  general  objects  and  management.  Experiments  have  been  con- 
ducted in  growing  crops  with  chemical  fertilizers,  and  in  feeding  fruit- 
bearing  plants  with  different  substances  to  ascertain  their  effect  on  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  the  fruit  produced.  Professor  Stockbridge 
says  that  "  this  is  the  eighth  year  that  crops  have  been  grown  on  the 
same  land  with  chemicals,  and,  as  a  result,  ife  may  be  said  that  it  is 
conclusively  proved  that  chemicals  may  be  substituted  for  barn-yard 
manure,  if  they  are  properly  compounded  and  used.  In  fact,  in  some 
circumstances  these  are  altogether  preferable.  In  answer  to  the  inquiry 
whether  these  fertilizers  do  not  leave  the  land  in  an  exhausted  con- 
dition, he  says  that  his  experiments  thus  far  show  that  it  is  left  in  a 
better  condition  than  before  the  crops  were  taken  from  it;  and  as 
to  the  cost  of  fertilizers,  it  is  not  so  great  that  the  crop  does  not 
pay  a  large  profit  over  the  cost  of  production.  By  this  method  of 
culture  he  has  raised  104  bushels  of  shelled  corn  per  acre.  Both  the 
prepared  fertilizers  and  the  materials  for  compounding  them  can  be 
obtained  in  Boston.  In  the  laboratory,  analyses  of  plants,  milk,  and 
fertilizers  have  been  made  on  a  large  scale,  and  also  of  animal  excre- 
tions, to  ascertain  how  they  are  affected,  as  to  their  quality  for  fertilizers, 
by  the  food  the  animal  consumes. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  part  (two-thirds)  of  the  con- 
gressional land-grant  received  by  this  college  amounts  to  $8,022.  The 
national  endowment  fund  has,  at  different  times,  received  large  additions 
by  the  State,  so  that  the  permanent  interest-bearing  fund  of  the  college 
is  $360,067.  A  post-graduate  course  has  been  provided,  by  which  grad- 
uates of  colleges  and  scientific  schools  may  pursue  their  studies  under 
the  direction  of  President  Clark  in  botany,  Professor  Goessmann  in 
chemistry,  or  other  members  of  the  faculty  in  their  respective  depart- 
ments. A  model  dairy-house  has  been  built,  with  all  the  modern  appli- 
ances ;  also  a  steam  boiler  and  engine  have  been  placed  in  the  barn  to 
cut  and  steam  fodder  and  roots,  and  for  all  purposes  for  which  power 
is  needed.  The  barns,  sheds,  and  farm-house  have  been  painted  and 
otherwise  improved. 

Professors,  5 ;  assistants,  3 ;  students,  111. 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technologij,  at  Boston;  John  1).  liunMe,  Ph. 
D.,  LL.  D., president. — A  new  department,  called  "Practical  mechanism," 
has  been  opened,  designed  especially  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  wish  to 
become  master- mechanics,  rather  than  engineers,  and  for  affording  a 
course  of  thorough  preparation  for  all  the  higher  courses  in  the  institute. 
There  is  no  other  school  for  metal  working,  so  far  as  is  known,  conducted 
on  the  same  plan,  except  in  Eussia.  For  admission  the  applicant  must 
be  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  pass  a  satisfactory  examination  in  arithmetic, 
22  a 


338    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

geography,  spelling,  puoctuatioD,  English  composition,  English  and 
American  history,  and  algebra  through  simple  equations.  The  course, 
occupying  two  years,  includes  shop  instruction,  algebra,  plane  and  solid 
geometry,  rhetoric  and  composition,  mechanical  and  free-hand  drawing, 
English  literature,  and  the  French  language. 

Tuitiou  in  this  course  of  two  years  is  8125  a  year.  For  a  more  de- 
tailed account  of  this  system  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  report  of  Dr. 
John  D.  Itunkle,  president  of  the  institute,  on  the  "  Russian  system  of 
shop-work  instruction  for  engineers  and  machinists." 

By  the  co-operation  of  the  Woman's  Education  Association  of  Boston 
new  laboratories  have  been  provided  for  the  special  instruction  of 
women.  The  design  is  to  furnish  every  facility  for  the  study  of  chemical 
analysis,  industrial  chemistry,  mineralogy,  and  chemistry,  as  related  to 
vegetable  and  animal  physiology.  These  courses  are  intended  for  such 
persons  as  may  be  able  to  devote  their  whole  time  to  the  work,  as  well 
as  for  those  who  can  spend  only  a  few  hours  a  week  in  the  exercises. 
The  laboratories  are  open  from  half  past  eight  in  the  morning  till  half 
past  five  in  the  afternoon.  Students  in  these  laboratories  pay  the  same 
tuition  as  other  students  in  the  institute.  The  institute,  however,  pro- 
vides several  courses  unconnected  with  this  without  charge  for  tuition, 
the  expense  being  paid  by  the  trustee  of  the  Lowell  Institute.  The 
annual  interest  derived  from  the  part  (one-third)  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
congressional  land-grant  received  by  this  institute,  is  now  $4,011. 

Professors,  21;  assistants,' 15;  students,  293.  Of  this  number,  54 
were  ladies,  38  of  whom  were  special  students  in  design ;  14  special 
students  in  chemistry,  and  2  students  in  the  first  year  not  candidates 
for  a  degree. 

MICHIGAN. 

Michigan  State  Agricultural  College  at  Lansing  ;  Tlieopliilus  C.  Abbott, 
LL.  D.J  president. — The  college-year  has  been  divided  into  three  terms 
instead  of  two,  but  its  length  has  not  been  altered.  It  appears  to  be  a 
primary  object  of  the  directors  to  make  it  in  the  highest  degree  agricult- 
ural, and  a  considerable  portion  of  time  is  devoted  yearly  to  original  in- 
vestigation. Special  attention  is  given  to  the  study  of  botany.  The 
freshman  class  devote  one-third  to  one-half  of  their  time  to  it  daily  for 
eighteen  weeks,  and  are  required  to  make  rigid  analyses  and  microscopic 
dissections  of  a  great  number  of  plants,  both  phenogamic  and  crypto- 
gamic,  with  the  most  approved  instruments. 

Experiments  have  been  made  in  the  garden  by  the  botanist  with  two 
hundred  and  forty-four  varieties  of  potatoes,  and  the  yield  of  each  is 
given.  He  has  also  conducted  some  interesting  experiments  in  the 
production  of  new  varieties.  The  seeds  of  fifty  varieties  were  sown  in 
boxes,  hot-beds,  and  in  the  greenhouse,  at  the  time  of  sowing  seeds  for 
early  tomatoes.  When  of  sufficient  size,  a  selection  was  made  of  the 
plants,  and  they  were  set  two  inches  apart  each  way,  and  after  danger 
from  frost  was  jjassed  were  reset,  two  feet  apart,  in  rows  in  the  garden. 
About  six  hundred  of  them  produced  potatoes.  The  yield  was  surpris- 
ing. Instead  of  a  few  little  tubers  the  size  of  bullets,  many  of  them 
were  four  to  five  inches  long  and  of  good  size.  la  one  instance  a  single 
plant  produced  eight  pounds  of  potatoes,  many  of  them  being  of  good 
size.  The  yield  in  many  cases  was  better  than  from  old  potatoes  planted 
in  the  usual  way.  A  test  of  their  qualities  will  be  made  next  year. 
From  the  many  experiments  which  he  has  made  with  potatoes,  he  has 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  new  varieties  must  be  originated  every  few 
years,  as  old  ones  degenerate  in  size  and  quality  in  most  cases,  and  that 


PROPERTY  OF 
p]®qR|9l4  <W  Ee|d@8M_jPucation.  339 

fanners  will  soon  make  it  a  common  practice  to  raise  them  themselves. 
In  bis  experiments  with  apple-trees  be  has  found  that  applying  manure 
close  about  tho  foot  of  the  trees,  or  removing  the  grass  and  cultivating 
small  circles  about  them,  has  very  little  beneficial  effect.  It  is  only  by 
cultivating, very  large  circli^s,  equal  to  the  extent  of  the  branches,  or  the 
whole  ground,  that  beneficial  results  can  be  obtained. 

The  college-farm  contains  676  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $47,320.  About 
300  acres  are  cultivated  with  crops  in  a  regular  system  of  rotation.  Ex- 
])eriments  have  been  made  with  Wliite  Schonen  and  Excelsior  oats ; 
Olawson,  Asiatic,  Gold-medal,  and  Dield  wheat;  Yellow-blaze  corn ; 
roots,  and  grasses.  The  Gold-medal  wheat  yielded  best.  The  students 
have  been  paid  for  their  labor  on  the  farm  and  elsewhere  during  the 
year  $4,404:,  the  price  paid  them  being  about  10  cents  per  hour.  The 
farm-crops  were  valued  at  $3,154,  and  the  labor  required  for  their  pro- 
duction $2,819.  Tho  farm  live  stock  is  worth  $10,888,  and  the  imple- 
ments $1,685.  The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the 
congressional  land-grant,  is  now  $16,880.  Of  this  grant  there  have  been 
sold  during  the  fiscal  year  2,474  acres,  at  an  average  price  of  $8.38  per 
acre,  and  164,799  remain  unsold.  Three  hundred  and  twenty-eight  vol- 
umes have  been  added  to  the  library,  and  twenty-seven  agricultural, 
scientific,  and  literary  periodicals  are  received  regularly  by  the  college. 

Professors,  6  ;  assistants,  7  5  students,  166,  4  of  whom  were  ladies. 

MINNESOTA. 

University  of  Minnesota — Colleges  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts^ 
at  MinneajJoUs ;  William  W.  Folwell,  M.  A.^  president. — The  plant-house 
has  been  completed,  and  the  collection  and  propagation  of  plants  com- 
menced. A  belt  of  trees,  designed  as  a  wind-break,  has  been  planted 
around  the  barn  and  another  around  a  portion  of  the  fiirm. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  now  $13,901.  The  number  of  acres  of  the  grant  sold 
during  the  fiscal  year  is  3,706,  at  an  average  price  of  $5.44  per  acre ; 
the  number  remaining  unsold  is  52,187.  The  college-farm  contains 
120  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $12,000.  Experiments  have  been  made 
with  12  varieties  of  wheat,  20  kinds  of  fertilizers  being  used;  with 
8  varieties  of  oats,  thick  and  thin  seeded  ;  with  5  varieties  of  corn  and 
19  varieties  of  potatoes,  both  on  sandy  soil  and  vegetable  loam,  18  kinds 
of  fertilizers  being  used ;  and  with  225  varieties  of  garden-vegetables. 
It  has  been  found  by  experiment  on  the  farm  that  corn  immersed  in  tar- 
water  and  rolled  in  gypsum  is  twenty-four  hours  longer  in  germinating, 
but  that  there  is  no  diifereuce  in  yield,  and  that  birds,  squirrels,  and 
insects,  except  the  wire-worm,  do  not  touch  it ;  that  banking  up  the 
enrth  around  the  trunks  of  trees,  about  the  1st  of  September,  to  a  height 
of  15  to  30  inches,  according  to  their  size,  will  cause  an  early  ripening 
of  the  wood,  and  enable  the  trees  to  withstand  better  the  sudden  changes 
of  temperature  to  which  they  are  subject;  that  stripping  oil"  the  leaves 
and  cutting  back  the  branches  appear  to  produce  in  a  measure  the  same 
result;  and  that  want  of  cultivation  is  the  greatest  retarding  intlueuee 
to  successful  tree-culture. 

The  professor  of  agriculture,  in  giving  his  views  of  what  an  agricult- 
ural college  should  be,  says  that  intelligent  agriculture  is  based  upon 
a  knowledge  of  the  natural  and  physical  sciences;  therefore  the  stu- 
dent should  be  acquainted  with  these  sciences  before  receiving  system- 
atic and  connected  instructions  iu  the  art  and  practice  of  iigricnlture. 
All  practical  instruction  is  not,  however,  to  )3e  deferred  until  the  last 


340       liiroRT  OF  the  commissioner  of  agriculture. 

year.  Verbal  iustriiction  and  manual  practice  should  be  provided  in 
"each  operation  as  it  occurs  in  the  natural  course  of  events;  but  the 
main  part,  the  body,  of  practical  instruction  can  be  fully  a{>preciated 
only  when  some  knowledge  of  the  sciences  has  been  acquired ;  there- 
fore let  language,  mathematics,  and  natural  and  physical  sciences  come 
in  the  first  years  of  the  course,  aud  practical  agriculture  later.  The 
library,  museum,  stock,  farm,  and  gardens  are  to  serve  as  auxiliaries  to 
this  course  of  instruction. 

Professors  in  the  Colleges  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  G ; 
assistants,  2 ;  students,  6;  professors  iu  all  the  departments,  11 ;  assist- 
ants, 8 ;  students,  207,  196  of  whom  were  gentlemen  aud  71  ladies. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

University  of  Mississijjpi — College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Meclianic 
Arts,  at  Oxford;  General  Alexander  P.  IStewart,  chancellor. — Few  changes 
have  been  made  iu  this  college  since  our  last  report.  The  annual  inter- 
est derived  from  one-half  of  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land- 
grant  is  now  received  by  this  college,  according  to  tlie  law  of  1875,  which 
amounts  to  $5,G78.75.  The  college-farm  contains  100  acres  and  is  valued 
at  $2,000.  The  trustees  have  suspended  operations  on  it  for  the  present, 
but  they  will  probably  be  resumed  when  there  are  students  in  the  college 
who  need  instruction  in  practical  agriculture. 

The  laboratory  for  practical  work  in  chemistry  is  large  aud  well  fur- 
nished with  apparatus.  Special  attention  is  given  to  the  chemistry  of 
geology  aud  its  economical  products  bearing  on  agriculture.  A  collec- 
tion of  several  thousand  geological  specimens  from  all  the  formations 
of  the  State  has  been  made,  consisting  of  various  kinds  of  economic 
rocks,  fossils,  soils,  marls,  &c.  The  collection  of  soils  is  of  great  inter- 
est, having  been  obtained  from  every  county  of  the  State.  The  analyses 
which  have  been  made  of  most  of  them  show  all  their  characteristics, 
and  enable  the  student  to  comprehend  at  once  the  agricultural  resources 
of  every  part  of  the  State.  The  Markoe  collection  of  minerals  is  claimed 
to  be  inferior  to  none  in  the  world.  It  includes  a  large  number  of  rocks, 
simple  minerals,  and  fossils,  sufficient  for  the  fullest  illustration  of  min- 
eralogy and  its  related  subjects.  The  herbarium  contains  specimens  of 
all  the  i)lauts  indigenous  to  Mississippi,  aud  some  from  the  adjoining 
States. 

Professors  in  the  college,  5;  assistants,  1;  professors  iu  all  the  depart- 
ments, 8;  assistants,  4;  students,  131.  There  are  no  students  in  the 
college  pursuing  a  regular  course  in  agriculture,  but  there  are  15  iu  the 
course  of  science,  which  embraces  some  studies  relating  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts. 

Alcorn  University — Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  at  Rodney; 
Eev.  Hyram  B.  Bevels,  1).  D.,  president. — The  university  is  slowly  recov- 
ering from  the  embarrassment  ocsasioned  by  the  abolition  of  free  schol- 
arships by  the  State  legislature  and  the  removal  of  the  board  of  trustees 
and  the  faculty  last  year.  On  the  20th  of  July,  187G,  Dr.  Eevels  was 
reappointed  president  and  a  professor  was  addetl  to  the  faculty.  The 
prospects  of  the  university  are  more  encouraging  than  in  1875 j  but  it 
is  believed  that  at  least  two  years  will  be  required  before  it  cau  regain 
its  former  standing. 

The  annual  interesfe  derived  from  one-half  of  the  proceeds  of  the  con- 
gressional land-grant,  the  part  now  received  by  this  university,  amounts 
to  $5,678.75.    The  experimental  farm  contains  250  acres,  and  is  valued 


PROGRESS   OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  341 

at  $5,000.  Experiments  have  been  made  in  the  culture  of  yellow  Mary- 
land corn,  Boyd's  prolific  cotton,  and  with  clover.  The  results  were  very 
^satisfactory.  Seventy-five  acres  have  been  under  cultivation.  There 
have  been  raised  450  bushels  of  corn,  150  bushels  of  sweet-potatoes,  half 
a  bale  of  cotton,  2,500  bundles  of  corn-fodder,  and  1^  tons  of  hay. 

Professors,  2:  assistants,  2;  students,  57.  None  of  the  students  pur- 
sued the  agricultural  or  mechanical  course,  but  14  were  preparing  to  enter 
upon  it  as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  do  so. 

MISSOURI. 

University  of  the  State  of  Missouri — Agricultural  and  MecJianieal  Col- 
lege, at  Cohiinhia;  Smnuel  IS.  Laics,  LL.  D.,  president ;  George  C.  Sicallow, 
LL.  1).,  dean  of  the  college. — No  important  changes  have  taken  place  in 
the  college  during  the  year.  Some  improvements  have  been  made  on 
the  university  grounds,  which  are  spacious  and  very  tastefully  laid  out. 
An  engraving  of  the  university  buildings  and  a  portion  of  the  grounds 
is  here  presented.  The  scientific  building  or  agricultural  and  mechan- 
ical college  is  a  large  edifice  built  of  brick,  100  feet  long,  CO  wide,  and 
three  stories  high,  uot'lncluding  the  stone  basement.  It  contains  twen- 
ty-five rooms.  Every  room  is  supplied  with  water  and  gas,  and  the  chem- 
ical laboratory  is  equipped  with  the  most  recent  and  approved  apparatus. 

The  experimental  farm  contains  640  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $60,000. 
Experiments  have  been  made  in  fruits,  hedges,  forest-trees,  pear-blight, 
and  several  wild  plants,  with  the  hope  of  developing  some  new  princi- 
ples which  may  be  of  benefit  to  agriculture.  It  is  the  determination  of 
the  college  to  enter  more  extensively  upon  experimentation  with  farm- 
crops  than  it  has  previously  done.  The  lectures  on  agricultural  chem- 
istry, delivered  to  the  junior  class  comprise  a  scientific  exposition  of  the 
production  of  organic  matter  within  the  plant,  beginning  with  the  struc- 
ture of  the  vegetable-cell,  and  proving  the  office  of  chlorophyl  to  be  an 
apparatus  for  doing  the  chemical  work  in  building  up  the  plant.  The 
nitrogenous  constituents  of  the  plant  are  treated  in  reference  to  its  or- 
gans, to  the  nitrogenous  fertilizers,  and  to  the  nitrogen  of  the  air,  leading 
to  the  consideration  of  the  mineral  matter  or  ash,  to  the  growth  of  plants, 
and  to  the  soil.  The  chemical  and  physical  properties  of  the  soil,  and 
the  relative  values  of  the  different  fertilizers  now  in  use,  and  their  em- 
ployment in  cultivation  as  a  paying  investment,  are  fully  discussed. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  was  $3,040,  of  which  $2,018  were  received  by  the  agricultural 
and  mechanical  college,  and  the  remainder,  $1,022,  by  the  school  of  mines 
and  metallurgy,  at  Rolla.  None  of  the  land  has  been  sold  during  the 
year.  Several  thousand  dollars  have  been  appropriated  for  apparatus 
and  large  purchases  made  of  books  for  the  library. 

Professors  in  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  college,  7  ;  assistants,  1 ; 
students,  21 ;  professors  in  all  the  departments,  17  ;  assistants,  11 ;  stu- 
dents, 391,  70  of  whom  are  in  the  school  of  mines  and  metallurgy. 

Missouri  School  of  Mines  and  Metallurgy,  at  BoUa,  {a  department  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  Missouri;)  Charles  P.  Wiiliams,  Ph.  D.,  di- 
rector.— This  school  combines  theory  with  practice.  In  addition  to  the 
duties  of  school-instruction,  the  director  and  professors,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  students,  have  done  a  large  amount  of  work  for  the  State 
in  the  chemical  analyses  of  lead,  copper,  zinc,  and  iron  ores  from  different 
mines  of  the  State.  The  percentage  of  the  several  metals  and  the  asso- 
ciated minerals  of  the  ores  has  beeo  accurately  ascertained.  Seventeen 
distinct  analyses  of  lead  ores,  from  different  mines,  have  been  made  and 


342         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

formulated.  The  ores  employed  ia  these  analyses  wre  of  great  purity, 
haviug  in  no  case  yielded  less  than  99  percent,  of  lead.  The  associated 
minerals  were  arsenic,  antimony,  silver,  copper,  iron,  cadmium,  zinc,  and 
nickel.  It  is  thought  by  the  director  of  the  school  that  the  results* 
arrived  at  by  these  analyses  will  very  much  increase  the  value  of  the 
industrial  resources  of  the  State. 

Maps  of  surveys  of  mines  and  drawings  of  furnaces  and  reduction- 
works  have  been  made  by  the  more  advanced  students,  and  display  much 
art  and  skill  in  their  preparation.  The  school  received,  as  its  share  of 
the  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land- 
grant,  $1,022.     None  of  the  land  has  been  sold  during  the  year. 

Professors,  5 ;  assistants,  1 ;  students,  70. 

NEBRASKA. 

University  of  Nehraslca — Agricultural  College  at  Lincoln  ;  Rev.  Edmund 
B.  Fairfield^  I)D.,  LL.  D.,  chancellor. — The  present  chancellor  was  inaugu- 
rated on  the  22d  of  June,  1876,  and  his  inaugural  address,  is  given  in  the 
register  of  the  university  for  1876.  He  shows  what,  in  his  opinion,  a  uni- 
versity in  this  country  ought  to  be.  Of  the  agricultural  college  he  says  : 
"  You  have  done  well  in  attaching  the  agricultural  department  to  the 
State  university.  Scientific  agriculture  belongs  of  right  to  every  univer- 
sity arrangement,  especially  in  a  country  of  which  agriculture  is  so  im- 
portant and  general  an  interest  as  it  is  with  us." 

None  of  the  congressional  land-grant  of  July  2,  1862,  has  been  sold, 
and  the  expectation  is  that  it  will  not  be  disposed  of  for  some  time  to 
come.  The  land  is  rapitlly  increasing  in  value,  and  by  a  provision  of 
the  new  constitution  of  the  State  none  can  be  sold  for  less  than  $7  per 
acre.  In  consequence  of  this  foresight  in  withholding  the  land-  from 
sale  a  large  endowment-fund  will  accumulate.  The  State  received 
another  grant  of  44,800  acres  from  Congress  for  the  establishment  of  the 
university,  and  it  is  estimated  by  the  president  6f  the  board  of  regents, 
Mr.  S.  J.  Tuttle,  that  the  aggregate  endowment-fund  of  the  college 
and  university  will  amount  to  at  least  $1,000,000,  and  very  probably  to 
$1,500,000,  when  the  land  is  all  sold.  The  university  building  and  grounds 
"were  paid  for  by  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lots  in  Lincoln,  and  the 
experimental  farm,  consisting  of  320  acres,  by  the  sale  of  two  sections 
of  land  granted  by  the  State  for  that  purpose.  The  farm  is  valued  at 
$18,422.  Experiments  have  been  made  on  it  during  the  year  to  deter- 
mine the  effect  of  fall  and  spring  plowing  on  crops;  with  grasses,  to 
ascertain  what  kinds  are  best  adapted  to  the  climate  of  Nebraska ;  with 
oats,  wheat,  and  barle.y,  received  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture  j 
and  with  mangel-wurzels  and  sugar-beets,  to  learn  which  would  be  the 
most  profitable  for  stock-feeding.  A  slight  change  has  been  made  in 
the  manual-labor  system,  by  which  students,  instead  of  doing  any  labor 
that  may  come  to  hand,  are  to  have  special  charge  of  certain  kinds  of 
work,  under  the  oversight  of  the  superintendent,  to  be  responsible  for 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  performed  and  for  the  results  obtained,  and  to 
keep  an  exact  account  of  the  expenses  and  labor  bestowed  upon  it. 
Students  are  paid  for  their  labor  ten  to  fifteen  cents  per  hour,  according 
to  the  work  done. 

Professors  in  the  college,  5;  students,  13;  j)rofessors  in  all  the  depart- 
ments, 9;  students,  282;  122  of  whom  are  ladies. 

NEVADA. 

Nothing  has  been  done  during  the  year  in  relation  to  the  establish- 
ment of  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  in  this  State.    Applica- 


PROGRESS    OF    INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  343 

tions  have  been  made  at  the  State  laud-office  for  portious  of  the  congres- 
sional land-gnint  of  July  2,  18G2,  at  $1.25  ])er  acre,  but  no  land  has  been 
sold. 

NEW  HAIMPSHIRE. 

Dartmoicfh  College — New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Me- 
chanic Arts,  at  Hanover;  Rev.  Asa  B.  Smith,!). I),,LL.  J)., president — The 
exercises  of  tbe  graduating  class  are  represented  by  the  examining  com- 
mittee to  have  been  of  a  high  order.  The  subjects  were  as  follows :  "  Cot- 
ton and  its  manufactures;"  "  Water  and  its  domestic  uses;"  "Building 
materials  of  New  Hampshire;  "Irrigation  ;"  "  The  manufacture  of  paper;" 
"Copper  and  its  refining;"  "Education  of  farmers."  Of  the  students  who 
have  graduated  since  the  opening  of  the  college,  twelve  have  engaged  in 
agriculture,  nine  in  mechanical  occupations,  and  five  in  other  employ- 
ments. Thirty  students  have  labored  the  past  season  on  the  farm,  and 
have  earned  $20  to  $90  each,  according  to  the  number  of  hours  occupied. 

The  farm  contains  305  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $21,000.  There  have 
been  raised  on  it  150  bushels  of  corn,  010  of  oats,  108  of  barley,  100  tons 
of  hay,  and  a  large  quantity  of  garden  vegetables.  Only  a  small  part 
is  under  cultivation ;  10  acres  being  devoted  to  tilled  crops,  and  the 
remainder  to  hay.  The  uncultivated  part  is  timber  and  pasture  land. 
The  yield  of  hay  was  from  2  to  4  tons  per  acre.  The  stock  kept  on  the 
farm  consists  of  8  cows,  worth  $440;  1  yoke  of  oxen,  $200;  4  Leifers, 
$200;  11  heifers,  $407 ;  2  horses,  $300;  12  shoats,  $300 ;  4  pigs,  $10;  and 
1  full-blood  Durham  bull-calf,  $200 ;  total  value,  $2,003.  The  barn  has 
been  completed.  It  is  a  fine  building,  100  by  50  feet,  clapboarded  and 
painted.  It  has  a  capacity  for  storing  nearly  200  tons  of  hay ;  a  tool- 
room 20  by  20  feet;  24  stalls  for  cattle;  4  calf-pens;  and  the  usual 
arrangements  in  the  basement.  It  has  a  good  supply  of  pure  water, 
l)rought  in  pipes  from  a  neighboring  spring. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  now  $4,800.  The  examining  committee  thus  speaks  of  the 
success  of  the  college:  "  In  closing  this  report,  we  deem  it  a  duty,  as 
well  as  a  pleasure,  to  bear  our  testimony  to  the  eminent  ability  evinced 
by  the  president  in  discharging  the  difficult  duties  of  his  position,  and 
by  his  able  corps  of  professors,  who  have  labored  so  long  and  earnestly 
to  raise  this  institution  to  the  highly-respectable  position  it  now  occu- 
pies among  the  agricultural  colleges  of  our  country." 

Professors  in  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanics  Arts,  7; 
assistants, 4;  students, 24;  professors  in  all  the  departments,  22;  assist- 
ants, 7;  students,  439. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Rutgers  College — Scientific  School,  at  New  Brunsiviclc ;  Rev.  "William  H. 
Camphell,!).  D.,LL.D.,  president. — During  the  year  the  facilities  afforded 
the  students  for  studying  analytical  chemistry  have  been  much  im- 
proved, and  a  large  amount  of  work  has  been  done  in  the  laboratory  in 
analyzing  commercial  fertilizers  and  other  substances.  The  trustees,  in 
their  report,  say  that  the  progress  of  the  school  has  been  highly  grati- 
fying and  satisfactory.  The  laboratory-work  of  the  students  in  analy- 
tical chemistry  has  received  the  marked  approval  and  commendation  of 
proficients  who  have  visited  the  rooms,  and  will  compare  favorably  with 
the  best  results  other  institutions. 

A  barn  has  been  built,  and  the  outbuildings  re-arranged  and  improved. 
The  barn  is  GO  feet  long  and  40  wide,  with  posts  22  feet.  The  main  floor 
has  stables  for  seven  horses,  feed-room,  large  thrashing-floor,  and  spacious 


344         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

bays  for  hay.  There  is  a  cellar  under  the  whole  barn  on  a  level  with 
the  cattle-yard,  which  is  on  the  south  side.  It  has  in  it  stanchions  for 
17  cows,  a  room  for  roots,  and  places  for  storage  of  cut-straw,  hay,  or 
stalks.  Water  is  supplied  for  the  stables  and  yards  from  the  city  water- 
works. Lapping  on  the  large  barn  about  6  feet  is  another  48  feet  long 
and  26  wide,  with  posts  18  feet.  In  the  lower  part  are  rooms  for  a  horse, 
milk-wagon,  and  for  loading  cans  of  milk;  pens  for  bull  and  calves,  and 
open  space  unappropriated.  The  upper  part  is  designed  for  hay  and 
straw. 

The  experimental  farm  contains  100  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $45,000. 
When  purchased  it  was  almost  worthless  for  farming  purposes,  but  by 
removing  stones,  thorough  drainage,  and  skillful  cultivation,  it  has  been 
brought  into  a  high  state  of  fertility.  Experiments  have  been  made  on 
it  with  fertilizers  on  wheat,  oats,  corn,  potatoes,  turnips,  and  in  feeding 
milch-cows.  The  long  drought  in  1876  caused  a  failure  in  these  experi- 
ments, and  also  in  the  crops.  It  was  the  most  severe  ever  known  in  New 
Jersey.  The  crops  began  to  suffer  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  there 
was  no  rain  to  afford  them  any  material  benefit  till  the  17th  of  September. 
Potatoes  were  entirely  destroyed ;  corn  did  not  grow  to  half  its  common 
height,  and  the  crop  was  only  about  one-fifth  of  its  usual  amount ;  pas- 
tures dried  up  ;  cabbage-plants  could  not  be  set  out ;  turnip-seed  would 
not  sprout  when  planted,  and  carrots  and  mangolds  could  make  no 
growth.  For  want  of  pasture  and  green  fodder  it  was  found  necessary 
to  feed  farm-stock  on  other  substances  through  July  and  August.  The 
average  rain-fall  in  the  months  of  June,  July,  and  August  was  only 
3.17  inches ;  for  twenty-two  years  previous  to  this  it  averaged  for  the 
same  months  14.03,  and  the  lowest  amount  recorded  for  these  months  in 
any  previous  year  is  6.09  inches.  The  only  good  crops  raised  on  the 
farm  were  wheat  and  rye,  which  had  made  most  of  their  growth  before 
the  drought  became  severe.  The  yield  of  wheat  on  14  acres  of  not  very 
good  ground  was  25  bushels  per  acre,  but  on  some  experimental  plots  it 
was  40  to  48  bushels.  The  variety  cultivated  was  the  Fultz.  The  loss 
of  crops  on  this  farm,  occasioned  by  the  drought,  is  estimated  to  be  at 
least  $1,000.  The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  con- 
gressional land-grant  is  now  $6,960. 

Professors  in  the  scientific  school,  9 ;  assistants,  1;  students,  42 ;  pro- 
fessors in  the  college,  11;  assistant,  1;  students  in  all  the  depart- 
ments, 102. 

NEW  YORK. 

Cornell  University — Colleges  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  at 
Ithaca;  Andrew  D.  White,  LL.  D.,  president. — No  changes  have  been 
made  during  the  year  in  the  literary  operations  of  the  colleges.  The 
teaching-force  of  the  university  has  been  increased  by  the  addition  of 
six  instructors.  The  college-farm  contains  150  acres,  and  is  valued  at 
$22,000.  Experiments  have  been  made  on  twenty-two  plots  with  oats 
as  a  soiling  crop,  cut  early  and  late ;  to  ascertain  the  effects  of  sowing  in 
drill  and  broadcast;  of  rolling  the  ground;  of  gypsum,  lime,  and  salt; 
of  thick  and  thin  sowing;  the  comparative  values  of  ditiereut  varieties; 
to  test  the  effects  of  Professor  Stockbridge's  fertilizers :  on  twelve  plots 
of  wheat,  to  try  the  Lois  Weedon  system  modified ;  to  show  the  effect 
of  gypsum  and  superphosphate;  the  results  of  continuous  crops  with 
perfect  cultivation,  but  without  fertilizers;  to  ascertain  the  amount 
of  seed  required:  on  fifty  plots  of  corn,  to  ascertain  the  effects  of  various 
commercial  fertilizers,  gypsum,  and  ashes ;  to  compare  results  of  plant- 
ing soaked  and  unsoaked  seed;  to  determine  the  proper  number  of 


PROGRESS    OF   INDUSTRIAL    EDUCATION.  845 

stalks  in  a  hill ;  to  compare  the  productiveuess  oi"  suckered  aud  unsuck- 
ered  plants ;  the  values  of  seeds  from  the  butts,  middle,  and  tops  of 
ears ;  to  ascertaiu  the  comparative  value  of  seven  varieties  of  fertilizers ; 
and  of  pure  fertilizers  compounded  by  Professor  Caldwell:  on  twenty- 
eight  plots  of  grass,  to  test  the  effects  of  various  fertilizers  as  top-dress- 
ing: in  feeding  cattle,  to  ascertain  the  effects  of  various  kinds  aud  quan- 
tities of  food  on  the  quantity  and  quality  of  milk  :  and  in  breeding  cattle, 
to  ascertain  the  value  in  the  milk-dairy  of  the  progeny  of  certain  pure 
breeds  crossed  with  the  common  cow. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  conclusions  arrived  at,  viz:  that 
gypsum  is  of  little  value  to  corn  and  grass  in  wet  seasons,  but  of  great 
value  in  dry ;  that  superphosphates  are  of  very  unequal  values,  those  of 
the  best  reputation  proving  of  little  value  on  the  soil  of  this  farm  when 
applied  to  moderately-fertile  aud  well-cultivated  land ;  that  strict  laws 
are  needed  in  the  State  of  New  York  to  control  the  sale  and  manufacture 
of  commercial  fertilizers;  that  failures  in  farming  result  not  so  much 
from  poor  soil  as  from  poor  culture,  imperfect  preparation  of  the  soil, 
and  stagnant  water  in  the  subsoil ;  that  clover  and  cattle  are  the  cheapest 
renovators  of  worn-outfields;  that  early-sown  crops  require  the  least 
quantity  of  seed,  and  promise  the  best  results;  that  heavy  land  should 
not  be  deeply  plowed  in  the  spring;  the  best  results  are  obtained  from 
land  plowed  moderately  deep  in  the  fall,  covered  with  manure  in  the 
winter,  and  replowed  to  half  the  depth  in  the  spring. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-scrip  is  $35,000.  There  have  been  sold  during  the  fiscal  year 
17,447  acres  of  the  land,  at  an  average  price  of  14.65  per  acre,  and 
375,000  acres  remain  unsold. 

Professors  in  the  College  of  Agriculture,  20 ;  assistants,  12 :  students, 
26;  in  the  College  of  Mechanic  Arts,  professors,  11;  assistants,  10;  stu- 
dents, 58;  in  all  the  departments,  professors,  31 ;  assistants,  23;  students, 
526. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

TJniversity  of  North  Carolina. — College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic 
Arts,  at  Chapel  Hill;  Mr.  Kemj)  P.  Battle,  president. — During  the  year  a 
chemical  laboratory  has  been  thoroughly  fitted  up  for  qualitative  and 
quantitative  analyses  with  apparatus  and  gas,  the  apparatus  costing 
$2,000 ;  also,  a  large  and  commodious  hall  for  lectures  on  physics,  with 
apparatus  worth  $2,000.  As  soon  as  means  will  permit,  the  trustees  of 
the  college  will  make  arrangements  to  give  students  efficient  and  prac- 
tical instruction  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  farm.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  course  of  study  in  agriculture,  instruction  will  be  given  largely 
by  lectures,  not  only  by  resident  professors,  but  by  practical  farmers 
■who  have  devoted  time,  study,  and  attention  to  certain  specialties.  The 
college  owns  some  land,  which  it  intends  to  use  for  an  experimental 
farm,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  surveyed,  nor  brought  into  a  proper  con- 
dition for  the  cultivation  of  farm-crops.  A  gold  medal,  worth  $10,  is 
offered  to  the  scholar  who,  after  one  year's  study,  shall  pass  the  most 
meritorious  written  examination  in  chemistry. 

The  university  has  an  extensive  collection  of  minerals,  both  native  and 
foreign,  to  illustrate  the  courses  of  study  in  mineralogy  and  geology. 
The  Vienna  cabinet  comprises  2,000  fine  specimens  of  minerals,  col- 
lected from  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  large  collection  of  ores, 
minerals,  and  fossils,  made  by  Dr.  Emmons,  and  given  to  the  university 
by  the  State,  has  been  classified  and  neatly  arranged  in  a  room  fitted 
up  especially  for  the  purpose.    An  instructor  in  natural  history  has  beea 


346    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

employed,  and  some  collections  for  a  museum  in  this  department  of 
studj'  have  been  made ;  also,  a  hall  has  been  provided  for  au  agricultural 
museum,  and  a  few  agricultural  implements  have  been  deposited  in  it. 
The  library  contains  5,000  volumes  of  well-selected  books,  especially 
adapted  to  illustrate  the  branches  taught  in  the  different  courses  of 
study.  The  students  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  have  free 
access  to  these  works  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  other  depart- 
ments. The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congres- 
sional land-grant  is  now  $7,500,  being  the  interest,  at  G  per  cent,,  on  the 
new  State  bonds,  which  amount  to  $125,000.  The  interest  on  these  bonds 
is  now  collected  and  paid  over  regularly  to  the  trustees  for  the  support 
of  the  college.  The  college-year  is  divided  into  two  terms.  The  expenses 
of  a  student  for  room-rent,  washing,  board,  wood,  light,  and  books  are 
from  $93.50  to  $123.50  per  term  ;  tuition  free. 

Professors,  7  5  assistants,  2;  students  in  the  college,  Gl ;  in  all  the  de- 
partments, lOG. 

OHIO. 

Ohio  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  at  Columbus;  Edicard  OrtoUj 
Ph.  D., president. — This  college  has  been  in  operation  three  years,  and 
is  now  in  complete  working  order.  The  report  of  the  president  shows 
that  a  large  amount  of  work  has  been  accomplished  in  all  the  depart- 
ments. Military  science  and  tactics  have  been  introduced  as  a  regular 
branch  of  study  and  drill,  and  Lieut.  Luigi  Lomia  has  been  detailed 
by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  take  charge  of  the  instruction  in  this  new 
department.  All  male  students,  not  incapacitated  by  bodily  infirmity 
or  exempted  on  the  ground  of  conscientious  scruples,  are  required  to 
take  part  in-  the  military  drill,  but  are  at  liberty  to  choose  for  themselves 
whether  they  will  pursue  the  course  in  military  science  or  not.  Four 
drill  exercises,  of  thirty-five  minutes  each,  are  reqtured  weekly.  The 
War  Department  has  furnished  the  college  with  a  full  supply  of  arms 
and  ordnance  of  the  most  approved  patterns. 

The  college-farm  contains  320  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $200,000.  Its 
value  has  been  recently  much  increased  by  its  being  brought  within 
the  city  limits.  Extensive  improvements  have  been  made  upon  it 
during  the  year.  A  swamp  of  60  acres  has  been  reclaimed  by  under- 
draining,  and  the  most  of  it  is  now  dry  and  in  good  condition  for 
cultivation.  Fences  have  been  built,  one  small  building  removed  and 
another  erected,  and  a  supply  of  excellent  water  furnished  for  the  stock 
at  the  barn.  The  total  cost  of  these  improvements  was  $1,690.  Ex- 
periments have  been  made  with  wheat  to  determine  the  comparative 
value  of  thick  and  thin  sowing;  with  oats,  to  ascertain  which  varieties 
were  most  productive;  and  with  corn,  to  test  the  effects  of  different 
fertilizers.  There  were  raised  on  the  farm  1,975  bushels  of  corn,  on  46 
acres;  363  bushels  of  wheat,  on  32  acres;  and  75  tons  of  hay,  on  57 
acres;  total  value  of  all  the  crops,  $2,122  ;  net  profit,  $1,342.  A  part  of 
the  work  was  done  by  students  and  a  part  by  hired  labor.  Kine  head 
of  fat  cattle  were  sold  from  the  pasture  for  $835;  32  hogs,  for  $733;  14 
pigs,  for  $42.  Six  of  these  cattle,  having  been  bought  the  year  before, 
were  kept  through  the  winter,  and  sold  for  $90  each.  The  stock  now 
kept  on  the. farm  is  valued  at  $1,812,  and  the  tarm-implements  at  $994. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  $30,000.  The  receipts  of  the  college  from  all  sources 
during  the  fiscal  year  were  $40,539;  the  disbursements  $38,517,  of 
which  $26,970  were  paid  for  salaries.  John  H.  Wright,  A.  B.,  assistant 
professor  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  has  resigned  his  professor- 


PROGRESS    OF    INDUSTRIAL    EDUCATION.  347 

ship  to  enter  upon  an  extended  course  of  study  in  Europe.  His  place 
has  been  filled  by  Josiah  11.  Smith,  A.  B.,  a  e:radiiate  of  Ainberst  Col- 
lege. 

Professors,  10 ;  assistant,  1 ;  student,  140 ;  pursuing  agricultural  or 
mechanical  studies,  12G. 

OREGON. 

CorvalUs  College — State  Agricultural  College,  at  Corvallis;  B.  L. 
Arnold,  Ph.  D.,  president. — The  president,  says  that  the  college  is  in 
a  healthy  coudiiion  and  well  attended.  During  the  past  two  years 
about  one  hundred  young  men  have  pursued  agricultural  studies. 
They  have  received  instruction  in  practical  agriculture,  the  physiology 
and  chemistry  of  plants,  analysis  and  improvement  of  soils,  animal 
physiology,  the  economic  use  and  preservation  of  farm-crojis,  and  other 
branches  of  the  agricultural  course  important  for  farmers  to  understand. 
A  wing  has  been  added  to  the  college  building,  and  other  improvements 
have  been  made,  the  whole  costing  about  $3,000.  The  building  as  now 
improved  is  of  such  size  as  to  afford  ample  room  for  several  years.  A 
greenhouse  will  be  built  in  a  few  months.  The  apparatus  has  been  so 
much  increased  by  yearly  additions  that  it  is  now  sufficient  for  illustra- 
tion of  all  the  fundamental  principles  of  chemistry  and  physics.  A  fine 
collection  of  minerals  has  been  added  to  the  cabinet,  for  the  special  use 
of  the  class-room,  through  the  kindness  of  A.  11.  Brown,  secretary  of 
state. 

The  experimental  farm  contains  35  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $5,000. 
Experiments  have  been  made  with  wheat  in  connection  with  soda,  pot- 
ash, lime  in  three  forms,  ashes,  sulphuric  acid,  marl,  chlorine,  superphos- 
phate of  lime,  urine,  and  ammoniated  phosphate.  The  conclusion  was 
that  the  fertilizer  last  named  is  by  far  the  best;  it  hastens  the  crop,  and 
causes  a  much  larger  yield  than  any  of  the  others.  Analyses  and  tests  of 
the  "  white  soil,"  mentioned  in  a  previous  report,  have  been  continued, 
and  the  couclnsiou  arrived  at  is  that  if  it  is  thoroughly  drained,  well 
plowed,  and  cultivated  with  green  crops  for  several  years,  it  will  produce 
grain  as  well  as  any  other.  All  students  are  required  to  perform  a  small 
amount  of  labor  on  the  farm  and  to  practice  the  military  drill  daily. 

The  annual  interest  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land- 
grant  has  not  been^^reported.  The  State  makes  an  annual  appropria- 
tion of  $5,000  for  current  expenses  of  conducting  the  college.  During 
the  fiscal  year  10,000  acres  of  the  land-grant  have  been  sold  at  an  aver- 
age of  $2.50  per  acre,  and  79,300  remain  unsold. 

Professors,  4 5  students  in  agricultural  college,  51;  in  all  the  depart- 
ments, 147. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Pennsylvania  State  College,  Centre  County;  Rev.  James  Calder,  D.  D., 
president. — This  college  has  undergone  some  changes  in  its  name,  but 
its  purposes  as  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  remain  the  same. 
According  to  the  latest  documentary  authority  it  was  first  incorporated 
as  "The  Farmers'  High  School  of  Pennsylvania,"  February  22,  1855; 
next,  as  "  The  Agricultural  College  of  Pennsylvania,"  Mav  1,  1802 ;  and 
lastly  as  "  The  Pennsylvania  State  College,"  July  20, 1874. 

The  four  farms  belonging  to  the  college  contain  600  acres,  and  are 
valued  at  $75,000,  as  follows:  The  college-farm,  300  acres,  at  $100  per 
acre,  $30,000;  the  central  experimental,  lOO  acres,  at  $100  per  acre, 
$10,000;  the  eastern  experimental,  100  acres,  at  $200  per  acre,  $20,000; 
the  western  experimental,  100  acres,  at  $150  per  acre,  $15,000.    The 


348         REPORT    OP   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 

work  which  has  been  done  on  these  farms  for  many  successive  years  in 
expeiimeutatiou  aud  with  the  aim  of  preseuting-  model  farms  has  been 
extensive,  and  results  have  been  arrived  at  which  arc  of  high  practical 
value  to  the  fanners  of  the  State.  Experiments  have  been  made  during 
the  year  in  acclimating  seeds,  testing  varieties  of  seeds  and  grains, 
methods  of  cultivation,  the  use  of  manures,  various  rotations  of  crops, 
the  culture  of  wheat  and  potatoes,  soiling  cattle,  and  culture  of  fruit 
trees. 

From  various  experiments  continued  for  several  years  the  professor 
of  agriculture  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  profitable  to  feed 
cattle  during  the  winter  for  furnishing  manure ;  that  stock,  when 
confined  to  small  lots  or  yards  aud  soiled,  do  equally  as  well,  if 
carefully  attended,  as  when  allowed  the  liberty  of  the  fields,  and  can  be 
fed  on  the  product  of  one-third  lessl  and  ;  that  purple  lucerne  {Medicago 
sativa)  is  a  good  soiling-plant  on  strong  land,  yields  heavily,  grows  rap- 
idly, bears  cutting,  and  is  perennial ;  that  the  old  method  of  cutting 
indiscriminately  the  large  and  small  potatoes  for  seed,  not  going  to  ex- 
tremes, and  of  planting  the  seed  and  root  ends,  is  practically  as  good  as 
any  other ;  that  in  planting  apple-orchards  it  is  the  most  profitable  to 
plant  only  two  or  three  varieties,  and  these  of  the  most  marketable 
kinds ;  that  surface-culture,  good  manuring,  scraping,  and  washing  the 
trees  with  an  alkaline  mixture,  and  a  dressing  of  five  or  six  pounds  of 
muriate  of  potash  per  tree,  have  proved  to  be  a  very  profitable  mode  of 
treatment.  The  college-farm  has  been  very  much  improved  by  clearing 
off  old  stone  fences,  removing  worthless  hedges,  and  planting  fruit-trees  ; 
and  the  campus,  by  constructing  roads  and  filling  up  inequalities. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  now  $24,420.  Some  small  buildings  have  been  erected 
and  others  repaired,  and  arrangements  have  been  made  for  supplying 
the  college  with  an  abundance  of  pure  spring-water.  About  $500  have 
been  expended  for  apparatus  for  the  physical  department,  and  $100  for 
increasing  the  library. 

Professors  12 ;  assistant,  1 ;  students,  161. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

Brown  University — Agricultural  and  mechanical  department,  at  Provi- 
dence ;  Rev.  E.  G.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  president. — The  course  of  study 
in  the  department  of  practical  science  for  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  phi- 
losophy has  been  extended  from  three  years  to  four,  as  contemplated 
by  the  university  last  year.  There  is  no  prescribed  course  laid  down  in 
the  catalogue  for  students  in  agriculture,  but  provision  has  been  made 
in  the  department  of  practical  science  for  selected  courses  of  instruction 
in  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts.  Students  who  enter  with  the  intention  of  pursuing  selected 
studies  are  subject  to  the  same  conditions  of  admission  as  for  the  regu- 
lar scientific  courses  ;  and  when  they  have  completed  the  studies  which 
they  have  selected,  they  are  entitled  to  a  certificate  stating  the  time  of 
their  connection  with  the  university  and  the  amount  of  their  acquisitions. 
Direct  instruction  in  agriculture  appears  to  have  been  given  by  the  pro- 
fessor of  agricultural  zoology  and  curator  of  the  museum.  He  says  that 
during  the  last  half  of  the  year  a  weekly  course  of  lectures  on  agricul- 
tural zoology  has  been  given  to  the  senior  class.  About  one-fourth  of 
the  class  have  also  attended  to  taxidermy  as  a  voluntary  exercise 
throughout  the  year. 

The  annual  interest  from  the  original  fund  derived  from  the  proceeds 


PROGRESS.  OF    INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  349 

of  the  congressional  land-grant  is  $3,000 ;  but  this  fund  has  been 
allowed  to  accumulate  by  judicious  management,  so  that  the  annual 
interest  now  amounts  to  $G,624.  Very  vakiable  additions  have  been 
made  to  the  museum,  consisting  of  about  100  specimens  of  lishes ;  50 
of  woods  native  to  Massachusetts  ;  a  large  collection  of  plants,  insects, 
and  native  weapons;  war  implements,  domestic  utensils,  and  fabrics  from 
the  interior  of  Africa  ;  several  species  of  mammals,  and  numerous  mis- 
cellaneous specimens. 

Professors  in  tlie  agricultural  and  mechanical  department,  10  ;  assist- 
ants, 3  ;  students,  35 ;  i>rofessors  in  all  the  departments,  13 ;  assistants, 
3  ;  students,  251 . 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

CAaJlin  University — South  Carolina  Agricultural  College  and  Mechanics' 
Institute^  at  Orangeburgh;  Rev.  Edtoard  Coolce,  D.  D..,  vrcsident — The  an- 
nual interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-grant 
is  $11,508,  but  the  whole  amount  is  not  always  paid  to  the  college 
by  the  State.  This  year  it  received  $10,000,  leaving  a  balance  of 
$1,508  unpaid.  Of  the  sum  received,  $4,000  were  used  for  expenses  in 
conducting  the  college  and  the  remainder  in  payment  of  the  experi- 
mental farm.  The  farm  contains  116  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $10,000. 
It  has  been  considerably  improved  during  the  year,  and  the  facilities  for 
students  to  engage  in  manual  labor  have  been  much  increased.  Experi- 
ments have  been  made  with  different  kinds  of  manures  and  in  plowing 
to  ascertain  the  kind  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate  of  that  part  of 
the  State.  Crops  have  been  cultivated  successfully,  and  43  bushels  of 
shelled  corn  were  produced  per  acre,  which  is  much  above  the  usual  yield 
in  the  State.  A  neat  and  commodious  brick  building  is  in  course  of 
construction  on  the  site  of  the  one  burned  about  a  year  ago,  and  will  be 
completed  next  spring.  It  will  be  occupied  jointly  by  the  university  and 
college.  It  is  80  feet  long  and  40  wide,  three  stories  high,  with  man- 
sard roof,  making  a  fourth  story,  and  has  a  piazza  on  the  Iront  and  back 
sides.  It  contains  two  school-rooms,  three  recitation-rooms,  library- 
room,  and  thirteen  dormitories  in  the  mansard  story ;  also,  a  chapel 
which  will  seat  two  hund;^ed  persons,  and  a  family  residence,  with  par- 
lors, kitchen,  and  dining-room.  Besides  this  building,  there  are  several 
others  which  are  used  for  school  purposes.  The  collegiate  year  is 
divided  into  three  terms  of  eleven  weeks  each.  Tuition  is  free  ;  care  of 
room  per  term,  $1;  board  in  hall  per  week,  $3.50;  room-rent  and  fuel 
for  self-boarders  per  term,  $3.  Students  have  an  opportunity  of  paying 
their  bills  in  i:»art  by  manual  labor. 

Professors  in  the  college,  3 ;  assistants,  3 ;  students,  40  ;  professors  in 
all  the  departments,  4 ;  assistants,  3 ;  students,  195. 

TENNESSEE. 

East  Tennessee  University — Tennessee  Agricultural  College^  atKnoxville  ; 
Rev.  Thomas  W.  Humes,  S.  T.  D.,  president. — Some  changes  have  been 
made  during  the  year  in  the  agricultural  course  of  study,  by  which 
additional  instruction  is  given  in  chemistry'  and  botany  in  the  freshman 
year,  and  in  market-gardening  and  dairy-farming  in  the  junior.  A  few 
additional  branches  have  also  been  introduced  into  this  course. 

The  annual  interest  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  $23,700,  but  the  college  has  not  always  received  the 
full  amount,  the  payment  having  sometimes  been  made  in  State 
treasury  warrants,  on  which  there    is    a    discount    in    the    market. 


350    REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  college-farm  contains  2G0  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $24,000.  iDjpor- 
tant  improvements  have  been  make  on  it  during  the  year,  and  experi- 
ments ('ondacted  in  the  cultivation  of  wheat  with  different  fertilizers, 
with  white  rye  received  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  with 
barley.  From  experiments  made  with  timothy-grass,  it  has  been  dis- 
covered that  it  cannot  be  relied  on  as  a  permanent  crop  in  the  locality 
of  the  college,  being  incapable  of  resisting  the  drought,  and  after  two 
cuttings  dies  out.  Orchard-grass,  on  the  contrary,  flourishes  well,  and 
is  not  permanently  injured  by  dry  weather.  A  new  barn  has  been 
erected  on  the  farm,  and  apparatus  for  instruction  in  chemistry  has 
been  purchased  to  the  amount  of  $300;  seventy-two  dollars'  worth  has 
also  been  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  professor  of  agriculture. 

Professors  in  the  agricultural  college,  9  ;  assistants,  3  ;  students,  58 ; 
professors  in  all  the  departments,  9;  assistants,  8;  students,  300. 

TEXAS. 

Agricultural  and  Meclianical  College  of  Texas,  at  Bryan ;  TJiomas  S. 
Oathright,  A.  M.^  irresident. — The  college  was  inaugurated  and  opened 
for  the  reception  of  students  October  4, 1876.  It  is  l>eautifully  located, 
in  a  healthy  section,  four  miles  from  Bryan,  on  the  Houston  and  Texas 
Central  Eailroad,  and  is  easily  accessible  from  all  parts  of  the  State. 
The  college  building,  of  which  an  engraving  is  here  presented,  is  claimed 
to  be  equal  to  the  best  in  the  country.  It  is  153  feet  long,  60  wide, 
four  stories  high,  and  is  built  of  brick,  except  the  foundation,  which  is 
stone.  The  window  and  door  sills  and  caps  are  made  of  Texas  granite. 
On  each  floor,  except  the  fourth,  it  contains  three  halls,  running  the 
entire  length  of  the  building.  The  two  set  apart  for  literary  societies 
will  each  accommodate  400  persons.  On  the  fourth  floor  are  a  chapel, 
60  feet  square,  six  lecture-rooms,  library,  president's  otflce,  cadets'  room, 
armory,  and  guard-room.  The  remaining  rooms  are  for  students'  dormi- 
tories The  inside  of  the  building  is  finished  with  native  cj'press  in  the 
highest  style  of  architecture,  varnished  to  show  the  texture  of  the  wood 
to  the  best  advantage.  Besides  the  college  building,  there  is  another 
called  the  "students'  hall,"  four  stories  high,  and  built  of  the  same 
materials  as  the  main  building,  but  not  so  elaborately  finished.  Also 
four  brick  cottages  for  professors'  residences,  and  a  nice  barn.  The 
cost  of  the  college  building  was  $100,000;  of  the  students'  hall,  $32,000; 
and  of  the  smaller  buildings,  $20,000.  The  State  appropriated  the 
liberal  sum  of  $187,000  for  the  erection  of  these  buildings  and  the 
purchase  of  the  farm.  None  of  the  fund  granted  by  Congress  has  been 
used. 

There  are  five  courses  of  study  in  the  college:  (1)  Preparatory  and 
general;  (2)  in  agriculture;  (3)  in  mechanics  and  engineering;  (4)  in 
languages  and  literature;  (5)  in  military  tactics.  The  first-named  course 
occupies  three  years.  It  is  designed  to  afford  the  student  a  good  edu- 
cation for  the  practical  duties  of  lite,  or  to  prepare  him  for  entering 
upon  any  special  course  he  may  choose.  Each  of  the  special  courses 
occupies  two  years.  The  general  course  includes  rhetorical  reading, 
declamation,  English  grammar,  composition,  higher  arithmetic,  geogra- 
phy, history,  drawing,  algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry,  physics,  chem- 
istry, geology,  plain  and  topographical  surveying,  zoology,  animal  and 
vegetable  physiology,  elements  of  agriculture,  French,  Spanish,  Ger- 
man, Latin,  Greek,  and  military  tactics.  Modern  languages  may  be 
substituted  for  Latin  and  Greek,  if  desired.  The  course  in  agricult- 
ure includes  analytical  geometry,  conies,  calculus,  physics,  astronomy, 


PROGRESS    OP   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCA,TION.  351 

chemistry,  structure  and  physiology  of  plants,  water,  the  atmosphere, 
soils  in  their  relation  to  vegetable  products,  improvement  of  the  soil 
by  chemical  and  mechanical  means;  history,  care,  breeding,  diseases, 
food,  digestion,  respiration,  assimilation,  and  excretions  of  domestic 
animals;  milk,  butter,  cheese,  flesh,  and  wool  as  agricultural  prod- 
ucts; development  and  present  condition  of  agriculture  as  an  art, 
its  principles,  economic  requirements  of  vegetable  growth,  soils  and 
theory  of  manures,  plowing,  physical  manipulations  of  land,  imple- 
ments and  machinery  ;  drainage,  construction,  and  arrangement  of  farm 
buildings ;  care  of  grass  and  pasture  lands,  rotation  of  crops,  use  of  arti- 
ficial fertilizers,  designs  for  farm-machinery,  meteorology,  farm  and  road 
surveying,  water-courses  for  irrigation  and  draining,  book-keeping,  free- 
iiand  drawing  and  sketching,  strength  of  materials,  practical  hydraulics 
and  pneumatics,  mineralogy,  geology,  zoology,  insects  injurious  and 
beneficial  to  agriculture  ;  care  and  marketing  of  crops;  orchard  and  vine 
culture ;  Latin,  French  or  German,  and  military  tactics. 

It  is  prescribed,  "  as  a  permanent  rule  of  this  college,  that  no  appli- 
cant for  admission  as  a  student  shall  be  received  unless  of  the  white 
race."  Provision  is  made  for  educating,  free  of  tuition, ''  State  students," 
as  follows :  Two  to  be  appointed  from  the  State  by  the  United  States 
senators,  one  from  each  congressional  district  by  the  member  repre- 
senting it,  and  three  from  each  State  senatorial  district.  In  the  latter 
case,  the  choice  is  to  be  determined  by  a  competitive  examination  under 
the  direction  of  the  district  senator.  Tuition  for  other  than  State  stu- 
dents is  $50  per  annum.  The  estimated  expenses  of  a  State  student 
for  a  year  of  nine  months,  including  matriculation-fee,  board,  washing, 
fuel,  lights,  two  suits  of  clothing,  and  medical  attendance,  are  $200; 
of  other  students,  $250. 

Special  care  is  taken  to  give  thorough  instruction  in  military  tactics, 
including,  besides  the  general  drill,  guard  duty  and  outpost-picket 
service.  To  aid  in  teaching  this  branch  in  the  best  manner,  the  State 
has  provided  the  students  with  complete  sets  of  breech-loading  cadet- 
rftles,  swords,  and  accouterments. 

In  August  of  the  present  year  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature 
to  establish  another  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  for  the  educa- 
tion of  colored  youth  of  the  State,  and  the  college  will  be  organized  and 
put  in  operation  at  the  earliest  day  practicable. 

The  annual  income  from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-scrip 
is  $10,902  in  gold,  which,  in  the  present  currency,  is  equal  to  about 
$12,000.  The  land  appropriated  by  the  State  to  the  college,  and  on 
which  the  college  buildings  are  located,  embraces  2,200  acres,  a  part  of 
which  is  used  for  an  ex]perimental  farm,  and  the  remainder  is  unim- 
proved. The  entire  tract  is  valued  at  $20,000.  Liberal  appropriations 
have  been  made  for  chemical  and  i)hilosophical  apparatus,  and  it  is 
intended  to  purchase  such  as  will  be  equal  in  quality  to  the  best  used  in 
the  agricultural  colleges  of  the  other  States. 

Professors,  6 ;  students,  50.  Suflicient  time  has  not  been  given  for 
the  organization  of  classes  in  the  agricultural  course  of  study. 

VERMONT. 

University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agrictdtitral  College,  at  Biirlington; 
Matthew  H.  Buchham,  A.  31.,  president. — Tlie  college  has  not  yet  entered 
into  the  work  of  conducting  an  experimental  farm,  although  it  has  land 
in  ample  quantity  for  experimental  purposes,  and  would  gladly  use  it 
lor  a  tarm  if  the  funds  could  be  procured  to  provide  the  necessary  equip- 


352    EEPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

ments  and  a  professor  of  agriculture  to  superintend  it.  The  annual  in- 
terest derived  from  tbe  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-grant  is  88,130. 
Professors  in  the  agricultural  college,  7;  assistant,  1;  students,  23; 
professors  in  all  the  departments,  22 ;  assistants,  3 ;  students,  108 ;  14 
of  whom  were  ladies;  lady  graduates,  5.  The  following  statement  has 
been  received  from  the  president : 

Au  attempt  to  establisli  a  separate  institution  out  of  tlio  proceeds  of  the  congres- 
sional land-grant  having  failed  for  want  of  sufiQcient  additional  endowment,  the  legis- 
lature, in  1865,  olfered  tbe  fund  to  the  State  University  on  the  condition  that  it  should 
accept  a  new  charter  conforming  it  to  the  requirments  of  the  act  of  Congress  estab- 
lishing colleges  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  The  institution  thus  chartered 
is  the  "University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,"  having  one  board  of 
trustees,  one  treasury,  one  faculty,  but  several  departments.  The  State  has  as  yet 
done  nothing  to  increase  the  resources  of  the  institution.  On  accepting  its  new  trust, 
the  university  raised  a  subscription  of  §80,000,  mainly  among  its  alumni  and  old  friends, 
to  enable  it  to  meet  its  new  responsibilities.  Three  new  departments  were  created, 
that  of  general  and.  agricultural  chemistry,  that  of  civil  engineering,  and  that  of  mod- 
ern languages. 

Besides  these,  the  department  of  natural  history  was  modified  and  enlarged  so  as  to 
give  greater  scope  to  the  studies  bearing  directly  (ju  agriculture,  such  as  mineralogy,  bot- 
any, physiology,  and  zoology.  The  institution  does  not  manage  a  farm,  but  it  h  is  land 
ample  for  experimental  purposes  if  funds  should  be  supplied  tlierefor.  About  100  stu- 
dents are  in  attendance,  the  numbers  in  the  scientific  departments  being  from  one-quar- 
ter to  one-third  the  total  number.  By  the  statistics  furnished  for  the  report  of  the  con- 
gressional committee  in  1874,  it  appears  that  of  those  who  have  been  ipembers  of  the. 
institution  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  since  1865,  a  large  number  have  entered  into  the 
various  industrial  pursuits  by  which  the  resources  of  the  country  are  developed,  and 
that  thus  the  college  is  fulfilling  the  designs  of  its  founders  by  sending  well-trained 
men  into  the  great  industries  of  the  nation.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  the  institution 
in  its  new  ground,  it  has  done  considerable  missionary  work  through  the  State  by 
sending  its  professors  to  farmers'  meetings,  teachers'  associations,  and  other  general 
gatherings.  During  the  past  winter  Professor  Cressy,  lato  of  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural College,  was  employed  by  the  university  to  lecture  in  every  county  in  the 
State  on  the  diseases  of  animals,  and  to  give  a  consecutive  course  on  veterinary  medi- 
cine and  surgery  in  Bnriington.  These  lectures  were  provided  in  the  hope  that  in  this 
way  the  attention  of  young  farmers  might  be  drawn  to  the  college,  and  that  they 
might  be  induced  to  pursue  other  branches  of  study  bearing  on  agriculture.  Finding 
that  these  lectures  through  the  State  awakened  a  great  interest  on  the  subject,  tlje 
college  had  the  lectures  in  Burlington  reported,  and  a  large  edition  of  the  reports  in 
pamphlet  form  distributed  gratuitously  amoug  the  farmers  and  stcck-raisera  of  the 
State. 

From  the  beginning  the  institution  has  had  to  encounter  opposition  from  those  whose 
ideas  of  an  agricultural  college  is  a  mere  manual-labor  school  for  apprentices  to  farm- 
work.  The  aim  of  the  institution  has  been  to  provide,  first,  for  instruction  in  those 
sciences — those  ''branches  of  learning"  which  relate  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts;  to  equip  laboratories,  to  furnish  museums,  to  secure  apparatus,  to  gather  all  the  ap- 
pliances for  imparting  scientific  and  practical  instruction,  and  to  add,  as  fast  as  funds 
could  be  got,  the  means  of  exemplifying  such  instruction  in  farm,  stock,  machinery,  &c. 

VIRaiNIA. 

Virginia  Agricultural  and  Mealianical  College,  at  BlacJcsburgh ;  Charles 
L.  G.  Minor,  LL.  £>.,  president. — One  of  the  two  college  buildings, 
referred  to  in  our  report  of  last  year  as  being  in  course  of  construction, 
is  now  completed  and  occupied.  It  is  used  for  lecture  and  recitation 
rooms,  laboratories,  &c.  The  other,  which  is  of  the  same  size  and  finish 
and  designed  for  similar  purposes,  will  be  completed  and  ready  for  occu- 
liancy  early  in  the  spring  of  1877.  The  two  dwelling-houses,  begun  last 
year  and  intended  for  professors'  residences,  are  also  comi)leted  and 
occupied.  They  are  neatly  finished  and  of  excellent  quality.  So  great 
has  been  the  increase  of  students  since  the  opening  of  the  college  in 
1872,  that  the  number  is  now  doubled,  and  no  more  can  be  received  iu 


PROGRESS    OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  353 

future  until  the  resources  of  the  college  are  augmented.  The  machine- 
shop,  whicli  was  completed  two  years  ago,  has  been  enlarged  and  fur- 
nished with  additional  machinery  and  tools.  A  grist-mill  has  been 
erected  adjoining  it,  and  is  driven  by  the  same  engine  as  the  machinery 
of  the  shop.  The  addition  to  the  shop,  the  mill,  and  a  brick  kitchen 
were  all  built  by  the  students,  except  the  mason- work.  They  have  also 
set  up  a  line  of  telegraph,  connecting  the  college  with  the  Weslsern  Union 
Telegraph  line,  and  thus  furnished  for  themselves  a  practical  school  for 
learning  the  art  of  telegraphy.  They  have  removed  two  houses,  and 
remodeled  three  messing  and  lodging  houses.  By  employing  the  mess- 
ing system  they  have  sometimes  reduced  the  price  of  board  to  $0.50  per 
month.  Board  with  lodging  can  be  had  for  $10  per  month,  and  never 
exceeds  $15.  Many  students  pay  a  large  part  of  their  expenses  by 
their  work,  and  some  who  have  skill  in  trades  have  been  able  to  cancel 
the  whole. 

The  college-farm  contains  250  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $28,000.  Impor- 
tant additions  have  been  made  to  the  stock  kept  on  the  farm.  Daily  in- 
struction is  given  in  practical  agriculture  to  details  of  students  during 
the  crop-season,  and  in  mechanics  throughout  the  collegiate  year.  The 
school  of  drawing,  including  free-hand  drawing,  has  been  attended  with 
great  efficiency  and  success.  The  course  of  instruction  in  the  college  is 
confined  strictly  to  what  is  believed  to  be  best  for  fitting  young  men  for 
success  as  farmers  and  mechanics.  The  annual  interest  derived  from 
the  two-thirds  ($190,000)  of  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land- 
scrip  received  by  this  college  is  $20,638.72,  which  is  nearly  11  per  cent. 
on  the  $190,000  invested  in  Virginia  State  bonds.  The  bonds  were  pur- 
chased at  a  little  more  than  50  cents  on  a  dollar,  and  interest  is  paid  on 
their  full  amount. 

Professors,  7;  assistants,  3;  students,  255,  all  of  whom  pursued  agri- 
cultural or  mechanical  studies;  graduates,  27,  22  being  graduates  in 
agriculture,  and  5  in  bofeh  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts. 

Hampton  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute,  at  Hampton;  General  Sam- 
uel C.  Armstrong,  president. — The  receipts  of  the  institute  for  the  fiscal 
year  of  1S7G  were  $67,441.94.  Of  this  sum,  $39,235.74  were  derived 
principally  from  private  donations  made  by  benevolent  persons  in  the 
several  States.  The  disbursements  were  $67,332.41,  leaving  a  balance 
of  $112.53  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer.  The  indebtedness  of  the  in- 
stitute is  only  about  $4,000. 

During  the  year  a  new  Hoadley  agricultural  steam-engine,  of  nine 
horse-power,  has  been  purchased  for  $1,200,  and  the  small  three  horse- 
power Baxter  engine  used  last  year  has  been  transferred  to  the  printing- 
office,  where  it  is  used  with  profit.  The  earnings  of  the  agricultural 
engine  for  work  done  in  thrashing  for  farmers  unconnected  with  the 
institute  have  amounted  to  $200.  In  addition  to  this,  a  steam-digester 
for  steaming  bone  has  been  bought  for  $154,  and  a  buhr-stone  mill  for 
grinding  corn  for  stock  and  steamed  bones  into  flour  of  bone  for  manure. 
Also  a  Hunneman  hand  fire-engine,  with  700  feet  of  hose,  for  $1,200, 
to  be  used  in  protecting  Xhe  institute  buildings.  A  fire-company  has 
been  formed  by  the  students,  who  have  been  drilled  and  are  capable  of  per- 
forming efficient  duty  in  case  of  fire.  The  grounds  have  been  graded  and 
improved  by  filling  up  a  malarious  marsh  in  the  vicinity  of  the  institute 
buildings,  an  ornamental  pond  being  left  in  the  center,  which  adds  much 
to  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  and  serves  for  a  reservoir  from  which 

23  A 


354    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

water  can  be  taken  in  case  of  fire  and  thrown  upon  five  adjacent  build- 
ingvS.  Huudreds  of  shade-trees  have  been  set  out,  taken  from  the  farm- 
nursery,  which  was  planted  five  years  ago.  More  than  2,000  small  orna- 
mental trees  have  been  added  to  the  nursery-stock,  for  sale  and  for  use 
in  increasiug  the  beauty  and  value  of  the  premises.  A  substantial 
brick  engine-house  has  been  built  and  a  corridor  finished  off  in  the  upper 
story  of  Virginia  Hall,  making  ten  dormitories  for  girls.  A  cooper-shop 
has  also  been  put  into  operation  for  the  manufacture  of  market  barrels. 
The  work  has  been  done  by  two  students,  and  proved  profitable.  Two 
hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  bricks  have  been  manufactured  and 
sold  at  a  profit  of  $1,24G.  Three-fourths  of  the  students  pay  their  own 
board-bills,  $10  per  month,  half  in  cash  and  half  in  labor.  About  $7,000 
are  paid  annually  for  students'  labor  in  all  the  industries  pursued.  Mr. 
F.  Marquaud,  of  New  York  City,  gave,  in  June  last,  $5,000  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  building  for  a  home  for  male  students.  It  is  now  completed, 
and  called  Marquaud  Cottage.  It  affords  comfortable  and  excellent 
rooms  for  thirty-eight  young  men.  The  furniture  will  be  made  by  the 
students  in  the  normal-school  workshop. 

Sixty-nine  girls  have  worked  in  the  industrial  room  during  the  year, 
and  about  1,200  pieces  of  work  have  been  finished,  and  200  mended  by 
them  each  week,  besides  making  dresses  and  other  garments  for  them- 
selves in  time  not  devoted  to  required  labor.  Sewing-machines  are  used 
by  the  more  advanced  pupils.  Those  in  the  middle  and  senior  classes 
receive  weekly  instruction  in"  housekeeping,  bread-making,  and  plain 
cooking,  eight  being  detailed  every  Saturday  to  the  different  house- 
keepers on  the  premises,  who  teach  them  in  these  useful  arts.  Last 
winter  about  4,000  colored  children  were  under  the  instruction  of  teach- 
ers who  have  graduated  at  this  institution.  A  teachers'  institute  has 
been  held  for  the  benefit  of  the  graduating  class  and  such  post-graduates 
as  might  desire  to  attend.  Twenty  post-graduates  and  more  than  forty 
of  the  graduating  class  availed  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  its 
exercises. 

The  farm  contains  190  acres,  and  is  valued  at  $33,000.  During  the 
year  40  acres  of  corn  have  been  cultivated,  25  of  oats,  1  of  rye,  12  of 
clover,  7  of  early  potatoes,  8  of  sweet-potatoes,  9  of  corn-fodder,  3  of  sor- 
ghum, 3  of  pease,  2^  of  cabbages,  2  of  onions,  4  of  asparagus,  2  of  roots, 
1  of  snap-beans,  4i  of  vegetables  and  strawberries,  and  4  of  broom-corn. 
The  stock  on  the  tlirm  consists  of  9  horses  and  mules,  5  colts,  18  cows, 
4  oxen,  10  yearlings  and  calves,  1  thoroughbred  Ayrshire  bull,  50  hogs, 
and  20  sheep.  Seventy  head  of  cattle  and  horses  were  wintered  on  the 
farm  the  past  season.  The  care  of  this  stock  furnished  labor  for  stu- 
dents, and  a  large  amount  of  manure  is  made  for  the  farm.  Cash  re- 
ceived from  sales  of  beef  amounted  to  $3,840.  The  income  qf  the  farm 
exceeded  the  expenditures  by  $833.43,  while  the  knowledge  acquired  by 
the  students  in  its  cultivation  is  incalculable. 

The  annual  interest  on  the  one-third  ($1)5,000)  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
congressional  land-grant  received  by  this  institution  is  $10,319.30,  be- 
ing nearly  11  j^er  cent,  on  the  sum  invested.  About  $200  more  are 
received  trom  a  small  private  endowment-fund.  In  addition  to  the  in- 
come from  these  sources,  $17,000  are  required  annually  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  conducting  the  institute.  The  money  thus  far  has  been  derived 
from  private  contributions,  principally  in  the  JS^orthern  States. 

Teachers,  17;  assistants,  3 ;  students,  256;  pursuing  agricultural  or 
mechanical  studies,  99. 


PROGRESS    OF   INDUSTRIAL    EDUCATION.  355 

WEST  VIRGINIA. 

West  Virginia  University — Agricultural  Department,  at  Morgantown ; 
Rev.  J.  W.  iScotty  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  acting  president. — A  permanent  president 
of  the  university  has  not  yet  been  elected,  but  it  is  expected  that  one 
will  be  soon.  The  central  portion  of  University  Hall,  or  the  Agricultural 
College,  has  been  completed  during  the  year.  It  is  claimed  that  there  is 
no  better-finished  public  building  in  the  State.  The  wings  will  be 
erected  as  soon  as  means  will  permit.  The  following  is  the  plan  of  the 
entire  building  when  completed,  as  seen  in  the  accompanying  engraving  : 
Length,  including  the  wings,  150  feet;  breadth  of  the  main  central  sec- 
tion, 101  feet ;  of  each  of  the  wings,  65  feet ;  height  of  basement,  11  feet; 
of  first  floor,  17^  feet;  of  second  floor,  15^  feet;  of  mansard  story,  20 
feet ;  of  the  main  tower  from  basement,  101  feet.  There  are  four  rooms 
each  on  the  basement  and  second  and  third  floors,  measuring  23^  by  35 
feet  each.  They  are  for  laboratory  and  lecture-rooms.  In  the  mansard 
story  is  the  commencement-hall,  55  by  78  feet.  The  basement- walls  are 
made  of  light  sandstone,  of  uniform  color  and  texture ;  the  other  walls, 
of  pressed  brick,  laid  in  white  mortar  ;  window-sills,  corbels,  and  key- 
stones, of  light  sandstone  ;  tinials  and  belts  on  pilasters  of  entrances,  &c., 
cut  stone ;  belt-course  on  both  towers,  composed  of  fascia  and  water-table, 
of  cut  stone.  The  inside  is  elegantly  finished  with  chestnut.  Estimated 
cost  of  the  entire  building  when  completed,  $75,000.  A  new  building, 
called  University  Boarding-hall,  has  been  erected  by  private  enterprise 
in  close  proximity  to  the  university,  designed  to  supply  a  want  which  the 
regents  had  been  unable  to  meet.  It  is  heated  by  luruaces,  has  a  plen- 
tiful supply  of  soft  water,  and  is  furnished  with  modern  appliances  for 
thorough  ventilation  and  conveniences  for  outdoor  exercise.  Board, 
including  everything  except  washing  and  lights,  is  furnished  to  students 
for  $3.75  per  week. 

The  annual  interest  on  the  proceeds  derived  from  the  congressional 
land-grant  is  $5,400.  The  State  has  made  at  different  times  two  ap- 
propriations of  $10,000  each  to  the  university  for  a  permanent  fund, 
the  interest  of  which  is  shared  in  common  by  the  different  departments. 
It  amounts  to  $1,200  annually.  These  incomes  and  the  tuition  received 
from  the  students  are  not,  however,  sufiicient  to  pay  the  annual  expen- 
ses of  conducting  the  institution,  but  the  deficiency  has  been  generously 
supplied  by  the  State,  so  that  there  is  ro  incumbrance  of  debt.  An 
eflbrt  has  been  made  to  induce  students  to  pursue  the  agricultural  course 
of  study,  but  not  with  the  success  desired.  Quite  a  number,  however, 
pursue  studies  rela-ting  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  It  is 
expected  that  this  embarrassment  will  be  corrected  when  the  college 
becomes  older  and  the  importance  of  an  agricultural  education  is  more 
highly  appreciated.  The  university  has  no  farm.  The  campus  contains 
25  acres,  but  is  not  used  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Professors  in  the  university,  8 ;  assistants,  5 ;  students,  96 ;  profes- 
sors in  the  agricultural  department,  devoting  a  part  of  their  time,  5; 
students,  2. 

WISCONSIN. 

University  of  Wisconsin — College  of  Arts,  at  Madison;  Rev.  JohiBascom, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  president. — Science  Hall,  referred  to  iu  our  last  report  as 
being  in  course  of  construction,  and  then  described  as  far  as  information 
would  permit,  is  now  completed.  It  is  a  magniiicent  brick  building,  four 
stories  high,  and  really  constitutes  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  col- 
lege of  Wisconsin.    In  it  are  the  machine-shop,  carpenter-shop,  chemical 


356         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

laboratory,  cabinet  of  natural  history  and  agriculture,  and  numerous 
other  rooms  mentioned  in  a  previous  report.  It  is  heated  by  steam,  and 
has  a  system  of  water-works  from  which  the  same  power  that  operates 
the  machinery  used  for  instruction  in  the  mechanical  shops  supplies  an 
abundance  of  Avater  for  its  own  use  and  Ladies'  Hall,  and  for  the 
hydrants  which  are  in  connection  with  all  the  principal  buildings. 
There  is  also  an  ample  system  of  sewerage  connecting  Science  Hall  and 
Ladies'  Hall  with  Lake  Mendota,  by  which  cleanliness  and  health  are 
secured. 

The  department  of  agriculture  is  reported  as  in  successful  opera- 
tion, and  its  scope  and  benefits  as  appreciated  by  the  people.  The 
experimental  farm  contains  196  acres,  and  is  valued  at  8^0,000.  The 
university  grounds  occupy  40  acres,  which  are  not  included  in  the  area 
of  the  farm  as  now  given.  The  professor  of  agriculture  and  chemistry, 
W.  W.  Daniells,  M.  S.,  has  conducted  experiments  on  the  farm  with 
four  varieties  of  winter-wheat,  ten  of  spring- wheat,  one  of  rye,  four  of 
barley,  six  of  oats,  five  of  corn,  and  thirteen  of  potatoes.  The  yield  of 
winter- wheat  was  about  double  that  of  the  summer  varieties.  Experi- 
ments have  also  been  made  with  soSs  to  test  the  effects  of  difierent 
depths  of  plowing,  which  varied  from  5  to  20  inches.  The  largest  yield 
of  corn  was  obtained  on  land  plowed  at  a  medium  depth  of  12  inches. 
Extensive  meteorological  observations  have  been  made  several  times 
each  day  throughout  the  year  on  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere, 
barometrical  changes,  relative  humidity,  direction  and  force  of  wind, 
kinds  of  clouds,  and  fall  of  rain  and  snow.  The  annual  interest  derived 
from  the  proceeds  of  the  congressional  land-grant  is  $13,490.  There 
have  been  sold  of  this  grant  during  the  fiscal  year  6,218  acres,  at  an 
average  price  of  $7.34  per  acre ;  and  51,635  acres  remain  unsold. 

Professors  in  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  college,  10 ;  assistants, 
6 ;  sudents,  124 ;  professors  in  all  the  departments,  20 ;  assistants,  7  j 
students,  316,  77  of  whom  were  ladies.  The  board  of  visitors,  in  their 
report,  say  that  "  in  the  present  senior  class  the  percentage  of  young 
women  to  be  graduated  with  honor  in  respect  to  higher  scholarship  is, 
relatively  to  their  whole  number,  decidedly  larger  than  that  of  the 
young  men;  and  this  disparity  is  emphasized  by  the  loss  to  the  latter 
of  the  first  honor." 

The  report  of  the  board  of  regents  thus  refers  to  the  female  depart- 
ment : 

The  act  to  re-orgauize  the  university,  enacted  in  1866,  requires  that  "  the  university 
shall  be  open  to  female  as  well  as  male  students,  UMder  such  regulations  and  restric- 
tions as  the  board  of  regents  may  deem  proper."  In  pursuance  of  this  requirement, 
the  educational  privileges  of  the  university  are  extended  to  students  of  both  sexes 
without  discrimination,  thus  far  with  no  reason  to  regret  the  obligations  imposed  by 
the  law.  But  tho  regents  do  not  understand  that  the  law,  in  providing  aa  equality  of 
educational  privileges,  contemplates  any  special  experiments  in  the  matter  of  educa- 
tion, or  the  adoption  of  any  rules  or  regulations  founded  upon  any  novel  or  theoretical 
view  of  the  personal  and  social  relations  of  the  sexes.  The  law  assumes  that  young 
ladies  possess  the  capacity  and  the  disposition  to  acquire  that  degree  of  knowledge 
and  mental  discipline  in  the  study  of  tho  arts  and  scie«ces  which  is  imparted  by  a 
course  of  collegiate  instruction.  It  assumes  no  more.  It  certainljf  does  not  assume  to 
approve  any  method  of  instruction  or  discipline  contrary  to  the  current  aud  accepted 
views  of  the  parents  who  have  children  to  edueate.  And  while  the  board  is  responsi- 
ble to  the  law  for  the  fulfillment  of  all  the  obligations  imposed  in  this  respect,  it  is 
equally  responsible  to  tho  public,  and  especially  to  the  iiareuts  and  guardians  of  stu- 
dents contided  to  their  charge,  for  the  enforcement  of  such  prudent  rules  of  discipline 
aa  tho  circumstances  render  obviously  judicious  and  appropriate.  Parents,  tht-refore, 
should  feel  assured,  and  possess  i^ositively  good  reasons  for  the  assurance,  that  those 
young  ladies  who  by  their  presence  at  the  university  contribute  equally  to  the  honor 


PROGRESS    OP   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION.  357 

and  reputation  of  cur  eilucatioaal  system,  TvhHo  hero  specifically  for  educational  pur- 
poses, are  sacredly  exempt  from  every  pliaso  of  social  influencis  or  instruction  of  an 
exceptional  or  obnoxious  character,  and  that  such  exemption  is  required  and  enforced 
as  a  matter  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of  both  regents  and  faculty.  The  privileges  of 
the  university  are  thus  accorded  to  jonng  ladies  under  regulations  as  purely  unob- 
jectionable and  nnfxceptionablo  as  fliose  provided  for  any  other  school  of  similar 
character  and  purpose,  public  or  private.  About  one-quarter  of  the  whole  number  of 
students  now  attending  the  university  are  young  ladies,  successfully  competing  for 
etiual  rank  with  tho  remaining  number  in  the  several  departments  of  instruction. 
\\ith  a  due  appreciation  on  tho  part  of  the  public  of  the  valuable  advantages  thus 
coulerred  upon  both  classes  of  students  without  distinction  of  sex,  and  of  the  views 
ot  tho  authorities  upon  the  subject,  there  is  reason  to  anticipate  a  more  equal  propor- 
tion iu  tho  number  fitting  for  and  attending  upon  tke  university  classes. 


358         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Staiisfics  for  1876  of  the  industrial  institutions  of  the  United  States  which  have 


Location  of  the  in- 
stitutiou. 


Auburn,  Ala 

Fayettevillo.  Ark... 
Berkeley,  Cal 

New  Haven,  Conn  . 


Newark,  Del . . . 
Eau  Gallie,  Fla 


Athens,  Ga 1 

I 

V, 

Dahlonega.Ga | 

J 
Urbana,  111 

La  Payette,  Ind 


Ames,  Iowa 

Manhattan,  Kans 
Lexington,  Ky . . . 


New  Orleans,  La. . . 
Orono,  Me 


College  Station,  Mil 
Boston,  Mass 


Amherst,  Mass 

Lansing,  Mich 

Minneapolis,  Minn . 
Oxford,  Miss 

Ilodney,  iMiss 

Colui.ibii,  Ma "j 

Rolla,  j'.i» j 

Lincoln,  Xebr 


Nevada . 


Hanover,  N.  H  . . . 
NewBrunswick.N.J. 

Ithaca,  N.  T 


•Chapel  llill,N.C... 


Columbus,  Ohio. 
Corvallis,  Oreg. . 


30 


Name  of  the  institution. 


Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of 
Alabama. 

Arkansas  Industrial  University 

Un  iversity  of  California — CoUegesof  Agri- 
culture and  Mechanics. 
Tale  College— ShelBeld  Scientific  School.. 


Delaware  College 

Florida  State  Agricultural  College. 


f  Georgia  State  College  of  1 
Agriculture    and  the  1 
Mechanic  Arts.            } 
j  North  Georgia  Agricul-  | 
I     tural  College.                J 
Hlinois  Industrial  University 


'  <  University  of  !, 
!  I      Georgia 


Purdue  University — Indiana  Agricultural 
College. 

Iowa  State  Agricultural  College 

Kansas  State  "Agricultural  College 

Kentucky  University — Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College. 

Louisiana  State  Agricultural  and  Mechan- 
ical College. 

Maine  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  the 
Mechanic  Arts. 

Maryland  Agricultural  College 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. .. 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 


Michigan  State  Agricultural  College 

(  Univer.sity  of  ^  College  of  Agiiculture..  ( 

I    Alinnesota.    5  CollegeofMechanicArts  J 

UniversityofMississi[)iii— College  of  Agri- 
cultuT-e  and  tbe  Mechanic  Arts. 

Alcorn  University — Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical College. 

f  Agricultnr.al    and    Me- 1 

C  University  of  I     chanical  College.  I 

I     Missouri.       ]  MissouriSchoolofMines  [ 
(.     and  Metallurgy.  J 

University  of  Nebraska — College  of  Agri- 
culture."^ 

(No  industrial  institution  established  in 
the  State.) 

Dartmouth  College — New  Hampshire  Col- 
legeof  Agricultureand  the  Me-chauic  Arts. 

Rutgers  College — Scientific  School 


I-  o^^^/,!!  (College  of  Agriculture  ..) 
S  L-orncii  ^  §;,,;,.  college  of  the  Me-  > 
)  University.^     chanioArts.  S 

University  of  North  C.irolina — College  of 

Agricurture  and  the  Mechanic  Arrs. 
Ohio  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College. 
Corvallis  College — State  Agricultural  Col- 
lege. 
Pennsylvania  State  College 


Name  of  the  president  of 
the  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical college  and  of 
the  universitv. 


Rev.  I.  T.  Ticbenor,  D.  D . 

N.  P.  Gates,  A.  M 

John  Le  Conte,  M.  D 


Rev.  Noah  Porter,  D.  D., 

LL.  D. 
William  H.  Purnell,  LL.  D 
Hon.     William     Watkin 

Hicks,  (president  of  the 

trustees.) 

r 

Rev.  Henry  H.  Tucker,  | 

D.  D.,  LL.  D., (chancel- < 

lor.)  I 

t 

John  M.  Gregory,  LL.  D., 
(regent.) 

Emerson  E.  "White,  LL.  D. 


A.  S.  Welch,  LL.  D 

Rev.  John  A.  Andorspn . . 
John  B.  Bowman,  LL.  D. 

(regent.) 
Maj.  J.  L.  Cross 


Rev.  Chas.  F.  Allen,  D.  D . . 

Capt.  William  H.  Parker. . 
John  L>.  Runkle,  Ph.  D., 

LL.D. 
William  S.  Clark,  Ph.  D., 

LL.  D. 
TheophilusC.Abbot,LL.D 

William  W.  Folwell,  M.  A 

General  Alex.  P.  Stewart, 

(chancellor.) 
Hiram  K.  Revels,  D.  D. . . 


Samuel  S.  Law.s,  LL.  D. .  ^ 

I 

Rev.  Edmund  B.  Fairfield. 

D.D..LL.D..(chancellor.) 


Rev.  Asa  D.  Smith,  D.  D., 
LL.  U. 

Rev.  William  H.  Camp- 
bell, D.  v.,  LL.  D. 

Andrew  D.Wbite.LL.D. 

Hon.  Kemp  P.  Battle  . . . 


EdwardOrton,  Ph.  D 
B.  L.  Arnold,  Ph.  D  . . . 


Rev.  James  Calder,  D.  D. 


Centre  County,  Pa.. 

a  The  States  having  blanks  against  them  in  this  column  have  sold  all  their  scrip  or  land. 
b  This  college  has  not  been  opened  to  students. 


PROGRESS   OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION. 
received  the  national  endowment  of  land-scrip  under  the  act  of  July  2, 1862. 


359 


m-5 
c  y 
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1=1 

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125 

t> 

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7 

104 

60 

(a) 

lie,  224 

10,  400 
45,  OOO 

8,100 

4,  980 
6  068 

ICO 

$2,  000 

1 

12 

45 
50 

230 

43 

45 

5'J 

230 
16 

12 
35 

89 

270 

307 

1,021 

160 
200 

No  farm . . 

12,  000 
200,  000 

2 

19 

3 

31 

4 

8 

5 

(&) 

8 

6 

93 

93 

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(      14,010 

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*1,  500 

245 

30 

>   33 

512 

3,  000 

25 

1,000 

r  "^ 

5 

15 

.187 

187 

27 

386 

(c) 

25,  440 

23,  200 

570 

5C,  000 

8 

8 

1 

300 
303 

1 

75 
303 

8 

120 

20,  314 

34,  822 
20,491 

159 

850 
255 

47,  700 

51,000 
25,  000 

9 

15 

5,  956 
5,604 

-32  20 
5  83 

175, 244 
31,  461 

10 

16 

11 

8 

94 

94 

27 

273 

9,900 
13,  734 

7,SG4 
C,900 

433 

130,  000 
40,  000 
10,  000 
14, 250 

1?, 

c 

209 
115 

115 
115 

600 
370 

U 

8 

14 

6 

77 

40 

285 

15 

3fi 

293 
111 

293 

4,011 

8,022 
16,  880 

1 

8 

111 

383 

37,  000 

r 

n 

13 

1G6 

IGG 

2,474 

8  3S 

164,  799 

676 

47,  320 

8 

6 

fi 

19 

2G7 

3,  706 

5  44 

52, 187 

13,  901 

120 

12, 000 

18 

C 

15 

15 

13 
4 

1 

131 
57 

5,679 

5,679 

f        2, 018 

100 
250 
610 

2,000 
5,0G0 
60, 000 

1.0 

4 

8 

21 

21 

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1 

6 

70 

70 

V  28 

391 

(f) 

328,  429 

]         1, 022 

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13 

9 

282 

(d) 
(cf) 

90, 000 
90  000 

Kone . 

320 

18,  422 

21 

11 

24 
42 

26 

24 

42 
2G 

29 
12 

439 
162 

4,  800 
0,9G0 

365 
100 

21,  000 
45, 000 

99 

10 

23 

32 

21 

56 

58 

54 

526 

17,447 

4  65 

375,  000 

35,  000 

150 

22, 000 

24 

9 

61 

140 

CI 
126 

9 

106 

7,500 
30,  000 

Cnknown 
320 

25 

11 

200, 000 

W 

4 

51 

51 

4 

147 

10,  000 

2  50 

79,  300 

Cnkoo-wii. 

35 

5,000 

27 

13 

IGl 

161 

21,420 

COO 

75,  000 

28 

*  Exclnsivc  of  tho  valuo  of  the  oollej;e  building  the  orij;inaI  cost  of  wliich  wns  |24,000. 
dThis  State  has  sold  uone  of  the  scrip  or  iuml  jiranted  by  Cougress  July  2, 18C2. 
c  This  State  has  sold  no  scrip  or  land  daring  the  present  year. 


360    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Statistics  for  1876  of  the  industrial  institutions  of  the  United  States 


s 
m 

m  s 

W.S 
V. 

o 

a 

Location  of  the  in- 
stitutioD. 

w 

p 

10 

a 

-a 

•E 
a 

o 

Z 
,o 

S 

3 
-A 

Name  of  the  institntion. 

Name  of  the  president  of 
the  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical college  and  of 
the  university. 

29 
30 
31 

a;; 

Providence,  E.  I 

Orangeborgh,  S.  0  . . 

Knoxville,  Tena 

Bryau,  Tex 

31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
3C 
37 
36 
30 

Brown  University— Agricultural  and  Me- 
clianicnl  Department. 

Clafliii  Univeraity— South  Carolina  Agri- 
cultural CoUegoand  Mechanics' Institute. 

East  Tennessee  University— Tennessee 
Agricultural  College. 

Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of 
Texas. 

University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricul- 
tural College. 

Virginia  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege. 

Eaiupton  Normal  and  Agricultaral  Insti- 
tute. 

West  Virginia  University— Agricultural 
Department. 

University  of  Wisconsin— College  of  Arts. 

liev.  E.  G.  Robinson.D.  D., 

LL.  D. 
Rev.  Edward  Cooke,  D.  D. 

Rev.  Thomas  W.  IlTiraes, 

S.  T.  D. 
Thomas  S.Gathright,  A.M. 

Matthew   H.    Buckham, 

A.M. 
Charles  L.  C.  Minor,  LL.D. 

General  Samuel  C.  Arm- 
strong. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Scott,  D.  D., 
LL.D. 

Rev.  John  Bascom,  D.  D., 
LL.D. 

33 

35 
36 

Burlington,  Yt 

Blacksburgii,  Va 

Hampton,  Va 

Morgan  town,  TT.  Va. 
Madison,  Wis 

Total 

.. — 

PROGRESS   OF   INDUSTRIAL   EDUCATION. 

which  have  received  the  national  endoivment  of  land-scrip,  tj'-c. — Coutiaiied. 


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195 

10  000 

IIG 

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24,  000 
20,  000 

30 

1-2 

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53 

17 

;;oo 

23,  760 
12,  COO 

269 
2,200 

31 

G 

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8 

23 

23 
255 

25 

KiS 

8,130 
20  639 

33 

10 

250 

28  000 

U. 

20 

25G 

99 

10,  319 
5,  4C0 
13,  490 

190 

33  000 

5 

o 
124 

2 
124 

13 

S7 

96 
316 

J 

35 

10 

C,218 

$7  34 

51,635 

196 

40, 000 

00 

473 

4, 197 

3,354 

516 

6,723 

51, 405 

4  41 

1, 463, 505 

526,283 

11, 333 

1,295,192 

362         REPORT   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OP  AGRICULTURE. 

The  foregoing  tables  show  an  increase,  compared  with  the  previous 
year's  report,  of  10  instructors  of  all  grades  and  494  students  in  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges  of  the  different  States.  Agricult- 
ural-college scrip  was  sold  in  larger  quantities  than  in  the  previous 
year.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  price  per  acre  realized  shows  an  increase, 
having  risen  from  $3.27  to  $4.41,  or  nearly  35  per  cent.  As  the  amount 
of  unsold  land  is  thus  annually  reduced  its  value  per  acre  will  appreci- 
ate still  more  rapidly,  and  those  institutions  which  have  reserved  their 
lands  will  enjoy  a  great  advantage  over  those  that  rushed  into  the  mar- 
ket at  an  early  day.  Vast  masses  of  endowment-lands  were  sold  as  low 
as  80  cents  per  acre. 

For  the  first  time  since  this  Department  has  begun  to  publish  the  an- 
nual statistics  of  agricultural  education  has  it  been  practicable  to  present 
even  an  approximate  statement  of  the  proceeds  of  this  endowment-fund 
available  for  the  support  of  the  faculties.  The  annual  interest  of  all  the 
institutions,  except  two  or  three,  is  given  at  $526,283,  which,  at  6  per  cent, 
per  annum,  represents  an  investment  of  $8,771,383.  The  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land-Office,  in  his  annual  report  for  18G9,  states  the  aggre- 
gate claim  upon  the  public  domain  accruing  under  the  agricultural-col- 
lege-scrip legislation  at  9,510,000  acres,  which,  at  the  minimum  price, 
$1.25  per  acre,  amounts  to  $11,987,500.  But  the  prudence  with  which 
some  institutions  have  husbanded  their  resources  has  raised  the  aver- 
age much  above  this  minimum.  There  yet  remain  1,463,305  acres  to  be 
disposed  of,  which,  at  the  average  price  obtained  during  the  last  year, 
will  add  about  six  and  a  half  million  dollars  to  the  fund.  It  will  doubt- 
less average  much  higher  than  this,  and  will  probably  raise  the  aggre- 
gate to  nineteen  or  twenty  millions  of  dollars. 


DIGEST  OF  STATE  REPORTS. 


CONNECTICUT. 


With  the  exception  of  a  brief  article  on  tlie  subject  of  frnit-culture, 
the  eighth  aunual  report  of  the  Connecticut  State  Board  of  Agricult- 
ure, for  the  years  1874-'7o,  is  entirely  devoted  to  a  discussion  ot  ques- 
tions rehitiug  to  the  production  and  manufacture  of  milk.  The  work  is 
of  more  than  average  value,  as  many  of  the  papers  and  discussions  are 
of  an  exhaustive  character. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  jSlew  Haven,  May  27, 1874.  A  farmers' 
convention,  under  the  management  of  the  board,  convened  at  Wood- 
stock, December  16,  1874,  and  continued  for  three  days.  Milk,  its  pro- 
duction and  manufacture,  was  the  only  subject  discussed.  Leading 
agriculturists  and  dairymen  were  in  attendance  from  various  sections  of 
the  country  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  discussions. 

Mr.  T.  S.  Gold,  secretary  to  the  Board,  opened  the  discussion.  He 
stated  that  there  was  not  only  a  diminished  num  ber  of  cattle  in  the  country, 
but  also  a  decreased  production  per  acre  of  grass  and  other  forage-plants. 
To  remedy  this  evil,  as  it  relates  to,  and  has  a  direct  bearing  upon,  dairy 
products,  he  advises  the  rearing  and  keeping  of  a  better  grade  of  cows — 
cows  that  will  give  more  milk  on  the  same  amount  of  feed — thereby  in- 
creasing the  profits  of  the  dairy  by  decreasing  the  cost  incident  to 
keeping  a  larger  number  of  cattle.  Not  only  the  quantity  of  the  milk 
may  be  thus  increased,  but  the  quality  also  may  be  greatly  improved. 
He  says : 

Cows  differ  almost  as  much  in  the  quality  of  their  milk  as  they  do  in  their  external 
form  and  appeiirauce.  The  amount  of  the  principal  constituents,  as  casein  or  curd, 
butter,  oil,  and  sugar,  can  be  easily  ascertained  and  their  variations  marked,  but  there 
are  more  subtle  qualities,  giving  rise  to  flavor  and  to  its  hygienic  properties,  which, 
while  more  difficult  of  determination,  are  of  no  less  importance  in  a  sanitary  point  of 
view  and  in  the  estimation  of  the  customer.  If  the  product  varies  so  much  when  the 
animal  is  in  health,  how  will  it  be  when  disease  supervenes  to  form  another  important 
element  in  the  calculation?  Cows  often  continue  to  give  a  good  flow  of  milk  under 
local  and  constitutional  disorders.  The  cow-pox,  the  fouls,  garget,  disturbances  of  the 
alimentary  canal,  foot  and  mouth  disease,  and  pleuro-pneumonia,  though  interrupt- 
ing, do  not  always  prevent,  the  secretion  of  milk.  The  cow-pox,  even  in  its  mildest 
form,  often  causes  the  teats  to  crack  and  bleed,  and  the  exudation  may  drop  into  the 
pail.  Harsh  handling  of  the  udder  in  milking,  or  some  slight  injury,  often  causes  one- 
quarter  to  give  bloody  milk;  and  garget,  when  it  does  not  entirely  stop  the  flow  of 
milk,  injures  its  quality  in  all  degrees  of  vileness.  All  the  secretions  of  an  u»healthy 
animal  must  be  tainted,  and  milk  is  no  exception.  *  *  »  Garlic  and  onions,  and  in 
some  degree  tbe  cabbage  family,  to  which  the  turnip  belongs,  give  their  peculiar  odor 
to  the  milk.  Weedy  pastures  ai)0und  in  vegetation  of  strong  odors  and  taste,  liable  to 
be  transferred  to  the  milk.  Drink  as  well  as  food  may  introduce  impurities.  Out  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy  families  supplied  with  milk  from  a  dairy  in  Islington,  En- 
gland, seventy  suffered  from  typhoid  fever.  One  hundred  and  sixty-eight  individual 
cases  occurred  in  ten  weeks,  and  thirty  died.  An  investigation  showed  that  the  cows 
drank  water  from  an  old  underground  tank,  built  of  wood  and  raueh  decayed.  »  *■  * 
Professor  Law,  of  Cornell  University,  relates  a  similar  case  where  the  milk  had  a  ropy  or 
slimy  character,  and  a  microscopic  examination  revealed  tbe  presence  of  certain  ani- 
mated germs,  which  had  their  rise  in  the  filthy  pool  from  Avhich  the  cows  drank.  These 
entered  into  the  secreted  milk,  acd  there  multiplied  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  it 
entirely  unfit  for  food.  »  *  »  Even  impure  air  breathed  by  the  cow  will  taut  her 
milk.    It  ia  reported  on  good  authority  that  the  milk  from  a  dairy  in  the  State  of  New 

363 


364    REPORT  OP  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

York  wlien  brought  to  tho  cheese-fuctory  was  found  tainted,  and  on  examination  the 
cause  was  discovered  to  bo  a  putrid  carcass  lying  in  the  pasture.  *  *  *  Milk  and 
cream  set  in  the  dairy  arc  very  susceptible  to  odors  of  every  kind.  Tiie  smoke  of  the 
kitchen,  of  cooking  vegetables,  nre  readily  absorbed.  The  proximity  of  the  hog-pen, 
or  of  the  milkiug-yard,  sometimes  taints  the  milk.  Wherever  milk  is  kept,  either  in 
the  spring-house  or  dairy,  every  pains  should  bo  taken  to  secure  a  pure  atmosphere. 
When  the  milk  is  set  in  a  kitchen,  dust  and  smoke  ^rill  affect  it  injuriously,  and  first- 
quality  butter  cannot  be  made  from  it. 

Mr.  Nathan  Hart  presented  a  paper  on  feeding  for  the  production  of 
milk.  He  states  that  he  is  engaged  in  developing  an  enterj)rise  involv- 
ing the  winter  dairy  as  an  important  part  of  dairy  husbandry  in  a  ter- 
ritory formerly  interested  largely  in  the  fattening  of  cattle.  In  this  new 
enterprise  the  question  of  feeding  for  the  production  of  milk  being  one 
of  great  importance,  he  has  devoted  much  time  to  an  investigation  of 
the  subject.  A  series  of  experiments  with  difterent  kinds  of  fodder  and 
ground  feed  has  convinced  him  that  hay  is  the  basis  for  all  winter  feed- 
ing, and  that  made  from  the  natural  and  cultivated  grasses  grown  on 
upland  meadows  is  the  most  valuable,  if  cut  early  and  nicely  cured. 
This  may  be  supplemented  with  sowed  corn  and  the  annual  grasses,  mil- 
let, Hungarian  grass,  and  others.  Different  varieties  of  roots  are  also 
valuable,  and  more  concentrated  food  is  found  in  corn,  oats,  buckwheat, 
rye,  wheat,  and  brewers'  grains.  The  latter  is  used  extensively  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bew  York,  where  these  experiments  were  made.  Different 
methods  of  preparing  these  materials,  and  entirely  different  proportions 
and  varying  quantities,  are  used  either  from  choice  or  necessity.  Mr. 
Hart  says : 

After  a  more  or  less  extended  inquiry  and  trial,  guided  by  the  closest  observation  and 
a  full  knowledge  of  the  net  results,  I  have  adopted  the  practice  of  feeding  hay  and  all 
kinds  of  what  "is  generally  denominated  fodder,  uucut,  aud  (including  ground  feed,) 
dry,  aqd  I  apprehend  that  the  varying  results  may  be  accounted  for  more  in  the  external 
conditions  aud  the  quantity  and  quality  than  in  the  iireparation.  The  system  of  the 
cow  is  a  laboratory  in  which  chemical  and  mechanical  changes  are  constantly  going 
on;  into  this  wo  put  the  raw  material,  consisting  of  the  articles  named ;  a  part  the 
animal  uses  to  support  itself,  to  run  the  machinery,  to  keep  up  warmth,  repair  the 
waste ;  a  part  is  thrown  off  as  refuse,  and  a  portion  is  yielded  for  the  support  and  profit 
of  the  farmer.  How  milk  is  produced,  whether  it  is  a  secretion  or  the  result  of  some 
other  operation  of  nature,  is  for  the  physiologist,  and  perhaps  the  chemist,  to  investi- 
gate. What  is  required  of  the  feeder  is  to  give  thecowjustsuch  quantity,  quality,  and 
relative  varietj'  and  proportion  as  shall  give  the  greatest  quantity,  reference  being 
had  to  the  cost  of  the  material  aud  the  value  of  the  product.  The  question  of  profit 
and  loss  should  enter  into  the  calculation.  If  too  large  quantities  of  these  substances 
(all  or  any  of  them)  are  given,  digestion  will  be  interfered  with  and  the  yield  of  milk 
will  be  diminished.  If  too  little,  it  will  be  the  same,  as  the  proportion  needed  to  sup- 
port the  GOV'T  will  leave  a  smaller  surplus  for  the  pail,  and  right  here,  it  seems  to  me,  lies 
the  field  of  investigation  and  exiJeriment.  There  is  a  iioint  in  quantity  and  concentra- 
tion of  milk-producing  constituents  beyond  which  if  we  go  we  do  it  at  a  loss.  If  we 
feed  a  pail  of  new  milk  to  a  cow,  it  will  not  affect  the  flow  of  milk  so  much  as  a  quart 
of  bran  in  a  pail  of  lukewarm  water  with  a  little  salt  thrown  in,  other  things  being 
equal.  The  point  aimed  at,  then,  is  to  feed  in  quantity,  quality,  aud  condition  so  as  to 
secure  perfect  digestion  and  the  largest  possible  product  at  the  least  possible  exijcuse, 
having  regard  to  quality  and  profit  and  loss. 

Is  it  necessary  to  cook  it  to  secure  perfect  digestion  ?  If  it  is  necessary,  will  or  will 
not  the  increased  capital,  skilled  and  consequently  more  expensive  labor,  more  than 
counterbalance  the  benefits  of  cooking?  May  we  not  secure,  very  nearly,  the  same 
result  at  much  less  expense,  and  at  the  same  time  secure  a  larger  margin  of  profit  iu 
consequence?  *  »  •  Hay  should  be  cut  early  and  nicely  cured,  and  fed  in  quantity 
with  other  substances  just  as  much  and  no  more  than  is  perfectly  digested,  and  as 
nearly  regulated  in  time  and  manner  as  we  observe  the  habits  of  the  animal  indicate 
when  left  to  help  herself  when  at  pasture.  My  own  practice  is  to  give  a  light  feed  the 
first  thing  in  the  morning,  which  will  be  eaten  up  clean  in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  while 
the  milking  is  going  on,  and  then  the  ground  feed  is  given  dry  with  a  small  quantity 
of  salt.  In  about  an  hour  the  cows  are  let  out  to  go  to  water,  and  I  prefer  tiiey  should 
go  twenty  or  thirty  rods,  to  drink  from  warm  springs,  and  get  exercise,  rather  than 
drink  almost  frozen  water  in  the  yard,    WhUe  they  are  absent  the  stables  are  cleansed 


DIGEST    OF    STATE  REPORTS.  365 

and  auother  feed  about  tho  same  as  the  first  given,  and  the  cows  put  up  immediately 
on  their  return,  -which  will  bo  in  about  an  hour,  and  they  stand  or  lie  down  at  their 
choice,  in  an  atmosphere  almost  a  genial  as  tho  family  sitting-room  in  respest  to  tem- 
perature. If  I  am  feeding  roots,  they  are  fed  just  before  milking  at  night,  and  the  last 
feed  of  the  day  is  given  immediately  after,  which  is  always  the  largest,  and  is  dictated 
by  what  I  observe  when  the  anim.'il  is  at  pleasure,  which  is  that  she  always  takes  the 
largest  meal  jast  at  night.  A  healthy  cow  giving  milk  in  winter  has  a  voracious  ap- 
petite, and  if  allowed  will  eat  far  more  than  she  can  properly  digest,  and  therefore 
much  is  wasted  unless  tho  quantity  is  regulated  by  careful  observation  and  experi- 
ment. 

Mr.  Hart  gives  tbe  results  of  his  experiments  iu  feeding  for  thc^pro- 
tluctiou  of  milk  :  First  dairy  of  12  cows,  commencing  April,  1870,  and 
ending  March,  1871,  produced  a  total  of  30,G80  quarts,  being  an  average 
of  2,556  quarts  per  cow.  Second  dairy  of  21  cows,  distributed  through, 
the  year,  about  the  same ;  total,  53,4^5  quarts ;  per  cow,  2,549  quarts. 
Third  dairy  of  18  cows,  47,100  quarts;  average  per  cow,  2,617  quarts. 
Fourth  dairy  of  12  cows,  averaging  for  three  years,  2,416  quarts.  The 
lovrost  net  proceeds  were  $85  per  cow,  with  milk  at  4  cents  per  quart  for 
six  mouths  and  2J  cents  per  quart  for  six  months. 

Daring  a  discussion  which  followed  the  reading  of  this  paper,  Mr. 
Hart  stated  that  he  did  not  thirfk  the  feeding  of  turnips  imparted  any 
deleterious  taste  to  the  milk,  especially  if  they  were  properly  fed.  It 
would  not  do,  at  first,  to  give  the  cow  a  full  ration  of  any  kind  of  roots. 
If  commenced  in  a  moderate  way,  the  quantity  may  be  increased  until 
the  cow  can  take  all  she  will  eat  without  communicating  any  bad  flavor 
to  the  milk.  As  to  the  profits  of  feeding  turnips  for  the  production  of 
mil'k,  Mr.  Hart  says : 

A  few  winters  since  I  was  feeding  common  turnips,  and  when  the  supply  was  ex- 
hausted I  had  the  curit)sity  to  estimate  the  value  of  turnips  per  bushel  lor  feeding  pur- 
poses from  the  returns  that  I  actually  received  from  tho  milk.  We  were  then  getting 
6  cents  per  quart  for  our  milk.  The  dirtuinished  flow  of  milk  resulting  from  discon- 
tinuing this  feed  of  turnips  enabled  mo  to  calculate  that  the  turnips  were  worth  25 
cents  per  bushel  to  feed  to  cows.  I  refer  to  the  common  flat  or  field  turnip.  But  aa 
to  their  saving  hay,  I»do  not  think  they  do.  I  think  they  act  as  an  alterative,  and 
their  use  will  cause  the  cow  to  more  i)erfectly  digest  her  food.  It  seems  to  be  adapted 
to  the  wants  of  the  cow  and  produces  a  good  digestion.    1  feed  just  before  milking. 

Dr.  E,  Lewis  Sturtevaut  read  a  paper  on  tho  physiological  cousidera- 
tion:s  concerning  feeding  for  butter  and  cheese.  He  states  that  milk 
derives  its  whiteness  and  opacity  from  the  presence  of  innumerable  glob- 
ules of  very  minute  size,  floating  in  a  v/aterlike  fluid  or  serum.  These 
globules  are  composed  of  the  butter-fats  iuclosed  in  a  capsule  or  mem- 
branous covering,  and  vary  in  size  from  the  1,500th  of  an  inch  to  gran- 
ules of  less  than  the  27,000th  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  variation  iu 
size  varies  with  the  breed;  it  varies  with  the  time  from  calving,  and  it 
varies  with  the  iood.  After  descri»bing  the  process  of  the  formation 
of  these  globules,  and  indicating  their  source,  he  says  they  are  found 
to  be  larger  in  the  Jersey  cow  than  in  the  Ayrshire  cow,  and  the 
Ayrshire  globules  are  larger  than  those  from  the  American  Holstein. 
These  globules  are  covered  by  a  membrane  of  extreme  tenuity,  which 
protects  their  contents,  and  has  to  be  ruptured  through  the  process 
of  churning  before  the  contents  of  the  diftereut  globules  can  aggregate 
into  butter.  This  covering  is  more  easily  broken  in  some  breeds  than 
in  others.  The  Jersey  cream  can  be  churned  into  butter  more  quickly 
than  can  the  Ayrshire  cream.  These  coverings  are  ^Iso  differently 
affected  by  the  acidity  developed  in  tho  milk.  Twenty-four  hours' 
standing  will  hasten  the  churning  of  Jersey  milk  more  than  will  forty- 
eight  hours  aliect  the  churning  of  Ayrshire  milk.  The  contents  of 
these  cells  are  in  varying  proportion,  and  the  mixture  seems  in  part 


366    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

physical.  Thus,  the  butter  made  from  the  milk  of  one  breed  may  be 
more  waxy  than  butter  made  in  a  like  manner  from  milk  from  a 
cow  of  a  different  breed.  The  butter  made  from  the  large  globules  of 
a  milk  ai)i)ears  to  be  of  a  superior  grain  to  the  butter  uirtde  from  the 
small  globules  of  the  same  milk.  Globules  of  a  large  size  are  more 
easily  ruptured  through  the  process  of  churning  than  those  of  a  small 
size,  and  those  of  extreme  minuteness  cannot  be  ruptured  at  all.  Con- 
sequently the  quantity  of  butter  obtained  in  practice  is  not  dependent 
entirely  on  the  amount  of  fat  in  the  milk  by  analysis,  but  rests  upon 
the  form  in  which  it  occurs.  By  means  of  a  microscopic  study  of 
milk,  the  experienced  worker  can  judge  of  the  butter-value  of  a  milk,  and 
can  quickly  separate  from  a  herd  those  cows  which  produce  an  unprofit- 
able milk  for  the  butter-manufacturer.  He  can  also  separate  those  milks 
which  are  the  least  valuable  for  the  cheese-maker  from  those  that  are 
the  most  valuable.  Ho  can  also  tell  to  a  certain  extent  what  food  will 
make  his  milk  best  for  ifis  purpose.  Of  the  effect  of  food  upon  the 
yield  of  butter  from  milk  of  different  breeds,  the  writer  says  : 

The  question  of  the  effect  of  food  upon  the  butter  is,  therefore,  principally  a  ques- 
tion concerning  nutrition,  of  the  digestibility  of  food,  and  of  the  ability  to  cause  cer- 
tain constituents  of  the  food  to  be  taken  up  in  a  quantity  sufficient  for  the  wants  of 
the  animal  as  determined  by  structure.  When  a  cow  is  producing  less  butter  than  her 
structure  fits  her  for  secreting,  then  must  an  increase  of  proper  food  increase  her  but- 
ter product.  When  her  food  is  unfitted,  through  its  character  or  condition,  to  suiiply 
the  blood  with  the  requisite  elements,  then  must  a  change  of  food  for  the  better  be 
beneficially  iierceived  on  the  butter-yield.  We  have  an  individual  influence,  however, 
which  complicates  the  action  of  nutrition,  for  the  superior  cow  is  more  a  creature  of 
art,  the  inferior  cow  more  the  production  of  nature,  and  accordingly  the  best  and 
poorest  cow  of  a  herd  being  fed  with  an  increased  supply  of  food,  in  every  case  the 
better  cow  will  respond  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  poorer. 

The  influence  of  the  fats  of  the  food  in  accelerating  digestion  and  other  chemical 
reactions  of  the  food  is  of  importance  in  a  practical  view  of  the  effect  of  the  feeding. 
It  is  even  probable  that  the  nearer  the  food  given  approaches  the  state  in  which  its 
elements  are  found  in  the  product,  (if  the  food  be  digestible  in  this  state,)  the  better 
the  result.  It  is  even  probable  that  the  presence  of  certain  oils  or  fats  in  the  food  may 
influence  to  some  extent  the  proportionate  quantity  of  the  separate  oils  iu  the  bntter 
and  the  fat.  It  is  but  as  we  regard  an  animal  as  a  whole,  and  attempt  to  know  her 
by  the  study  of  the  history  of  how  she  came  to  be  what  she  is,  as  well  as  what  she  is, 
that  we  can  form  an  understanding  of  the  action  or  product  of  any  particular  part. 
Wo  recognize  the  formation  of  butter  as  allied  to  the  formation  of  fat,  with  this  essen- 
tial difterence :  the  fats  are  formed  and  stored  subject  to  the  order  of  the  animal 
economy  ;  the  butter  is  formed  and  thrown  off,  and  thus  disconnected  with  the  animal 
structure  is  nominally  subject  but  to  the  oi'der  of  an  external  being,  the  calf  or  the 
milker. 

The  summary  of  what  would  be  indicated  by  the  theory  of  the  cow  and  her  food  is 
that  each  cow  has  a  limit  to  production,  governed  by  structure,  and  the  greatest  gain 
of  butter  is  when  her  food  keeps  her  to  this  limit  and  is  not  in  excess.  Second,  that  the 
character  of  the  food  must  influence  to  a  certain  extent  the  character  of  the  butter, 
but  that  in  the  presence  of  abundant  and  similar  food,  heredity  exerts  a  prepotent 
influence.  The  third  indication  is  that  the  proportion  of  the  butter  stands  in  no 
definite  relation  with  the  casein,  but  that  either  may  be  increased  within  certain 
limits  without  a  proportiooate  increase  of  the  other.  I  call  this  an  indication  only, 
for  we  have  not  as  yet  presented  the  formation  of  casein,  but  will  here  assume  that  it 
arises  in  the  milk  through  an  entirely  different  process  from  the  butter,  and  although 
influenced  by  structure,  yet  in  a  different  n^anner  from  that  in  which  the  butcer 
element  is  influenced,  and  there  is  accordingly  no  necessarily  direct  co-relation  between 
the  quantity  of  these  two  products. 

A  summary  of  facts  indicating  the  same  xiro])Ositious  as  our  theory  is,  first,  that 
common  experience  has  shown  that  one  cow  is  always  better  than  some  other  cow  ia 
a  herd,  and  that  no  matter  what  may  be  the  food  the  poorer  cow  can  never,  on  the 
same  kind  of  food,  and  both  abundantly  supplied,  equal  iu  product  the  better  cow. 
Our  second  proposition  is  shown  by  the  experiments  of  Thomas  Horsfall,  as  given  iu 
full  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  xvii,  '2(i0;  xviii,  150. 
Our  third,  is  the  fact  that  the  difterence  between  the  butter  percentage  of  various 
breeds  is  far  greater  than  is  the  difference  between  the  case  in  percentage  ;  that  series 
of  analyses  of  same  milks  at  different  periods  from  calving  indicate  no  ratio  betweea 
the  two. 


DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS.  367 

In  maintaining  that  superior  cows  will  always  respond  to  increase  of 
food  to  a  larger  extent  tlian  inferior  ones,  Dr.  Sturtevant  states  that  in 
just  so  far  as  animals  have  been  remov^ed  from  the  natural  state  through 
breeding  will  they  be  influenced  in  their  product  by  a  more  nutritious 
and  concentrated  kind  of  food ;  for  natural  food  u)ay  not  be  the  best 
attainable  under  an  artificial  environment  which  not  only  exists,  \)ut  has 
been  of  long  continuance,  although  the  same  food  may  be  the  best  in  a 
state  of  nature.  The  art  of  man  consists  in  intensifying  natural  condi- 
tions in  the  direction  toward  his  own  desires.  The  natural  food  of  ani- 
mals, although  best  for  the  wild  condition,  cannot  be  considered  as  nat- 
ural food  when  the  whole  condition  of  life  of  the  animal,  and  her  habits 
and  functions,  have  been  modified  to  a  very  large  extent  from  those 
habits  and  functions  of  the  undomesticated  state;  for  artificial  methods 
of  long  continuance,  and  artificial  conditions  brought  about  through 
artificial  environment,  tend  to  so  completely  change  the  conditions  of 
being  of  the  wild  animal,  that  what  in  the  wild  animal  might  be  an  arti- 
ficial food  may  be  the  natural  food  for  the  domesticated  animal,  and  vice 
versa.  In  fact,  the  establishing  of  harmony  between  form  and  function, 
food  and  desired  product,  is  the  using  of  the  laws  of  nature  through 
man's  power  for  man's  own  good. 

The  practical  fact  which  is  worthy  the  attention  of  all  those  who  keep 
cattle  is  that  an  increase  of  food,  gained  by  the  feeding  of  meals  and 
other  concentrated  and  artificial  foods,  may  perhaps  bring  profit  to  the 
owner  of  superior  animals,  while  the  same  course  pursued  by  the  owner 
of  indiflereut  animals  would  be  surely  done  at  a  loss.  One  farmer  can 
feed  grain  to  his  better  cows  and  receive  a  profit  on  the  extra  cost, 
while  his  neighbor,  perhaps,  with  inferior  stock,  can  increase  his  prod- 
uct but  very  little  by  the  same  means,  and  then  this  increase  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  compensate  for  the  extra  expense;  Improvement  in  breed, 
therefore,  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  improvement  in  feed.  The 
dairy-farmer  who  believes  in  artificial  feeding,  which  experience  shows 
to  be  the  true  course,  must  also,  for  the  most  profitable  results,  believe 
in  an  artificial  breed.  As  the  milk-functions  are  entirely  the  creation,  in 
their  usefulness,  of  man,  and  are  hence  artificial,  the  superior  cow  will 
pay  a  larger  i^rofit  on  concentrated  food  than  will  another  animal,  her 
inferior,  while  the  inferior  animals,  under  the  feeding  requisite  to  ob- 
tain the  best  results  from  a  herd  as  a  whole,  are  kept  at  a  loss. 

He  closes  this  paper  with  the  following  summary  of  conclusions  from 
the  propositions  advanced : 

First.  That  the  production  of  butter  is  largely  dependent  on  breed. 

Second.  That  there  is  a  structural  limit  to  the  production  of  butter  to  each  cow. 

Third.  That  when  the  cow  is  fed  to  this  limit  increased  food  cannot  increase  the 
product. 

Fourth.  That  the  superior  cow  has  this  structural  limit  at  a  greater  distance  from 
ordinary  feed,  and  more  ready  to  respond  to  stimuli  than  the  inferior  cow. 

Fifth.  That  consequently  ihe  superior  cow  is  seldom  fed  to  her  limit,  while  the  in- 
ferior cow  may  be  easily  fed  beyond  her  limit;  and,  as  a  practical  conclusion,  increased 
feed  with  a  superior  lot  of  cows  will  increase  the  butter  product,  but  if  fed  to  an  in- 
ferior lot  of  cows  waste  can  be  but  the  result. 

Sixth.  That  the  character  of  tbe  food  has  some  influence  on  the  character  of  the  but- 
ter, but  even  here  breed  influences  more  than  food. 

Seventh.  That  there  is  no  constant  relation  between  the  butter  product  and  the 
cheese  product. 

Eighth.  That  the  casein  retains  a  constant  percentage,  and  that  this  percentage  does 
not  appear  to  respond  to  increase  of  food. 

Ninth.  That  the  casein  appears  to  remain  constant,  without  regard  to  the  season. 

Tenth.  That  increase  in  the  quantity  of  milk  is  followed  by  an  increase  in  the  total 
amount  of  casein. 

Eleventh.  That  insufficient  feed  acts  directly  to  check  the  proportion  of  butter,  and 
has  a  tendency  to  decrease  the  casein  of  the  milk  and  substitute  albumen. 


368  REPORT    OF   THE    COMmSSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

Twelfth.  That  tho  best  practice  of  feeding  is  to  regulate  the  character  of  the  food  by 
the  character  of  the  animals  fed ;  feeding  superior  cows  nearer  to  the  limit  of  their 
production  than  inferior  cows ;  feeding,  if  for  liutter,  more  concentrated  and  nutritious 
foods  than  for  cheese ;  feeding  for  cheese  product  succulent  material,  which  will  in- 
crease tho  quantity  of  the  m  Ik-yield. 

A  paper  on  the  results  of  late  European  experiments  in  the  feeding 
of  cattle  Avas  read  by  Prof.  W.  O.  Atvrater,  ot  Wesleyan  University. 
The  experiments  alluded  to  have  been  prosecuted  during  tke  past  lifteen 
years  at  the  principal  agricultural  stations  of  Europe.  The  tables  given 
are  valuable  and  worthy  the  close  study  of  those  engaged  in  rearing 
cattle,  but  are  of  too  great  length  to  receive  special  mention  in  this 
brief  review.  A  few  of  the  conclusions  drawn  from  the  result  of  these 
esperimenls  nuiy  be  brieHy  noticed.  Some  of  the  trials  made  to  test 
the  efi'ect  of  boiling,  steaming,  and  fermenting  fodder,  v.ith  a  view  to 
increasing  its  nutritive  qualities,  showed  that  its  digestibility  did  not 
appear  to  be  increased  by  these  means;  still,  the  food  was  jnade  more 
palatable,  and,  in  cold  weather,  some  advantage  is  derived  from  warm 
food.  The  nutritive  effect  of  food  may,  therefore,  be  increased  by  these 
means,  while  its  digestibility  may  be  but  slightly  increased.  The  state- 
ments concerning  the  proportions  of  crude  foods,  as  hay,  clover,  straw, 
green  fodder,  »S:c.,  that  animals  digest,  apply  only  to  cases  where  they 
are  fed  either  alone  or  with  proper  admixtures  of  other  foods.  Very 
often,  however,  the  digestible  parts  of  the  food  arc  not  aM  digested.  It 
is  easy,  for  instance,  to  mix  potatoes  or  turnips  with  hay  or  clover  in 
such  proportions  that  the  animals  will  digest  much  less  of  the  hay  than 
they  would  if  the  different  foods  were  used  in  proper  amounts.  There 
are  likewise  some  kinds  of  fodder,  as  straw,  chaff',  and  corn-stalks,  of 
which  many  farmers  make  but  little  account,  and  yet  which  contain  a 
great  deal  of  nutritive  ruatter.  In  ordinary  practice  mucLi  of  this  is 
wasted,  when,  if  mingled  with  other  foods,  it  might  be  saved.  As  to  the 
digestibility  of  different  foods,  Professor  Atwater  says : 

Whether  all  the  digestible  and  nutritious  matter  of  a  ration  is  actually  digested  or 
not  depends  largely  upon  the  relative  amounts  of  uitrogenoas  materials  it  contains. 
In  general,  when  concentrated  foods,  rich  in  nitrogen,  are  added  to  crude  foods,  as  hay 
and  clover,  they  do  not  decrease  thedigestiou  of  the  lafter.  L5ut  the  addition  of  large 
quantities  of  easily-digestible  materials,  containing  little  albuminoids  and  much  starch, 
sugar,  &c.,  to  crude  foods,  prevcu,ts  the  digestion  of  part  of  the  latter,  and  thus  causes 
waste.  The  scarcity  of  hay  and  clover,  and  tho  over-increasing  necessity  of  using  oil- 
cakes, beans,  peaao,  grains,  and  other  foods,  has  gi  veu  great  importance  to  these  matters, 
and  a  large  nua;lior  of  feeding  trials  have  been  larely  made  with  oxen,  cows,  and  sheep, 
&c..  to  discover  the  facts  pertaining  thereto,  and  thr  ir  explanation.  The  general  plan 
of  these  experiments  is  as  follows:  The  animal — u  cow,  for  instance — is  fed  for  a  cer- 
tain time  with  hay  or  clover  alone,  and  the  proportion  of  the  albuminoids  and  carbo- 
hydrates which  she  digests  from  tho  hay  is  determined  by  weighings  and  analyses  of 
food  and  excrement.  Then,  for  some  time,  an  easily-digestible  albuminoid  substance, 
as  gluten,  is  added  to  the  ration,  and  the  elfect  on  tho  digestion  of  tho  hay  is  noted. 
Or,  instead  of  the  albuminoid  substance  alone,  food-materials  rich  in  nitrogen,  as  oil- 
cake, bean-meal,  or  bran,  are  used  and  their  effect  likewise  determined.  In  other  ex- 
periments, carbo-hydrates,  as  sugar,  or  starch,  or  easily-digested  foods  containing  much 
of  these  and  little  nitrogen,  as  potatoes,  are  mixed  with  the  hay  or  clover,  and  thus 
their  influence  on  the  digestion  is  determined. 

The  general  results  of  these  experiments  are  : 

First.  As  to  the  effect  of  albuminoids.  Tho  addition  of  oven  considerable  quantities 
of  easily-digestible  substances  rich  in  ni(rogen  to  crude  fodder-materials  causes  no 
change  in  )  be  digestion  of  the  latter.  As  large  a  percentage  of  both  albuminoids  and 
carbo-hydrates  of  hay  was  digested  by  oxen,  cows,  and  sheep  when  the  hay  was  mixed 
with  gluten,  bran-meal,  rape  and  linseed  cake,  «fcc.,  as  when  tho  hay  was  fed  alone. 

Second.  As  to  the  ofiects  of  carbo-hydrates.  When  n:  n-niirogenous  substances,  as 
starch,  or  sugar,  or  easily-d  gestible  foods  co.  taining  uinch  of  these  and  little  nitrogen, 
ani  added  to  crude  foods,  as  hay,  straw,  and  clover,  the  digestion  of  the  lati;er  is  de- 
creased, and,  what  seems  paradoxical,  it  is  not  the  carbo-hydrates  alone,  but  rather  the 


DIGEST   OP   STATE   REPORTS.  369 

albuminoids  of  the  hay,  "whoso  digestion  is  prevented  by  the  addition  of  the  carbo- 
hydrates. An  illustration  of  this  is  found  in  a  series  of  experiments  performed  by 
Wolff,  at  Hohenhoim,  in  ■which  sheep  "were  fed  ■with  clover  hay  alone,  and  63.7  per  ceat. 
of  the  albuminoids,  and  51.2  per  cent,  of  the  crude  fiber  ■were  digested.  In  succeeding 
periods  mixed  rations  of  clover  hay  and  potatoes  ■were  given,  the  proportion  of  the 
potatoes  being  increased  in  successive  periods.  The  proportion  of  albuminoids  digested 
from  the  hay  in  these  periods  ■was  gradually  reduced  from  63.7  to  45.7  per  cent.,  and 
that  of  the  crude  liber  from  51.2  to  43.3  per  cent. 

From  experiments  upon  the  use  of  potatoes  and  turnips  ■with  hay  and  clover,  Wolff 
concludes  that  when  hay  and  potatoes  are  so  mixed  that  the  dry  substance  (organic 
substance  -j-  ash)  of  the  potatoes  is  not  over  one-eighth  of  the  -y^  hole  dry  substance  in  ttie 
mixture,  the  hay  is  digested  as  when  fed  alone.  But  if  the  dry  substance  of  the  potatoes 
be  one-fourth  of  the  Avhole,  the  digestion  of  the  hay  ■will  be  5  to  10  per  cent,  leas,  and 
if  it  be  one-half  of  the. -n-hole  the  hay  digested  will  be  10  to  20  per  cent,  less  than  be- 
fore. The  decrease  of  digestion  from  use  of  turnips  in  like  proportion  would  be  only 
half  or  three-fourths  that  produced  by  potatoes.  It  is  probably  safe  to  assume  as  a 
general  rule  that  concentrated  food,  containing  not  over  seven  or  eight  pounds  of  di- 
gestible albuminoids  to  one  of  digestible  carbo-hydrates,  may  be  fed  with  hay  and 
clover  without  detriment  to  the  digestion  of  the  latter.    *     *    * 

The  writer  says  that  crude  foods  like  straw  and  chaff  suffer  much  more 
loss  in  digestion  than  hay  and  clover  when  mixed  with  easily-digestible 
carbo-hydrates.  These  contain  relatively  small  percentages  of  albumin- 
oids and  large  percentages  of  carbo-hydrates,  and  when  more  carbo- 
hydrates are  added  the  excess  is  of  course  made  larger,  and  the  digestion 
of  both  crude  fiber  and  albuminoids  made  smaller.  There  is  a  difference 
in  the  quality  of  the  food  containedin  the  straw  and  the  hay.  The  quantity 
of  the  nutritive  material  and  its  value  are  two  different  things.  In  other 
words,  from  the  meadow-hay  the  animal  digests  a  little  less  of  carbo-hy- 
drates and  more  than  twice  as  much  of  albuminoids  as  from  the  oat  straw. 
The  meadow-hay  is  a  richer  food  than  straw,  richer  in  albuminoids.  Straw 
is  rich  in  non-nitrogenous,  but  poor  in  nitrogenous  nutritive  material. 
It  is,  however,  a  very  valuable  fodder  when  fed  so  as  to  secure  the  util- 
ization of  the  digestible  material  which  it  contains.  To  make  it  an  ap- 
propriate fodder,  fit  for  the  ordinary  demands  of  animals,  it  must  be 
mixed  with  some  other  substance  rich  in  nitrogen.  In  the  experiments 
referred  to,  straw  was  mixed  with  bean-meal,  which  contains  a  large 
proportion  of  albuminoids;  in  this  way  the  fullest  utilization  of  both 
was  secured. 

The  value  of  straw,  corn-stalks,  chaff,  &c.,  a«  fodder  for  stock,  is  very 
much  underrated  by  many  farmers.  There  are  two  chief  causes  of  this : 
one  is  that  the  crops  are  often  allowed  to  stand  unharvested  until  they 
have  become  very  indigestible ;  the  other  is  that  they  contain  so  little 
nitrogen  that  the  animals  do  net  digest  them  completely,  and  the  ma- 
terial that  is  digested  has  so  small  a  proportion  of  albuminoids  as  to  be 
quite  un adapted  to  their  wants.  It  is  a  great  error  to  allow  forage  crops, 
as  hay,  clover,  grain,  &c.,  to  become  too  ripe  before  harvesting.  As  the 
plant  grows  older  it  becomes  less  digestible,  and,  further,  the  young  and 
succulent  plants  are  much  richer  in  nitrogen  than  when  they  are  older. 
Better  a  lighter  crop  of  rich  young  hay,  with  a  nutritious  aftermath, 
than  a  crop  of  riper  hay,  which,  though  heavier,  contains  less  digestible 
material,  and  that  poorer  in  nitrogen.  A  second  error  is  in  either  ignor- 
ing as  fodder  or  feeding  unmixed  such  foods  as  s*raw,  chaff,  corn-stalks, 
&c.  These  should  bo  mixed  with  materials  rich  in  nitrogen,  and  thus 
form  staple  and  valuable  food  for  stock. 

In  discussing  that  branch  of  his  subject  relating  to  feeding  for  the  pro- 
duction of  milk.  Professor  Atwater  gives  a  table  showing  that  30  pounds 
of  fine  quality  hay,  or  120  pounds  of  young  succulent  grass,  both  of  which 
materials  are  excellent  for  producing  milk,  will  furnish  just  about  the 
amounts  and  proportions  which  it  is  calculated  a  milch-cow  would  need 
24  A 


370    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

to  give  a  full  yield.  One  hundred  and  fifty-four  pounds  of  young  clover 
contain  about  the  same  amount  of  digestible  material,  but  this  is  richer 
than  it  need  be  in  nitrogen.  On  the  other  hand,  it  would  require  40 
pounds  of  poor  quality  hay  to  furnish  as  much  nutritive  matter  as  the 
30  pounds  tine  quality  hay  or  120  pounds  of  young  grass,  and  this  would 
contain  only  about  one-half  as  much  albuminoids  as  the  cow  needs  for 
production.  In  the  better  hay  and  young  grass  there  is  one  pound  of 
albuminoids  to  about  5^  of  carbo-hydrates,  in  the  poorer  hay  one  to  10^, 
and  in  the  young  clover  one  to  3|.  Cows  will  do  well  on  young  grass, 
and  probably  very  little  better  ou  young  clover,  but  they  will  not  do  as 
well  on  poor  hay. 

An  experiment  in  ad  libitum  foddering,  i.  e.,  giving  the  animals  all 
they  would  eat,  showed  that  the  cows  which  consumed  a  ration  of  87 
pounds  of  green  clover  and  6.7  pounds  of  barley  straw,  produced  the 
same  quantity  of  milk  as  they  did  when  given  123  pounds  of  green  clover 
alone,  while  the  composition  of  the  milk  in  both  cases  was  the  same. 
The  green  clover  was  over-rich  in  albuminoids,  and  when  it  was  fed 
alone  there  was  a  waste  of  valuable  material.  In  this  especial  case  a 
part  of  the  waste  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  cows  were  fed  ad  libitum, 
and  ate  more  than  they  could  well  utilize.  The  result  shows  that  the 
nutritive  material  of  the  fodder  will  be  more  or  less  profitably  utilized 
in  proportion  as  the  composition  of  the  ration  approaches  more  or  less 
Dearly  to  that  most  naturally  adapted  to  the  special  demands  of  the 
animal. 

The  experiments  conducted. by  Professor  Haubner  in  ad  libitum  feed- 
ing are  alluded  to,  and  his  conclusions  quoted  as  follows : 

The  ad  libitum  foddering  has  proved  unsatisfactory  both  with  milch-cows  and  in  fat- 
tening sheep.  The  nutritive  etfect,  as  expressed  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
milk  and  in  increase  of  weight,  was  proportionate  neither  to  the  quantity  and  cost  of 
the  fodder,  nor  to  the  nutritive  effect  obtained  from  a  smaller  hut  properly-measured 
ration. 

In  answer  to  a  question  asked  during  a  discussion  which  followed  the 
reading  of  this  paper.  Professor  Atwater  stated  that  by  increasing  the 
ration  up  to  a  certain  point  the  yield  of  milk  may  be  increased,  and  not 
only  the  total  yield  but  also  the  richness  of  the  milk.  The  amount  of 
dry  substance,  fat,  casein,  sugar,  &c.,  may  be  thus  increased ;  but  at  the 
same  time  the  composition  of  this  dry  substance,  the  relative  percent- 
ages of  fat  and  casein,  remain  even,  though  the  proportion  of  fat  or 
albuminoids  in  the  food  may  be  changed.    He  further  said : 

To  feed  milch-cows  the  largest  amounts  of  the  richest  fodder  may  be  very  wasteful. 
Too  meager  fodder  is  still  less  economical.  Here  as  elsewhere  a  fair  mean  will  be  found 
best.  As  regards  the  etfect  of  different  foods  on  the  composition  of  the  milk  we  may 
not  hope  by  variation  in  the  fodder  to  change  a  "  casein"  (cheese)  cow  to  a  "  butter" 
cow.  We  must  rather  depend  for  the  quality  of  the  milk — the  relative  richness  in  fat 
or  casein,  its  special  fitness  for  butter-making  or  cheese-making — upon  the  peculiarities 
of  different  breeds  or  different  individuals,  and  for  quantity  upon  the  peculiarities  of 
the  animals  themselves  ;  or,  in  few  words,  for  quality  of  milk  select  proper  breeds  ;  for 
quantity,  good  milkers.     Suit  the  food  to  the  animals  and  feed  well,  but  not  over-richly. 

At  the  annual  meeting  ©f  the  board,  held  in  May,  1874,  Gov.  Charles 
E.  Ingersoll  was  elected  president;  T.  S.  Gold,  secretary;  Profs.  S.  1. 
Smith,  entomologist;  W.  H.  Brewer,  botanist;  S.  W.  Johnson,  chemistj 
and  Mr.  P.  M.  Augur,  pomologist. 

INDIANA. 

The  twenty-fifth  annual  report  of  the  State  Board  for  1875  is  a  vol- 
ume of  smaller  dimensions  than  its  immediate  predecessors,  owing  to  the 


«  DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS.  371 

omission  of  the  reports  of  the  State  geologist  and  the  State  pomological 
society,  which  have  been  published  separately.  In  addition  to  reports 
of  the  Board,  of  the  State  association  of  short-horn  breeders,  of  the 
State  poultry  association,,of  a  meetiug  in  the  interest  of  the  State  expo- 
sition at  the  Centennial,  of  the  third  State  fair,  and  of  operations  at  the 
Purdue  University  farm,  the  volume  contains  essays  on  subjects  of  great 
interest  to  the  farmers  of  the  State. 

Among  the  essays  is  one  by  Mr.  Thomas  Olcott  OJi  grain  and  grass 
growing.     He  says : 

The  maiu  poiufc  is  to  make  every  rod  of  land  available  iu  raisiog  soniethiujj;  useful. 
Good  crops  aud  increased  fertility  are  the  objects.  Manuring  is  the  life  of  farming. 
The  true  ideal  of  farm-lifo  is  to  raise  such  variety  of  grains  and  grasses,  of  rich,  luscious 
fruit  and  beautiful  flowers,  variegated  with  the  finest  selections  of  stock  and  domestic 
animals,  as  will  throw  a  charm  around  that  spot  called  home.  *  *  *  I  abhor  the 
idea  of  large  farms  with  isolated  homes,  beyond  the  reach  of  church  and  school-house. 
The  danger  of  large  cities  is  preferable  to  the  other  extreme.  Why  pay  taxes  for  five 
times  as  much  land  as  you  can  cultivate?  It  is  the  rich,  closely  cultivated  spots  that 
are  winning.  The  capability  of  land  is  almost  unlimited.  If  200  bushels  of  potatoes, 
or  100  bushels  of  corn,  or  40  bushels  of  oats,  or  25  bushels  of  wheat,  or  2|  tons  of  hay 
can  be  raised  from  one  acre,  why  go  over  five  acres  to  get  the  same  amounts  ?  Suppose 
you  own  but  forty  acres,  aud  six  acres  of  this  is  wood-land ;  ou  this  small  farm  you 
might  have  nine  acres  iu  corn,  five  in  wheat,  five  in  oats,  five  in  grass,  two  in  potatoes, 
two  in  buckwheat,  one  acre  in  rye,  and  three  acres  of  orchard,  which  Avould  be  in  clover 
or  small  grain,  leaving  one  acre  for  a  house,  barn,  and  garden,  and  one  spare  acre  for 
pasture  lot.  Here  is  a  great  variety,  and  if  highly  cultivated  would  feed  the  family 
and  give  a  surplus  for  market.  This  is  not  ideal,  for  we  have  approximated  it  the  pres- 
ent year.  But  suppose  each  crop  was  brought  to  its  highest  capabilities,  and  that  each 
field  was  enlarged  according  to  the  circumstances  of  your  farm,  how  much  could  be 
done  with  small  capital  ? 

There  is  one  section  iu  the  State  that  specially  needs  development.  Along  the  lino 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Railway,  particularly  through  the  counties  of  Ripley  and 
Jennings,  there  is  a  wilderness  of  uucultivated  land,  wonderfully  adapted  to  grass- 
growing,  and  consequently  to  stock-raising.  This  land  ranges  from  $15  to  $50  per  acre. 
It  onlywaits  the  skillful  hand,  and  it  becomes  the  finest  aud  healthiest  stock-growing 
region  of  the  State.  Inclose  these  lauds  with  a  neat,  substantial  fence,  surround  its 
borders  with  native  forest-trees,  such  as  sweet-gum,  maple,  aud  white  oak,  all  neatly 
trimmed  ;  clean  up  the  thicket;  drain  the  wetter  portions,  and  you  have  something 
substantial  for  the  abundant  growth  of  timothy,  red-top,  clover,  or  blue-grass.  Most 
of  this  laud  will  also  produce  any  crop  raised  in  the  State.  Its  nearness  to  the  best 
markets,  its  healthfulness  for  man  or  beast,  resulting  from  its  under  stratum  of  clay 
aud  limestone,  and  its  pure  water ;  all  these  and  many  other  advantages  invite  the  en- 
terprising, intelligent  farmer  to  come  and  subdue  this  wilderness  and  transform  it  into 
a  picture  of  beauty  as  God  designed  it  should  be.  That  this  region  of  Southern  Indi- 
ana is  capable  of  the  highest  culture  we  need  only  refer  to  the  few  cultivated  tracts 
already  existing  there.  Fields  of  timothy  yield  readily  two  tous  per  acre  ;  corn,  with 
reasonable  drainage  and  culture,  60  to  80  bushels.  Its  forests  are  abundantly  supplied 
■with  fox-grapes  as  large  as  the  Catawba.  The  greatest  want  in  this  entire  region  is 
more  model  farmers  who  have  faith  in  the  work,  and  the  ability,  and  brain,  and  will- 
power to  X)ut  it  through. 

The  short-horn  breeders'  association  met  in  Indianapolis  May  26, 
1876.  Eepresentatives  were  in  attendance  frooi  almost  every  county  iu 
the  State.  Favorable  reports  were  made  by  a  large  majority,  and  the 
outlook  was  thought  to  be  very  encouraging.  There  are. now  but  few 
counties  which  do  not  contain  from  one  to  three  or  four  herds  of  thorough- 
bred and  high-grade  cattle. 

A  discussion  occurred  in  regard  to  the  proper  treatment  of  young  stock 
intended  for  the  shambles.  Mr.  Woodruff  thought  it  most  profitable  to 
fatten  and  sell  cattle  before  thej  were  two  and  a  half  years  old.  He  had 
found  by  experience  that  they  could  be  made  to  weigh  from  1,200  to 
1,500  pounds  the  first  year,  and  this  ratio  diminished  as  they  grew  older. 
Mr.  Aikman  stated  that  he  had  found  that  a  calf,  by  proper  treatment, 
increased  in  weight  at  the  rate  of  about  a  hundred  pounds  a  month ; 
while  a  steer  three  years  old,  which  would  eat  twice  as  much  as  the  calf, 


372  REPORT    OF    THE   COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTUI^:. 

would  increase  only  at  the  rate  of  about  50  pounds  a.  month.    Mr. 

Thrasher  (one  of  the  oldest  breeders  in  the  State)  said  he  was  satisfied 
that  the  first  thousand  pounds  of  increase  of  weight  cost  but  half  as 
much  as  the  second,  and  so  on.  A  great  mistake  is  made  by  turning 
cattle  out  on  grass  too  early  in  the  spring  and  stopping  the  feed.  That 
is  the  very  time  they  ought  to  be  fed.  At  first  they  should  be  fed  as 
regularly  and  strongly  as  during  the  winter  months,  and  the  amount  of 
feed  gradually  decreased  as  the  grass  becomes  more  mature. 

Mr.  Lowder  read  a  brief  paper  on  the  value  of  short-horn  bulls  and 
the  characteristics  of  a  good  breeding-bull.    He  said: 

A  good  short-horn  hull,  descended  from  pure  ancestors,  hoth  male  and  female,  that 
were^themselves  good,  may  be  depended  upon  for  producing  good  calves,  even  from 
very  inferior  cows.  On  an  average,  it  would  ho  safe  to  say  that  his  calves  would  at 
one  year  old  sell  to  the  intelligent  grazier  for  $10  more  than  those  sired  by  an  ordinary 
low  grade ;  and  at  tAvo  years,  for  $25  more  ;  and  at  three  years  old,  to  the  butcher  or 
shipper  for  $40  or  $59  more.  It  would  bo  safe  to  say  that  calves  from  such  a  bull,  bred 
and  kept  by  the  well-to-do  farmer  until  three  years  old,  would  each  net  him  at  least 
$25  more  than  those  sired  by  such  bulls  as  usually  run  the  public  highways,  and  to  be 
found  on  many  good  farms.  A  little  calculation  would  illustrate  what  a  short-horn 
bull  would  be  worth.  From  the  time  ho  is  one  year  oUl  until  he  is  two,  he  would  sire 
twenty-five  calves,  and  after  that  until  ten  years  old  seventy-five  a  year.  Suppose, 
then,  a  farmer  having  as  many  cows  as  one  bull  can  serve,  and  he  should  buy  a  first- 
class  short-horn  of  only  good  pedigree  one  year  old,  and  should  keep  him  three  years,  ho 
would  then  have  one  liundred  and  fifty  calves  that  would  be  worth  when  disposed  of 
the  nice  little  sum  of  $3,750  as  the  profit  for  the  service  of  the  bull.  The  bull  earned 
it.    The  farmer  would  not  have  had  jt  but  for  the  use  of  the  thoroughbred  bull. 

Stating  that  the  last  census  showed  that  there  were  393,730  milch- 
cows  in  the  State,  while  there  were  now  but  260  short-horn  bulls,  or 
about  one-twentieth  of  the  number  needed  for  that  number  of  cows,  he 
continues : 

While  I  am  free  to  acknowledge  that  an  ordinary  small  farmer  with  only  four  or  five 
common  cows  cannot  aiibrd  to  pay  for  his  own  use  $200  for  a  bull,  I  wish  to  insist  that 
while  there  is  a  lack  of  at  least  5,000  thoroughbred  bulls  in  Indiana  that  should  be 
supplied,  and  at  least  50,000  farmers  in  our  State  organized  into  granges  for  the  pur- 
pose of  co-operation  and  mutual  assistance  in  .all  things  that  pertain  to  their  interest, 
no  good  thoroughbred.short-horn  bull  should  sell  in  the  State  at  public  auction  for  less 
than  $500.  Though  the  assertion  may  not  be  believed  by  some  of  my  hearers,  yet  I 
declare  he  is  worth  the  money,  and  would  earn  the  amount  in  one  season,  if  properly 
used,  simply  in  the  production  of  steers  alone.  Then,  when  wo  consider  that  there 
are  probably  not  less  than  250,000  cows  in  Indiana  that  ought  to  be  replaced  with  half- 
bloods  or  higher  grades,  or  thoroughbreds,  and  that  by  the  use  of  thoroughbred  bulls 
only  the  native  and  low-grade  cows  can  be  replaced  by  the  high-grade  or  thorough- 
bred in  a  few  years,  the  value  of  their  services  becomes  more  apparent.  It  is  their 
known  superior  merits  in  grading  up  the  common  stock  cf  the  country  that  brings 
them  into  such  demand,  and  the  comparative  scarcity  of  good  bulls  contributes  to  the 
high  price.  The  price  is  regulated  by  the  supply  and  the  demand.  The  farmer  who 
proposes  to  wait  until  good  short-horns  can  be  bought  at  beef-price  will  never  be  the 
purchaser  of  a  good  bull. 

He  gave  the  points  of  a  good  breeding-bull  as  follows : 

It  is  impossible  for  any  one  always  to  tell  how  bulls  will  breed  until  they  are  tested, 
yet  the  intelligent  and  careful  farmer  or  herdsman  can  guess  with  approximate  cer- 
tainty as  to  the  general  character  of  the  get.  A  good  broediug-bull  must  not  only  be 
like  a  bull,  but  he  must  look  like  a  bull ;  that  is,  he  must  not  look  like  a  cow ;  ho  must 
be  masculine  in  appearance.  And  this  holds  good  in  the  pure  short-horn  as  in  the  scrub, 
or  any  other  breed.  A  good  bull  is  as  much  entitled  to  the  peculiar  eye,  head,  horn, 
nock,  shoulder,  and  chest  that  characterize  him  as  a  male  as  a  man  is  entitled  to  his 
beard  and  the  peculiar  expression  of  his  countenance.  Ahull  with  light  jaws,  narrow 
face  and  forehead,  slim  horus,  thin  neck  and  shoulders,  is  seldom  an  impressive  sire  ot 
good  things.  He  must  be  masculine  in  appearance.  This  docs  not  imply  that  he  must 
be  coarse  ;  on  the  contrary,  ho  should  bo  fine.  Coarseness  may  be  defined  as  uuoven- 
ness,  while  fineness  is  the  result  of  uuiformiry.  Each  part  should  be  such  that  it  fits 
smoothly  and  evenly  to  those  adjoining  it. 

As  has  been  said  above,  a  bull  is  valuable  only  as  his  breeding  is  valuable.    Thia 


DIGEST   OF    STATE    REPORTS.  616 

depends,  of  course,  to  some  extent  upon  the  cows  to  wliicli  lie  ia  used.  Great  extremes 
between  sire  and  dam  seldom  nick  well  together.  The  intelligent  breeder,  in  making 
selection  of  bis  breeding-bull,  will  have  regard  to  the  cows  with  which  he  is  to  be 
coupled.  If  they  are  under  size,  he  will  select  a  ball  of  good  size,  one  that  is  not  too 
lar^e.  Great  extremes  don't  mix  well.  If  his  cows  are  large  and  inclined  to  breed  too 
much  bono  for  the  amount  of  llesb,  ho  will  select  a  bull  of  rather  compact  form  and 
good  tleshy  qualities,  but  one  that  is  not  too  much  under  size.  The  sliillful  breeder, 
before  selecting  his  bull,  should  determine  what  he  wants,  and  should  be  able  to  give 
an  intelligent  reason  why  he  wants  him  ;  and,  after  having  made  his  purchase,  should 
know  how  to  use  him.  The  ability  to  answer  intelligently  to  what,  why,  and  how,  is 
as  indispensable  to  the  intelligent  breeder  of  neat-cattle  as  it  is  to  the  man  in  any  other 
profession. 

Mr.  S.  F.  Lockridge  read  a  paper  on  Indiana  as  a  grazing  State,  wliicli 
elicited  some  discnssion.  Mr.  Tlirasber  desired  to  call  attention  more 
fully  tbau  the  writer  had  to  the  importance  of  nnderdraiuing  past- 
ures. He  stated  that  while  it  is  found  almost  impossible  in  many  por- 
tions of  the  State  to  raise  corn  Avithout  uiiderdraining,  but  little  atten- 
tion is  given  to  uuderdraining  grass-lands.  Farmers  seem  to  think  that 
grass  will  grow  any  way.  In  his  opinion,  it  was  just  as  necessary  and 
important  to  drain  grass  as  grain  lands,  and  the  effects  will  be  seen  in 
the  grass  and  upon  the  cattle  as  readily  as  upon  grain.  In  most  past- 
ures there  are  low  places  not  fit  for  grazing,  and  these  places  are 
shunned  by  the  stock  whenever  they  can  do  better.  It  is  only  when 
they  are  compelled  by  scarcity  of  grass  elsewhere  that  they  will  eat  the 
inferior  grasses  of  these  low  places.  N"otbing  is  better  for  winter  forage 
than  blue-grass,  and  to  have  this  grass  in  winter  a  field  should  be  past- 
ured closely  until  about  from  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  June,  when  the  stock 
should  be  taken  off,  allowing  it  to  grow  up  and  fall  over  in  one  dense 
mass.  His  reason  for  pasturing  early  is,  the  blue-grass  seeds  early, 
and  pasturing  at  this  period  prevents  the  seed-stalk  from  forming,  and 
then,  when  the  stalk  is  removed,  the  grass  branches  out  into  heavy  foli- 
age— nothing  but  blade  upon  blade.  Such  pasture  in  winter  is  better 
than  the  best  of  hay.  Indeed,  cattle  can  be  wintered  exclusively  upon 
such  pasture  and  come  out  in  the  spring  in  fine  condition,  having  made 
some  growth  all  through  the  winter.  As  to  the  value  of  blue-grass,  Dr. 
Stevenson  said : 

Blue-grass,  I  believe,  was  styled  by  my  friend  Lockridge  the  grass  of  grasses.  I 
think,  probably, he  was  about  right;  but  the  trouble  with  us  is,  when  we  get  a  good 
thing  wo  use  it  sometimes  a  little  too  much.  Land  has  become  very  valuable  with  ns. 
In  many  places  it  is  worth  a  hundred  dollars  an  acre.  The  question  is  this  with  blue- 
grass:  There  is  no  doubt  about  its  making  the  best  winter  pasture  wo  have;  there  is 
nothing  equal  to  it;  it  stands  the  frost  and  the  breezes;  keeps  green  with  mo  until 
about  the  middle  of  February  or  the  1st  of  March.  Would  it  be  more  pj'olitable,  taking 
into  consideration  the  value  of  the  land,  worth  irom  lifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  an 
acre,  to  secure  hay  enough  for  your  stock  by  cutting  your  grass  and  stacking  it,  and 
then  feeding  upon  the  cured  grass  rather  than  upon  this  winter  grass  in  the  fields  ?  Of 
course  you  save  the  expense  of  cutting  it ;  but  it  only  affords  green  grazing.  Would  it 
not  bo  a  matter  of  economy  to  use  meadows  where  land  is  very  expensive,  because  it 
gives  much  more  upon  which  to  keep  your  stock  f  It  might  be  best  for  those  who  have 
cheap  laud  to  have  more  winter  pasture,  and  to  the  interest  of  those  who  have  high- 
priced  land  to  make  more  hay  for  the  winter  feed  and  to  keej)  their  cattle  in  houses. 

As  to  the  profits  of  grazing.  Dr.  Stevenson  said : 

My  impression  is  that  grazing  is  the  great  interest  of  the  country,  for,  as  I  have 
already  said,  it  does  not  w^ear  out  our  lands,  and  it  produces  almost  everything  we  need 
as  a  matter  of  subsistence.  There  is  nothing,  in  my  opinion,  equal  to  beef  as  a  meat. 
I  think  it  is  encouraging  to  Bhort-horn  breeders  to  know  that  the  consumption  of  beef 
is  rapidly  increasing.  Every  farmer  is  using  it  almost  exclusively.  They  can  have 
good  beef  through  the  winter  and  the  summer  without  running  the  plow  at  all.  You 
have  tho  flesh  to  eat,  the  hides  for  shoes,  the  tallow  for  lamps,  the  bones  for  manure, 
and  tho  hair  for  plastering.  There  is  nothing  about  the  cow  that  is  not  valuable.  You 
can  raise  your  sheep  and  kill  them  yoiirselves;  so  that  your  grass  produces  almost 
everything  that  you  need. 


374         REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP    AGRICULTURE. 

Mr.  Thraslier  gave  the  following  description  of  the  points  of  a  model 

shorthorn  cow : 

Head  short ;  broad  between  the  eyes;  eyes  full  and  prominent,  yet  mild;  small  in 
the  muzzle,  with  orauge  nose,  (black  nose  not  allowed,  mottled  nose  objectionable ;) 
slim  neck,  neat  in  throat  latch,  vrith  no  surplus  skin  underneath  the  neck;  brisket 
prominent  and  full,  with  straight  bottom  line  ;  flank  well  let  down  ;  horns  waxy  in 
color, standing  level  with  the  back ;  wide,  level  hips,  and  low:  ribbed  out  well  behind 
the  shoulder,  with  full  crops;  tail  small;  hide  yellow  or  orange  color,  soft  and  elastic 
to  the  touch,  with  good  thick  coat  of  hair,  with  fur  next  the  skin,  as  a  oood  handler 
always  has ;  fine  in  bone  ;  legs  tapering  nicely  from  the  body  to  the  hoof;  straight  hind 
legs.    She  may  be  white  or  red,  or  a  mixture  of  the  two. 

Mr.  J.  T.  Williamson  read  a  brief  paper  on  the  preparation  of  short- 
horns for  exhibition.  He  stated  that  it  was  injurious  to  breeding-cows 
to  fatten  them  to  the  extent  necessary  for  public  exhibition.  Mr. 
Thrasher  objected  to  this  declaration.  He  did  not  think  an  over-fed 
animal  would  be  quite  so  surely  a  good  breeder  as  she  would  be  in  lower 
flesh,  yet  he  was  satisfied  but  few  men  in  the  country  fed  to  an  extent 
which  would  prove  injurious  to  breeding-cattle.  He  claimed  to  have 
had  considerable  experience  in  the  matter,  and  stated  that  he  had  ex- 
hibited at  Indianapolis  as  fat  short-horned  cows  as  most  other  exhib- 
itors, and  they  were  as  regular  breeders  as  any  he  had.  As  to  the  pop- 
ular color  of  shorthorns,  he  said  : 

We  find  that  the  jiublic  mind  now  is  not  satisfied  with  anything  but  red.  Now,  I 
have  but  one  objection  to  the  red  animal,  if  it  possesses  good  qualities.  The  red  color 
is  so  much  thought  of  that  whenever  a  red  bull-caK  comes  into  the  world  he  is  kept, 
whether  he  is  any  account  or  not.  It  is  certainly  a  mere  fancy.  But  we,  as  American 
people,  take  up  with  some  hobby  and  never  stop  until  we  run  it  into  the  ground.  It 
will  be  just  so  with  this  question  of  color.  It  is  pretty  near  in  the  ground  now.  It  is 
no  evidence  at  all  that  a  red  animal,  because  it  is  red)  is  a  perfect  shoit-horu.  There 
are  a  great  many  that  are  white  as  pure  as  the  reds.  The  natural  color  of  the  short- 
horn is  a  mixture  of  the  two.  Yet  I  try  to  raise  the  reds,  to  accommodate  the  pop- 
ular demand,  because  I  can  p^ell  them  better  than  I  can  the  white  ones  or  the  roans. 
As  a  rule,  the  whites  or  light  roans  are  the  best  "handlers"  decidedly.  We  mean, 
when  we  say  good  "  handling  qualities,"  that  an  animal  is  soft  and  mellow  to  the 
touch  when  you  put  your  hand  upon  it;  such  an  animal  as  the  butchers  say  will  die 
right ;  its  meat  will  be  tender  and  juicy.  *  *  *  There  are  a  few  good  handlers  among 
the  reds,  but,  as  a  general  thing,  they  are  not  as  good  handlers  as  the  others.  If  we 
examine  the  history  of  short-horns,  we  will  find  that  the  reds  have  had  no  predominance 
until  recently ;  that  the  whites  and  the  roans  predominated  until  now. 

The  secretary  of  the  board  states  that  there  are  now  seventj'-six  county 
and  twenty-one  district  agricultural  societies  in  existence  in  the  State. 
Keports  from  these  societies  show  the  most  of  them  to  be  in  good  work- 
ing condition. 

Indiana  is  among  the  few  States  which  publish  annual  statistics  of 
crops,  larm-auimals,  and  manufactures  in  each  county. 

Among  the  contents  which  have  not  been  specially  referred  to  are 
essays  on  thoroughbred  horses  and  cattle ;  the  era  of  machinery;  agri- 
cultural education  in  college,  and  road-making. 

KANSAS. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  contributions  to  the  agri- 
cultural literature  of  the  year  is  the  fourth  annual  report  of  the  Kan- 
sas State  Board,  including  a  State  census,  for  1875.  It  is  printed  on 
beautifully-tinted  paper,  and  contains  about  eight  hundred  pages.  It 
embraces  statistical  exhibits,  with  diagrams  in  colors,  of  the  agricult- 
ural, industrial,  mercantile,  and  other  interests  of  the  State,  together 
with  a  colored  outline-map,  showing  congressional  and  land  districts  j 
sectional  maps  in  colors,  of  each  organized  county,  showing  their  rela- 


DIGEST   OF    STATE   REPORTS.  61 b 

tive  size  and  location,  railroads,  railroad  and  public  lands,  towns,  school- 
bouses,  water-powers,  &c.  These  maps,  produced  at  great  cost,  are 
likely  to  prove  serviceable,  among  other  things,  in  inducing  immigra- 
tion. • 

A  brief  synopsis  of  the  transactions  of  the  Board  in  1875  is  followed 
by  reports  and  papers  on  subjects  of  interest  to  the  people  of  this  young 
and  rapidly-growing  State.  Among  these  are  a  sketch  of  the  history  ot 
Kansas,  including  its  tribulations  and  its  triumphs ;  a  sketch  of  its 
agriculture,  abundantly  illustrated  with  diagrams  ;  separate  papers  on 
the  geology,  the  rivers,  the  birds,  the  lishes,  and  the  railroads  of  Kan- 
sas; the  history  and  present  condition  of  its  public-school  system; 
historical  sketches  of  the  State  institutions  for  deaf  mutes,  for  the  blind, 
and  for  the  insane,  and  of  the  State  penitentiary  ;  a  condensed  history 
of  the  name,  settlement,  population,  industries,  and  products  of  each 
settled  county ;  a  State  census,  including  very  complete  and  well-digested 
statistics  of  population,  occupations  ,and  industries,  public  institutions, 
farm-animals  and  their  products,  field-crops,  agricultural  organizations, 
&c. ;  State  laws  to  promote  timber-culture  ;  also  the  herd- law  and  fence- 
laws.  The  volume  concludes  with  an  extended  report  of  transactions 
at  the  eighth  annual  meeting  of  the  Kansas  Academy  of  Science.  This 
includes  brief  papers  on  ozone  in  Kansas  atmosphere ;  the  Nebraska 
hot  bluff;  Kansas  chalk  ;  analyses  of  Kansas  soils  and  of  Kansas  salt ; 
calamites ;  Kansas  mammalia ;  the  habits  of  certain  larvce ;  the  cot- 
ton wood-leaf  beetle  ;  the  Eocky  Mountain  locust ;  larva  and  chrysalis  of 
the  sage- sphinx,  and  the  Lepidoptera  of  Eastern  Kansas. 

Prof.  W.  K.  Kedzie,  chemist  to  the  board,  gives  a  brief  account  of  his 
trip  to  Europe  and  his  investigations  into  the  workings  and  operations 
of  the  agricultural  stations  he  visited. 

Mr.  Alfred  Gray,  secretary  to  the  board,  gives  a  detailed  history  of  the 
damages  sustained  by  the  grasshopper  invasion  and  the  efforts  made  for 
the  relief  of  the  sufferers.  From  his  statement  it  appears  that  the  Kan- 
sas centi'al  relief  committee  received  and  disbursed  during  the  period  of 
its  operations  the  sum  (in  cash)  of  $73,863.47;  supplies,  265  car-loads, 
and  11,049  packages.  The  average  value  of  a  car-load  was  estimated 
at  $400,  and  of  packages  $5,  which  gives  $161,245  as  the  aggregate 
value  of  contributed  supplies  received  and  distributed  by  the  committee. 
This  added  to  the  cash  receipts  gives  a  total  as  disbursed  by  the  com- 
mittee of  $235,108.47. 

Mr.  Gray  quotes  the  following  from  the  report  for  1875  of  Professor 
Eiley,  State  entomologist  of  Missouri : 

The  life-history  of  this  insect  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  the  more  common  locusts 
that  ave  with  us  every  year.  The  femalie,  when  about  to  lay  her  eggs,  forces  a  hole  in 
the  ground  by  means  of  the  two  pairs  of  horny  valves  which  open  and  shut  at  the  tip 
of  her  abdomen,  and  which,  from  their  peculiar  structure,  are  admirably  htted  for  the 
purpose.  With  the  valves  closed  she  pushes  the  tips  in  the  ground,  and  by  a  series  of 
muscular  etibris  and  the  continued  opening  and  shutting  of  the  valves  she  drills  a  hole, 
until,  in  a  few  minutes,  (the  time  vax-ying  with  the  nature  of  the  soil,)  the  whole  ab- 
domen is  buried,  the  tips  reaching  an  inch  or  more  below  the  surface  by  means  of  great 
distension.  Now,  with  hind  legs  hoisted  straight  above  the  back,  and  the  shanks  hug- 
ging more  or  less  closely  the  thighs,  she  commences  ovipositing,  the  eggs  being  voided 
in  a  pale,  glistening,  and  glutinous  fluid,  which  holds  them  together  and  binds  them 
into  a  long,  cylindrical  pod,  covered  with  particles  of  earth  which  adhere  to  it.  When 
fresh  the  whole  mass  is  soft  and  moist,  but  it  soon  acquires  a  firmer  consistency.  It  is 
often  as  long  as  the  abdomen,  and  lies  in  a  curved  or  slanting  position.  It  is  never 
placed  much  more  than  an  inch  below  the  surface,  except  when  some  vegetable  root 
has  been  followed  down  and  devoured  and  the  insect  leaves  her  eggs  before  emerging. 
In  this  way  the  mass  is  sometimes  placed  a  foot  below  the  surface. 

The  eggs  which  composed  this  mass  are  laid  side  by  side  to  the  number  of  from 
thirty  to  one  hundred,  according  to  size  of  mass.    They  are  0.15  to  0,20  inch,  one-fourth 


376    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

as  wide,  slightly  curved,  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  and  rather  larger  at  the  anterior  than 
the  posterior  end. 

As  the  hatching  period  approaches,  they  oecome  more  plump  and  pale,  and  the  em- 
bryo, with  its  dark  eyes,  is  visible  through  the  shell,  which  is  now  somewhat  trans- 
parent. The  opening  to  this  egg-mass  is  covered  up  by  the  mother,  but  the  newly- 
hatched  insect  has  no  difficulty  in  escaping.  When  first  hatched,  the  little  hopper  is 
quite  pale,  but  soon  becomes  mottled  with  gray  and  brown.  In  escaping  from  the  egg, 
it  is  first  covered  with  a  delicate  white  pellicle,  which  has  to  bo  cast  off  before  there 
can  be  freedom  of  motion,  so  that  the  insect  may  bo  said  to  molt  as  soon  as  it  is  born. 
Except  in  having  a  narrower  prothorax,  sloping  roof-fashion  to  a  median  ridge,  and  in 
lacking  wings,  the  young  locust  scarcely  differs  in  structure  from  its  parent ;  and  the 
perfect  winged  form  is  gradually  assumed  through  a  series  of  four  molts,  during  the 
first  three  of  which  the  wing-pads  become  larger,  and  during  the  last,  from  the  pupa  to 
the  perfect  state,  the  thorax  becomes  llattened,  the  wings  are  acquired,  and  the  insect 
ceases  to  grow  and  is  ready  to  procreate.  The  time  required  from  hatching  till  the 
wings  are  obtained  averages  about  two  months.  The  high  and  long  flights,  character- 
istic of  the  species  after  the  wings  are  acquired,  are  seldom  indulged,  except  when 
there  is  a  fair  wind.  *  *  *  The  eggs  are  laid,  by  preference,  in  bare,  sandy  places, 
especially  on  high,  dry  ground  which  is  tolerably  compact,  and  not  loose.  It  is  gen- 
erally stated  that  they  are  not  laid  in  meadows  and  pasUcires,  and  that  hard  road- 
tracks  are  preferred  ;  in  truth,  however,  meadows  and  pastures  where  the  grass  is 
closely  grazed  are  much  used  for  ovipositing  by  the  female,  while  on  well-traveled 
roads  she  seldom  gets  time  to  fulfill  the  act  without  being  disturbed.  Thus  a  well- 
traveled  road  may  present  the  appearance  of  being  perfectly  honey-combed  with  holes, 
when  an  examination  will  show  that  most  of  them  are  unfinished  and  contain  no  eggs, 
■whereas  a  field  covered  with  grass-stubble  may  show  no  signs  of  such  holes  and  yet 
abound  with  eggs. 

lu  comparing  the  year  1874  with  that  of  1875,  the  secretary  says : 

Eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four  teemed  with  eventful  disasters ;  1875  with  abund- 
ance. The  wonderful  recuperative  powers  of  the  State  from  an  unexampled  devastation, 
and  the  catalogue  of  misfortunes  incident  thereto,  are  prominently  and  vividly  por- 
trayed in  the  progress  of  the  year.  More  than  a  million  acres  have  been  added  to  the 
cultivated  area  ;  the  corn  product  has  leaped  from  fifteen  to  eighty-one  million  bushels ; 
"wheat  from  less  than  nine  to  nearly  fourteen  millions;-  other  crops  have  increased  in 
like  ratio.  Such  progress,  following  on  the  heels  of  most  dreadful  disaster,  has  no 
parallel  in  the  progress  and  history  of  agriculture.  Last  fall  the  farmers  foresaw  that 
the  destrution  of  corn  and  many  other  crops  by  locusts  would  not  only  entail  suffering, 
but  render  work-animals  unfit  for  farm  operations.  This  stimulated  fall*  plowing, 
while  work-animals  were  comparatively  in  good  heart.  An  increase  in  acreage  of 
winter  wheat  and  rye,  and  a  large  breadth  turned  over  for  spring  grains,  was  the  result. 

Hay  was  light,  but  exceedingly  nutritious.  Necessity  compelled  farmers,  for  once  in 
the  history  of  Kansas,  to  go  into  winter  with  an  abundant  supply,  it  being  the  chief, 
and  in  many  cases  the  only,  stock-food  on  which  they  could  rely.  The  winter  was  about 
an  average  one  in  severity  of  cold,  but  comparatively  dry,  and  therefore  favorable  to 
stock  that  had  no  artificial  shelter  or  protection.  All  kinds  of  farm-animals,  except 
swine,  came  out  of  winter  thin  in  flesh,  but  in  good  heart,  and  free  from  any  prevail- 
ing disease.  The  percentage  of  mortality  was  less  than  during  any  previous  winter; 
that  of  sheep  could  hardly  be  computed  at  all. 

The  settlement  and  unparalleled  growth  of  Kansas  are  graphically 
portrayed  in  a  paper  by *Mr.  Daniel  W.  Wilder;  Kansas  agriculture  is 
presented  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Anderson,  president  of  the  State  Agricultural  Col- 
lege. This  paper  contains  much  valuable  information  in  relation  to  the 
wonderful  productiveness  of  the  soil  of  Kansas.  lu  an  article  on  the 
railroads  of  Kansas,  Mr.  T.  Dwight  Thacher  names  twenty-one  lines  in 
or  passiug  through  the  State,  of  which  the  miles  in  operation  within  the 
State  aggregate  2,084^.  '  Of  the  rivers  of  the  State,  Mr.  Thacher  says : 

The  Missouri  River  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State  from  the  Nebraska  line 
to  Wyandotte.  It  is  navigable  almost  the  entire  year  by  the  largest  steamboats,  and 
is  a  very  important  channel  of  transportation.  Elegant  and  substantial  iron  bridges 
for  railway  and  wagon  travel  span  this  great  river  at  Wathena,  Atchison,  Leaven- 
worth, and  Kansas  City.  The  Kansas  River  was  navigated  in  early  days  by  small 
steamboats  as  far  west  as  Fort  Riley.  In  1869  a  light-draught  boat  made  several  trips 
between  the  Missouri  and  Lawrence,  taking  out  corn.  This  stream  has  since  been 
bridged  at  Wyandotte,  Lawrence,  Topeka,  and  Wamengo,  and  is  no  longer  navigable. 
The  Arkansas,  Neosho,  Republican,  Solomon,  Verdigris,  lilue,  Cottonwood,  Sijriug, 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  877 

Marais  du  Cygue,  Delaware,  and  Nemaha  Rivers  are  all  fiue,  full-flowing  streams, 
and  nearly  all  of  tbem  aftord  excellent  water-powers.  The  Kansas  River  is  dammed 
at  Lavrrence ;  the  Blue,  at  Manhattan,  Blue  Rapids,  Watcrvillo,  and  Marysville ;  the 
Neosho,  at  Burlington,  Neosho  Falls,  Lo  Roy,  Hnmboldt,  Oswego,  and  several  other 
points ;  and  the  Delaware,  at  Valley  Falls.  The  water-powers  afforded  by  the  Blue, 
Neosho,  Solomon,  Republican,  Cottonwood,  Delaware,  Marais  du  Cygne,  and  several 
other  streams,  are  unexcelled  in  the  West,  The  rivers  and  creeks  of  Kansas,  both 
large  and  small,  are  more  generally  bridged  than  is  common  in  new  States.  Many  of 
these  bridges  are  substantial  iron  structures  resting  ou  stone  abutments  and  piers. 

lu  au  article  on  the  geology  of  Kansas,  Prof.  B.  F.  Mudge  speaks  as 
follows  of  the  area,  latitude,  and  soil: 

The  State  of  Kansas  is  about  four  hundred  miles  long,  from  east  to  west,  and  about 
two  hundred  miles  (three  degrees)  in  width,  from  north  to  south.  Its  average  altitude 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  based  on  the  "List  of  Elevations,"  by  Henry  Gannett, 
one  of  Hayden's  reports  connected  with  the  United  States  geological  survey,  is  not  far 
from  2,37.5  feet.  The  lowest  point  is  at  the  junction  of  the  Kansas  and  Missouri  Rivers, 
and  is  750  feet.  The  highest  is  in  Cheyenne  County,  about  4,000  feet.  The  altitude  of 
Monotony  Station  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway,  on  the  west  line  of  the  State,  is  3,792 
feet.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  FtS  Railway  station  at  Syracuse,  Arkansas 
Valley,  near  the  line  of  Colorado,  is  3,425  feet.  Though,  theoretically,  this  altitude 
would  give  a  cooler  climate  than  that  of  States  in  the  same  latitude  farther  east,  on  a 
lower  level,  yet  the  records  of  the  temperature  kept  at  the  various  forts  and  other 
points  within  our  State  show  that  the  climate  does  not  differ  from  other  places  in  the 
same  latitude. 

By  an  inspection  of  a  map  of  the  State,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  rivers  drain  the 
country  in  a  southerly  and  easterly  direction.  As  there  is  not  a  fall  on  any  of  these 
streams  7  feet  in  height,  the  descent  is  very  gradual,  averaging  7i  feet  to  the  mile. 
The  surface  for  the  most  part  is  a  gentle  rolling  jirairie,  with  few  steep  hills  or  bluffs. 
Even  where  the  rivers  have  rapids,  a  mill-dam  can  seldom  give  a  fall  of  more  than  10 
feet. 

The  soil  of  both  valley  and  high  prairie  is  the  same  tine,  black,  rich  loam,  so  common  in 
the  Western  States.  On  the  high  prairie  it  is  from  1  to  3  feet  deep,  but  in  the  bottoms 
it  is  sometimes  20  feet.  A  few  exceptions  to  this  general  rule  of  fertility  exist  in  the 
extreme  western  and  southwestern  counties,  but  they  constitute  but  a  small  jjroportion 
of  the  wbole.  The  State  is  so  well  drained  that  there  are  very  few  valleys  with  stag- 
nant liools,  and  there  is  not  a  peat-swamp  of  50  acres  within  its  boundaries. 

The  following  facts  relating  to  the  economical  geology  of  the  State  are 
gleaned  from  the  same  article :  Limestone  is  the  most  abundant  and  best 
building-material  in  the  State.  It  is  found  in  all  the  formations,  except 
the  Pliocene  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Dakota.  The  limestones  of  all 
the  Carboniferous  divisions  furnish  a  great  variety  of  good  building- 
material  of  all  degrees  of  hardness  and  shades  of  color.  That  known  as 
junction-stone  has  been  used  extensively.  It  is  soft,  and  can  be  sawed 
■with  a  common  saw  and  smoothed  with  a  carpenter's  plane,  and  is  yet 
firm  enough  to  be  durable.  The  limestones  from  Manhattan,  Atchison, 
Leavenworth,  Lawrence,  Fort  Scott,  Florence,  &c.,  are  also  noted  &s 
aflbrding  excellent  building-material.  Some  of  the  limestones  take  a 
good  polish,  and  are  used  as  marbles.  The  Isandstonc  of  the  Dakota 
group  is  usually  some  shade  of  brown.  It  is  of  all  degrees  of  hardness, 
from  that  which  crumbles  between  the  fingers  to  that  which  turns  the 
edge  of  the  best  cold-chisel. 

Hydraulic  limestone,  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  water-cement,  is 
found  near  Fort  Scott,  Leavenworth,  and  Lawrence,  and  probably  exists 
at  many  other  places.  Gypsum  (sulphate  of  lime)  is  found  in  many 
places.  While  Kansas  is  relying  for  its  supply  of  salt  on  IsTew  York, 
Michigan,  and  other  States,  there  is  an  abundance  of  that  article  within 
its  limits,  sufficient,  if  well  developed,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  whole 
valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Small  deposits  occur  in  various  places,  and 
brines  have  sometimes  been  struck  in  wells  dug  for  fresh  water,  also  in 
boring  for  coal.  Several  of  these  have  been  made  useful  in  manufact- 
uring salt  for  the  local  demand.  A  very  large  deposit  of  crystallized 
salt  exists  south  of  the  great  bend  of  the  Arkansas  River. 


378  REPORT    OF   THE   COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRICULTURE/ 

Lead  and  zinc  have  been  found  at  various  points,  and  in  some  localities 
mining  has  been  prosecuted  with  energy.  Bituminous  coal  of  good 
quality  has  been  found,  and  mines  are  worked  to  some  extent.  The  pro- 
duction at  Osage  City,  Scrantou,  Burlingame,  and  Carboudale  in  1875 
was  estimated  at  123,400  tons. 

The  secretary  gives  the  pioduction  of  cotton  in  the  State  in  1874  at 
89,729  pounds,  and  in  1875  at  325,825  pounds,  an  increase  during  the 
year  of  230,096  pounds,  or  203  per  cent.  The  crop  of  flax-seed  in  1874 
was  174,698  bushels ;  in  1875,  273,166  bushels,  or  an  increase  of  156  per 
cent.  The  cheese  product  in  1870  was  226,607  pounds ;  in  1875, 1,240,610 
pounds,  an  increase  of  447  per  cent.  Butter,  in  1870,  5,022,758  pounds; 
in  1875,  8,827,810  pounds,  an  increase  of  75  per  ceni.  The  increase  in 
the  number  of  milch-cows  during  the  same  years  has  been  nearly  100 
per  cent. 

Prof.  'George  E.  Patrick,  in  a  paper  on  the  chalk-beds  of  Kansas,  which 
are  of  great  extent,  says  : 

Among  the  possible  uses  to  whicli  this  material  may  be  applied,vl  would  mention,  as 
giving  the  greatest  promise  of  prolit,  the  manufacture  of  whiting  of  the  various  grades 
for  putty,  for  calcimining,  &c.,  and  the  manufacture  of  Portland  cement.  The  latter 
is  a  branch  of  industry  not  yet  established  in  the  United  States,  and  this  simply  for 
the  reason  that  in  the  older  States,  where  such  a  manufacture  would  otherwise  have 
arisen,  chalk — an  essential  in  the  economical  manufacture  of  this  cement — was  not  to 
be  found.  One  other  essential,  and  the  only  other,  is  clay.  Only  where  these  two  ma- 
terials are  found  in  quantity  can  th,e  manufacture  be  most  profitably  carried  on  ;  and 
these  conditions  are  fulfilled  in  this  country,  as  far  as  our  present  knowledge  extends, 
only  in  this  State. 

Portland,  on  account  of  its  vast  superiority  over  our  American  cements,  has  in  our 
growing  cities  a  large  sale,  which,  however,  is  checked  by  its  high  price,  consequent 
upon  importation.  Its  price  is  from  two  to  five  times  that  of  the  various  American 
cements. 

MAHTE. 

The  nineteenth  annual  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  for 
the  year  1874,  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  agricultural  literature  of 
the  country.  In  addition  to  the  transactions  of  the  State  Board,  the 
volume  contains  the  transactions  of  the  State  Pomological  Society  and 
returns  from  a  number  of  district  and  county  associations,  the  first 
annual  report  of  the  Maine  Dairymen's  Association,  and  copious  sta- 
tistics relating  to  the  dairy  interests  of  the  State.  The  volume  is  well 
bound,  and  contains  over  six  hundred  pages. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  board  was  held  at  Wiscasset,  on  the  10th, 
11th,  and  12th  of  February,  1874.  The  papers  and  lectures  given  con- 
tain a  lund  of  scientific  ajid  practical  iulbrmatiou  on  leading  subjects 
in  agriculture,  which  must  do  much  toward  guiding  the  work  of  the 
farm  to  better  and  more  satisfactory  results.  Aside  from  the  many 
valuable  and  suggestive  papers  presented  by  members  of  the  board, 
wiiicti  cover  a  variety  of  subjects  and  embrace  the  results  of  much 
thought  and  practical  experience,  the  lectures  given  by  men  who  hold 
high  rank  in  agricultural  science  from  other  States,  and  who  were 
present,  will  be  found  full  of  important  information  on  the  subjects 
treated. 

During  the  current  year  the  State  and  local  agricultural  societies  and 
farmers'  clubs  held  successful  exhibitions,  and  great  unanimity  was 
manifested  on  the  part  of  all  interested  in  carrying  forward  the  work 
in  which  they  were  engaged. 

Of  the  thirty-four  cheese-factory  companies  incorporated  during  the 
winter,  less  than  one-half  went  into  operation,  making,  with  the  twenty- 


DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS.  379 

four  in  operation  in  1873,  a  total  of  thirty-six  doing  business  during  the 
season. 

In  his  prelimiuar}^  report,  Secretary  Samuel  L.  Boardman  thus  alludes 
to  an  investigation  made  by  him  of  the  menhaden  and  herring  fisheries 
of  the  coast  of  Maine : 

In  Augnst  last,  in  accordance  with  a  recommendation  of  the  board,  I  spent  two 
weeks  in  visiting  and  inspecting  the  establishments  along  our  coast  where  the  fish 
known  as  menhaden  {Brevo&rtia  menhaden)  are  manufactured  into  oil.  Commencing 
my  investigations  at  Booth  15ay  and  Bristol,  they  were  extended  eastward  to  Lubec  and 
Eastport,  where  the  herring  is  the  fish  most  used  for  oil,  the  residue  of  which  is  used  to 
some  extent  as  a.  feed  for  sheep  and  poultry.  In  a  discussion  on  the  value  of  the  scrap  or 
residue  from  the  oil-factories  as  a  fertilizer,  at  the  meeting  of  the  board  at  Wiscasset,  it 
was  suggested  that  this  might  be  prepared  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  transported  to  the 
farms  in  the  interior  of  the  State ;  and  one  of  the  main  points  in  my  inquiries  was  in 
reference  to  this  particular.  In  Booth  Bay  there  are  five  companies  or  firms  engaged 
in  this  business,  and  in  Bristol  and  Bremen  seven  companies,  while  in  the  towns  of 
Sedgwick,  Blue  Bill,  Surry,  &.c.,  are  a  number  of  companies  doing  a  smaller  amount  of 
business.  During  the  past  season  the  Bristol  companies  made  381,000  barrels  of  oil,  and 
the  Booth  Bay  companies  174.000,  a  total  of  555,000  barrels.  From  this  18,500  tons  of 
scrap  were  made,  for  which  $11  per  ton  is  obtained  at  the  works,  giving  a  revenue  of 
$203,500;  the  total  product  from  both  items  being  $631,475  for  the  year  1874. 

Almost  the  entire  amount  of  scrap  produced  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  superphos- 
phate in  this  and  other  States,  and  a  large  portion  of  it  finds  a  market  in  the  Southern 
States.  During  my  investigations  of  this  subject  I  obtained  a  large  mass  of  facts  in 
regard  to  the  natural  history  and  economy  of  the  menhaden  and  herrmg,  together 
with  many  statements  from  farmers  who  have  used  the  scrap  as  a  fertilizer,  either  in  a 
direct  manner  or  as  a  compost,  and  also  as  a  provender  for  sheep.  I  also  obtained  some 
of  the  chum,  the  use  of  which,  as  a  feed  for  sheep,  has  been  so  highly  commended,  and 
have  forwarded  the  same  to  Professor  Farrington,  superintendent  of  the  State  college 
farm,  who  is  now  carrying  on  an  experiment  in  feeding  it  in  connection  with  Indian 
corn,  and  the  fish-scrap  is  being  experimented  with  under  my  direction  as  a  fertilizer. 

In  a  discussion  on  the  subject  of  porgy  chum  as  a  feed  and  fertilizer, 
Mr.  Wasson  gave  the  results  of  some  five  years'  experiments  with  it  as 
a  feed  for  sheep  and  poultry.  Obum  is  the  refuse  of  menhaden,  which 
are  caught  along  the  entire  coast  of  Maine.  The  oil  is  expressed  and 
the  residue  used  in  a  green  state  as  a  fertilizer.  When  used  as  food  it 
is  prepared  by  drying  in  the  sun  on  elevated  racks  for  two  days,  by 
which  process  the  water  is  expelled,  after  which  it  will  keep  for  an 
indefinite  period.  One  barrel  of  it,  costing  $2,  is  suificieut  for  3  sheep 
during  the  entire  winter.  Mr.  Wasson's  sheep  gave  an  average  increase 
of  1^  pounds  of  wool  i^er  head  from  the  use  of  this  chum.  The  sheep 
kept  in  good  order  aiid  brought  heavy  lambs.  Hens  eat  it  with  avidity. 
Mr.  Percival  stated  that  he  had  experimented  with  it  as  a  fertilizer  and 
had  found  it  a  valuable  manure. 

Mr.  George  B.  Sawyer  thus  speaks  of  the  original  boundary  and 
extent  of  territory  within  the  county  of  Lincoln  : 

The  county  of  Lincoln,  at  the  time  of  its  organization  in  1760,  embraced  about  seven- 
eighths  of  the  whole  State,  being  all  except  the  counties  of  York  and  Cumberland, 
which  then  included  Oxford  and  a  part  of  Franklin  and  Androscoggin.  Its  western 
boundary,  started  at  Small  Point,  the  eastern  point  of  Casco  Bay;  thence  running 
northwesterly  on  said  bay  to  New  Meado-ws  Creek  or  River;  up  said  river  and  across 
Stevens's  carrying  place  to  Merrymeeting  Bay  ;  thence  up  the  Androscoggin  River  30 
miles;  and  thence  by  a  straight  line  north  two  degrees  west,  to  the  utmost  northern 
limits  of  the  province,  which  limit  formed  its  northern  boundary,  its  eastern  the  prov- 
ince of  Nova  Scotia,  its  front  resting  on  the  ocean.  It  was,  indeed,  a  magnificent 
domain  ;  an  empire  in  itself,  larger  than  all  the  rest  of  New  England.  Its  shire-town 
was  Pownalborough,  which  was  incorporated  in  the  same  year,  and  included  the  pres- 
ent towns  of  Wiscasset,  Dresden,  Alna,  and  Perkins,  the  last  named  being  Swan  Island, 
in  the  Kennebec  River,  and  now  a  ))art  of  the  county  of  Sagadahoc.      *      »      * 

During  her  corporate  existence  of  more  than  a  century,  the  county  of  Lincoln  has 
witnessed  a  stupendous  development  within  her  original  domain.  She  has  seen  a  dozen 
counties  spring  up  within  her  original  territory,  many  of  them  outstripping  her  in 


380         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

population  and  material  prosperity.  Among  the  sroallest  of  the  counties  in  torricorial 
extent  and  population,  she  stands," by  the  returns  of  the  last  census,  as  the  tenth  in  the 
cash  value  of  farms,  the  eleventh  in'tho  value  of  farmiug  implements  and  machinery, 
as  well  as  of  total  agricultural  productions,  aud  in  the  various  classes  of  live  stock 
holds  about  the  same  relative  position* 

Mr.  Horace  Colmaii,  in  an  essay  ou  tbe  subject  of  butter  aud  cheese 
making,  maintainetl  that  butter-inakiug  is  the  most  profitable.  He 
stated  that  a  cow  that  will  make  one  pound  of  butter  per  day  will  make 
two  of  cheese.  As  a  good  article  of  butter  will  always  briug  40  ceuts 
per  pound,  with  cheese  at  15  cents  per  pound,  (the  usual  price,)  this 
would  giv^e  10  cents  per  day  in  favor  of  butter-making.  He  thinks  it 
less  trouble  to  make  butter  than  to  manufacture  cheese,  but  if  equally 
as  much  labor  is  required,  the  skim  and  butter  milk  will  be  clear  gain, 
whereas  the  whey  in  cheese  making  is  regarded  as  nearly  worthless. 
In  associated  dairying  a  great  many  things  may  come  up  that  will  not 
prove  very  pleasant.  In  the  first  place,  the  difference  in  'cows  in  regard 
to  the  quality  of  their  milk,  charges  of  adulteration  of  milk,  tainted  milk, 
&c.,  are  subjects  that  are  continually  arising.  Butter  being  made  at  home, 
these  controversies  are  of  course  avoided.  He  gives  his  own  esperieuce 
in  butter-making  as  follows : 

I  kept  eight  cows  during  the  year  1862.  I  thought  I  should  like  to  know  if  dairying 
paid.  At  a  certain  time  in  the  spring  I  commenced  to  set  down  the  amount  of  butter 
of  each  churning,  and  kept  a  strict  account  through  the  year;  I  had  scales  sitting 
handy,  so  it  was  not  much  trouble  to  weigh  it  after  it  was  ready  for  market.  I  had 
hogs  enough  to  eat  the  skim-milk  and  more,  but  kept  a  strict  account  of  all  I  fed  to 
them  besides  the  skim-milk.  At  the  yearns  end  I  made  up  my  account  of  sale  of  butter 
and  pork,  x>igs  and  calves,  and  a  family  of  twelve  had  all  the  milk  they  needed.  The 
proceeds  were  almost  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  over  $150  per  cow.  But  we  are  to  take 
into  account  that  butter  sold  for  50  cents  per  pound,  pork  for  19  cents  per  pound,  pigs 
at  $5,  and  calves  at  $10.  The  season  at  my  j)lace  was  good  for  grass ;  fed  second  crop. 
October  and  November  fed  refuse  potatoes  and  pumpkins,  and  through  the  winter 
months  fed  freely  on  good  hay,  with  provender.  Cheese  at  that  timo  was  from  20  to 
22  cents  per  pound,  so  it  left  from  8  to  10 cents  in  favor  of  butter;  that  is,  if  the  same 
amount  of  milk  that  will  make  a  pound  of  butter  will  make  two  pounds  of  cheese. 

In  replying  to  the  statements  and  declarations  of  Mr.  Colman,  Mr.  Z. 
A.  Gilbert  said: 

In  considering  this  subject,  it  is  safe  to  deal  with  averages  only ;  the  extremes  will 
not  do;  and  the  average  of  milk-production  for  the  making  of  butter  is,  that  it 
requires  24  pounds  of  milk  to  make  1  of  butter.  There  have,  it  is  true,  been  instances 
where  more  was  required,  and  in  a  few  cases  a  less  quantity  has  made  it.'  Now,  the 
returns  from  all  the  cheese-factories  in  the  country  show  that  ou  an  average  one  pound 
of  cheese  is  made  from  9.76  pounds  of  milk;  our  own  State,  it  is  true,  does  a  little  bet- 
ter than  this,  a  matter  which  renders  Maine  well  adapted  for  cheese-making.  In  my 
own  dairy  it  has  taken  from  8i  to  9  pounds  of  milk  to  make  1  of  cheese.  From  these 
averages  it  is  clear  that  2f  pounds  of  cheese  will  be  i^roduced  from  the  milk  required 
for  1  of  butter;  but  to  he  generous,  and  leave  a  wide  margin  lor  contingencies,  it 
may  be  set  down  with  safety  at  2J-  i)ounds.  Now,  as  to  the  prices  of  the  two  products: 
It  is  pretty  hard  averaging  the  price  of  butter,  it  is  so  variable  in  quality  ;  bat  it  may 
be  called  r.O  cents,  though  this  is  too  high.  Good  cheese  the  country  over  is  sold  at  14 
cents.  Of  that  manufactured  in  this  State,  none  has  sold  less  than  15  cents,  v\'hilo 
some  has  sold  at  16  cents  at  the  factory,  and  at  the  stores  it  retails  at  20  cents.  Thus 
the  milk  required  for  a  pound  of  butter,  selling  at  30  cents,  made  into  cheese,  will 
actually  sell  for  40  cents  on  an  average;  the  lowest  estimate  giving  37-^- cents.  This 
difference  may  be  off'set  with  the  value  of  skimmed  milk  over  whey. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Dunham  read  a  paper  on  irrigation  in  Maine.  Ho  stated 
that  at  a  meeting  of  a  farmers'  club  he  had  recently  attended,  in  dis- 
cussing the  best  way  to  renovate  worn-out  grass-lands,  a  remark  was 
made  that  irrigation  might  be  a  help,  and  it  was  made  a  matter  of 
ridicule.  Maine  was  thought  to  be  too  cold  a  country  for  cold-water 
farming,  as  it  was  expressed.  But  this  declaration  was  disputed  by 
another  member  of  the  club,  who  stated  that  he  had  turned  the  water 


DIGEST    OF    STATE   EEPORTS.  381 

from  a  spring  on  to  a  field  that  cut  but  half  a  ton  to  the  acre,  and 
thereby  increased  the  yield  to  1^-  tons.  He  believed  that  at  no  distant 
day  irrigation  would  be  largely  practiced  by  the  farmers  of  the  State. 

in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  Mr.  Dunham  said  that  some  degree  of 
knowledge  of  Avhat  constitutes  the  food  of  plants  seems  indispensable 
to  any  well-conducted  system  of  producing  them  in  the  greatest  per- 
fection ;  and  such  knowledge  seems  most  likely  to  be  obtained  by 
minutely  examining  their  structure  and  carefully  observing  the  manner 
of  their  growth.  The  indispensable  agency  of  water  in  the  growth  of 
plants  has  been  universally  acknowledged,  and  could  not  be  overlooked 
by  the  most  careless  observer.  But  while  this  universal  agency  has 
been  acknowledged,  it  is  believed  that  a  very  inferior  office  has  been 
assigned  to  it  from  that  which  it  really  performs.  It  has  been  consid- 
ered as  the  mere  vehicle  which  carried  the  nutritious  particles  of  other 
substances,  while  it  in  reality  was  contributing  much  the  largest  por- 
tion of  the  actual  nourishment  to  the  plants  which  annually  clothe  the 
earth  in  living  green. 

After  stating  the  results  of  certain  experiments  to  prove  that  water 
constitutes  a  large  portion  of  the  food  of  plants,  he  says : 

With  so  favorixblo  a  history  of  irrigation  for  so  many  centuries  and  from  bo  many 
countries,  it  seems  wonderfully  strancje  that,  situated  as  favorably  as  we  are  for  trying 
the  experiment  upon  our  own  soil,  and  suffering  as  we  do  from  drought,  so  little  is 
actually  known,  and  that  so  few  experiments  have  been  tried.  It  may  be  that  from 
some  condition  of  our  soil  or  climate  irrigation  may  not  be  as  successful  here  aa 
in  some  other  couutries,  but  from  what  few  facts  I  can  gather,  the  success-  is  such  aa 
to  warrant  a  very  general  experiment  in  every  part  of  our  State. 

Prof.  W.  O.  At  water,  in  a  brief  address,  explained  the  advantages 
derived  from  the  various  systems  of  irrigation,  as  practiced  in  European 
countries. 

Mr.  George  E.  Brackett  read  a  paper  on  associated  dairying  in  Maine. 
Eeferring  to  Waldo  County,  he  said  that  two  years  previous — that  is, 
in  February,  1871? — the  farmers  had  heard  a  rumor  that  a  cheese-factory 
was  in  operation  somewhere  in  the  State,  but  how  or  where  was  a  ques- 
tion of  doubt;  but  in  the  summer  of  1873  four  factories  had  been  in 
successful  operation  in  the  county,  seven  more  were  organized  for  work 
the  coming  season,  and  others  were  in  the  process  of  incubation.  Of 
the  advantages  accruing  to  the  farmer  from  this  system  of  associated 
dairying,  he  says :     • 

Let  us  consider  briefly  the  subject  of  associated  dairying  in  some  of  its  most  impor- 
tant bearings.  It  is  a  fact  and  a  crying  evil,  that  a  majority  of  the  farms  in  Maine  are 
deteriorating — growing  poorer  and  less  valuable  year  by  year.  And  why  ?  Because 
the  original  richness  and  fertility  of  our  soils  have  been  wholly  or  partly  exhausted  by 
our  farming  system,  which  has  taken  from  them,  year  by  year,  more  than  has  been 
returned.  \Ve  extract  and  sell  off  raw  material— hay,  potatoes,  and  grain— neglecting 
to  make  corresponding  returns ;  hence  we  aro  constantly  impoverishing  the  soil. 
Associated  dairying  put  in  practice  would  be  a  step  toward  stopping  this  drain  from 
the  farm.  Cheese-factories  require  m.ilk;  more  milk  means  more  cows;  the  keeping 
of  more  cows  requires  the  consumption  of  the  hay  and  jjrain,  or  the  farm-products,  upon 
the  farm ;  all  of  which  means  more  manure,  which  must  be  returned  to  tho  soil,  so  that 
every  season  a  cheese-factory  operates  in  a  neighborhood  the  farms  supplying  milk  are 
growing  just  so  much  richer  and  more  valuable.  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  strongest 
argument  yet  adduced  in  favor  of  cheese-factoriea ;  this  gradual  and  sure,  though  small, 
increase  in  the  fertility  of  our  farms. 

Then  it  is  no  doubt  a  fact  that  the  more  condensed  the  form  in  which  we  can  market 
our  farm-products  the  better  it  pays.  *  *  *  Take  my  section  of  the  State  as  an 
example.  The  cost  of  hauling  or  transporting  a  ton  of  farm  products  to  market  at 
Belfast,  from  most  of  the  towns  in  Waldo  County,  where  cheese-lactories  are  organized, 
is  about  $2.  Thus  it  costs  $2  to  market  a  ton  of  pressed  hay,  which  is  one  of  our  prin- 
cipal farm  products,  and  :|2  to  market  a  ton  of  cheese.  In  one  case  the  value  of  the 
product  is  $IG ;  in  the  other,  $320.  In  other  words,  it  costs  $10  to  market  $320  worth 
of  hay,  and  only  |2  to  market  $320  worth  of  cheese. 


382  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 

Prof.  W.  O.  Atwater  read  an  elaborate  lecture  on  the  "  Science  of 
cattle-feeding,"  which  was  followed  by  a  brief  discussion.  Mr.  Hall  0. 
Burleigh,  an  extensive  breeder  of  Herefords,  said  he  believed  in  prac- 
tice with  theory  in  this  matter  of  feeding  stock,  and  in  all  other  subjects 
pertaining  to  taruiiug.  His  own  interest  in  it  had  led  him  to  examine 
carefully  into  more  than  one  hundred  published  experiments  of  feeding, 
but  few  of  svhich  he  regarded  as  of  any  value.  He  believed  in  plenty 
of  good  hay  for  feeding,  in  science  as  well  as  practice  in  farming,  ia 
brains  as  well  as  muscle.  From  his  own  trials  he  was  satisfied  18^  bush- 
els of  corn  or  oat  meal  were  equal  to  one  ton  of  first-quality  hay  for 
feeding  to  farm-stock.  A  pair  of  two-year  old  steers  he  once  owned 
gained  14^  inches  in  girth  in  six  months  by  feeding  them  with  good 
early-cut  hay,  and  two  quarts  per  day  of  corn,  barley,  and  bean  meal 
mixed  in  equal  parts. 

Mr.  Harris  Lewis  said  the  experiments  reported  by  Professor  Atwater 
were  very  elaborate,  and  he  feared  he  should  underrate  them,  and  yet 
they  were  not  of  the  slightest  value  to  our  farmers.  It  is  true  that 
science  is  founded  on  exi)eriments,  but  these  German  experiments  are 
worthless  to  us  because  their  crops,  soil,  and  climate  are  so  different 
from  our  own.  We  never  know  at  what  stage  in  the  growth  of  the  straw 
or  grass  the  experiment  is  made,  and  straw  as  they  have  it  in  Germany 
is  so  valuable  as  to  even  produce  fat  on  animals  to  which  it  is  fed.  But 
fast  as  we  are,  our  straw  and  grass  both  get  overripe  before  they  are 
cut,  and  our  straw,  as  compared  with  that  used  to  feed  domestic  animals 
in  Germany,  is  of  very  little  value.  To  feed  straw  to  a  profit  we  should 
cut  it  green  and  leave  the  grain  on.  There  is  nothing  better  than  grass 
to  feed  an  animal.  Nothing  that  can  be  given  can  add  to  the  quality  of 
this  food,  for  grass  is  the  perfection  of  cattle-food,  and  he  was  satisfied 
if  farmers  fed  anything  less  than  grass  they  are  feeding  at  a  loss.  Early- 
cut  hay,  that  cut  in  the  blossom,  makes  the  very  best  winter  food  for 
cattle. 

In  a  valuable  paper  on  the  various  taints,  odors,  and  adulterations  of 
milk,  Mr.  Harris  Lewis,  president  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society,  makes  the  following  statements : 

Milk,  when  drawn  from  the  cow,  often  contains  taints  and  odors  introduced  by  the 
cow,  from  an  impnre  atmosphere  she  has  been  compelled  to  breathe,  from  impure  or 
hlthy  water  she  has  drank,  and  from  improper  food  she  has  eaten.  These  taints  and 
odors  may  be  called  natural  taints  and  odors ;  the  three  last  may  always  be  avoided  by 
proper  care  in  furnishing  the  cow  pure  air  to  breatlie,  pure  water  to  tirink,  and  suita- 
ble food  to  eat;  but  the  first  (the  animal  odor)  is  alv/ays  present  whenever  the  milk  is 
drawn  from  the  cow,  but  always  varied  in  intensity  or  degree  of  ott'ensiveness  by  the 
condition  of  the  atmosphere,  tlie  temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  the  condition  of  the 
cow  in  regard  to  sickness  or  health,, the  food  she  eats,  the  water  she  drinks,  the  air  she 
breathes,  and  last, but  not  least,  by  the  treatment  she  receives.  Nearly,  if  not  all,  these 
natural  taints  and  odors  may  be  expelled  from  the  milk  by  heating  it  to  140°  as  soon 
as  it  is  drawn  from  the  cow,  and  then  aerating  it  while  warm. 

While  we  have  no  convenient  contrivance  for  heating  milk,  (which  is  to  be  regret- 
ted,) we  have  an  admirable  one  for  aerating  it,  invented  by  A.  P.  Bussoy,  of  New  York. 
This  aerator  is  cheap,  eavSy  to  keep  clean,  convenient  to  use,  and  should  be  used  during 
hot  weather  by  every  butter  and  cheese  factory  patron.  The  aerator  consists  of  a  sim- 
ple tin  pail,  with  one  or  two  rows  of  holes  around  near  the  outside  of  the  bottom,  sus- 
pended over  and  above  the  top  of  the  can,  with  a  cloth  strainer  over  the  top,  held  in 
place  by  the  arm  in  which  the  pail  is  placed.  The  arm  in  which  the  strainer  is  held  is 
passed  into  a  wooden  standard,  which  is  attached  to  the  can,  and  held  in  an  upright 
position  by  passing  it  down  through  a  loop  on  the  can  to  iho  handle  at  the  outside  of 
the  milk-can.  The  milk  is  turned  into  the  strainer,  through  which  it  passes  to  the 
bottom  of  the  pail,  and  then  through  the  small  holes  in  the  bottom  in  hnc  streams,  but 
separates  into  drops  by  falling  a  distance  of  12  or  15  inches,  exposing  it  all,  drop  by  drop, 
to  the  purifying  influences  of  the  atmosphere.  TLis  aeration  alone  wJI  rid  the  milk  of 
its  cowy  odor,  and  most  of  the  others  before  mentioned,  and  if  done  in  a  ])urc  atmos- 
phere will  keep  sweet  more  than  twice  as  long  as  that  not  aerated,  but  alike  in  other 


DIGEST    OF   STATE   REPORTS.  383 

respects.  But  using  this  aerator  in  a  foul  stable,  or  foul  atmosphere,  would  he  likely 
to  add  taint  to  taint  and  odor  to  odor,  as  it  would  be  an  attempt  to  banish  filthiuess  by 
an  addition  of  more  uastiness. 

There  is  one  other  natural  taint  of  milk  to  which  I  will  call  your  attention.  It  is  the 
milk  from  sick  or  unhealthy  cows.  I  do  not  believe  that  a  sick  cow  can  produce  pure 
or  untainted  milk.  There  is  abundant  evidence,  furnished  by  t]ie  medical  profession, 
showing  that  the  milk  of  sick  cows  is  often  tainted  with  the  disease  from  which  the 
cow  is  suffering,  to  a  dangerous  and  sometimes  fatal  degree.  Hence,  selling  the  milk  of 
a  sick  cow  to  customers  as  food,  or  deliveving  it  at  the  cheese  or  butter  factorj^,  is,  iu 
my  opinion,  a  crime.  It  is  not  safe  food  for  hogs,  and  should  be  thrown  on  the  manure 
or  comiJOst  heap. 

Iu  a  discussion  wliicli  followed  the  reading  of  a  paper  on  farming-  as  a 
profession,  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Lang,  Mr.  Isaac  T.  Hobson  made  some  state- 
ments in  regard  to  farming  iu  Maine.  He  said  that  the  yield  of  corn 
exceeds  the  average  production  per  acre  of  the  New  England  States,  and 
the  average  value  per  acre  of  the  six  largest  corn-producing  States  out- 
side of  New  England ;  that  in  the  yield  of  wheat  Maine  exceeds  the  aver- 
age yield  of  the  six  largest  wheat-growing  States  by  more  than  two 
bushels  per  acre,  and  the  average  value  by  more  than  $14  per  acre ;  that 
in  potatoes  Maine  exceeds  the  average  yield  and  value  not  only  of  New 
England,  but  of  the  six  largest  potato-growing  States  outside  of  New 
England;  that  in  the  matter  of  hay  Maine  takes  high  rauk,  and  in  oats 
it  exceeds  the  value  per  acre  of  the  six  largest  oat-producing  States  out- 
side of  New  England. 

In  some  notes  on  Maine  cattle,  it  is  stated  that  as  early  as  1791  cattle 
were  imported  from  England  by  the  farmers  of  this  State,  and  as  late  as 
1836  Maine  farmers  sent  breeding-animals  of  tboroughbretl  stock  to 
Vermont,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  even  as  far  west  as  Ohio.  It 
was  one  of  the  earliest  sections  of  the  country  to  attempt  an  improve- 
ment of  its  breeds  of  cattle  by  the  introduction  of  thoroughbred  ani- 
mals from  other  countries. 

The  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  board  was  held  in  October,  at  Orono, 
the  seat  of  the  State  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts. 
The  first  day  was  spent  at  the  State  college  in  attending  the  various 
recitations  and  in  examining  the  departments,  outbuildings,  implements, 
stock,  and  farm-work.  The  opening  address  was  by  President  Z.  A. 
Gilbert,  and  the  address  of  welcome  by  Mr.  Charles  Buffum,  of  Orono. 
Mr.  Samuel  Wassou  read  a  paper  on  the  importance  and  profits  of  cattle 
breeding  and  rearing.  Believing  the  only  true  system  of  farming  to  be 
that  which  consumes  the  crops  on  the  farm,  he  regards  the  following 
propositions  as  incontrovertible: 

First.  Cattle  afford  the  most  direct,  the  cheapest,  and,  as  at  present  advised,  the 
only  agency  to  stay  sterility  of  the  soil  and  keep  it  productive. 

Second.  A  combination  of  causes  has  given  the  pre-eminence  to  cows,  not  because 
their  droppings  are  of  superior  value,  for  that  of  cows  in  milk  is  inferior  iu  quality, 
but  because  they  can  be  made  to  pay  a  larger  dividend  for  their  keeping  than  any  other 
kind  of  stock,  and  the  labor  which  their  keeping  induces  is  more  remunerative  than 
that  of  any  other  branch  of  cattle-husbandry. 

Third.  They  excel  as  machines  or  instruments  of  transformation.  Not  that  a  cow 
per  se  is  gifted  to  excel  in  the  process  of  transformation,  but  that  the  product  which  she 
tarns  out  is  at  less  cost  and  of  superior  value.  A  large  portion  of  farmers  are  too  far 
from  market  to  transport  bulky  aud  weighty  products,  like  hay  and  hoed  crops,  and 
hence  the  value  of  cattle  to  reduce  the  bulk,  and  of  cows  to  increase  the  value  of  the 
concentrated  product,  that  there  be  no  loss  of  value  to  the  article  in  bulk  and  compeu- 
eation  for  the  transformation  ;  in  other  words,  that  the  value  of  the  milk,  cheese,  or 
butter  shall  equal  the  value  of  the  hay,  together  with  the  cost  and  labor  of  dairying. 
There  is  another  phase  of  the  case  which  strikes  deep-rooted  in  this  matter.  In  a  soil 
like  that  of  Maine,  which  must  be  fed  to  keep  it  fruitful,  it  is  soil-murder  iu  the  tirst 
degree  to  market  raw  material,  working  as  sure  and  certain  ruin  as  it  would  to  cart  off 
the  enriched  surface  soil  aud  dump  it  into  the  ocean ;  but  by  converting  ic  into  some 


384         EEPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

animal  product  the  same  matfirial  may  be  marketed  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil 
preserved  and  increased. 

Fourth.  The  amount  of  cheese  and  butter  which  a  co-w  can  be  made  to  produce  in  a 
given  time,  or  rather  which  they  have  produced,  almost  surpasses  belief.  The  noted 
Oakes  cow,  a  native  animal,  in  Massachusetts,  yielded  in  one  season  an  average  of  18 
ounces  of  bu(;ter  per  day  for  215  days,  or  467i  pounds,  which,  at  35  cents,  is  $162.6!3,  or 
$134.57  more  than  the  average  of  our  cows.  Numerous  instances  are  on  record  of  a  per 
annum  yield  of  1,000  gallons  of  milk,  or  780  pounds  of  cheese.  These  are  some  of  the 
possibilities,  and  while  such  may  be  rare  and  extreme  cases,  they  show  a  defect  some- 
where when  the  average  falls  to  80  or  90  pounds. 

Mr.  A.  L.  Bradbury  addressed  the  board  on  tlie  advantages  to  dairy- 
men, from  raising  their  own  cows.  He  closed  his  remarks  with  the  fol- 
lowing directions  for  the  treatment  of  calves : 

Admitting  that  it  is  better  to  raise  our  own  cows,  how  shall  we  raise  our  calves  so  as 
to  retain  the  use  of  the  cow  in  the  dairy?  *  *  »  How  soon  can  we  begin  to  substi- 
tute other  food  than  milk  for  our  calves  ?  Not  the  first  week,  for  the  calf  should  have 
the  milk  of  its  dam  for  one  week  at  least.  Now,  if  we  wish  to  commence  to  substitute 
something  instead  of  milk,  he  must  be  taken  from  the  cow  and  taught  to  drink  and 
feed  the  same  elements  of  nutrition  the  milk  contains.  One  quart  of  milk  contains 
about  1^  ounces  of  butter,  1  ounce  of  sugar,  1+  ounces  of  casein,  and  70  grains  of 
bone  matter.  Experiments  have  shown  that  one  pound  of  oil  or  fat  is  equal  to  2i  pounds 
of  starch  or  sugar ;  thus  one  quart  of  milk  contains  of  flesh-forming  material  1^  ounces, 
of  fat  or  heat-giving  material  4^  ounces,  or  a  total  of  5|-  ounces  of  nutritive  elements. 
Now,  if  we  take  out  one  ounce  of  butter  to  a  quart  of  milk,  we  shall  have  removed  one- 
half  of  its  value  for  the  calf,  which  we  must  make  up  in  quantity  by  doubling  up,  or 
substituting  starch  in  the  form  of  buckwheat  flour,  at  the  rate  of  2^  ounces  for  every 
ounce  of  butter  taken  away.  The  better  plan  is  to  gradually  substitute  skimmed  milk 
for  the  new  by  adding  new  milk  with  warm  skimmed  milk  for  its  morning  and  eve- 
ning meals,  and  giving  it  skimmed  milk  at  noon,  for  it  should  be  fed  three  times  per 
day  at  least.  When  the  calf  is  four  weeks  old  it  will  do  well  enough  on  skimmed  milk 
alone,  provided  it  can  have  enough,  with  always  keeping  good  sweet  hay  by  it.  Reared 
in  this  way,  we  have  our  milk  for  use  in  the  dairy,  and  get  much  better  calves  than 
in  the  ordiYiary  way  of  letting  them  draw  the  milk  themselves  until  they  are  ten  or 
twelve  weeks  old,  then  taking  them  away  at  once.  A  calf  should  not  be  weaned  until 
it  is  four  or  five  mouths  old.  In  a  cheese-dairy  whey  and  oatmeal  can  be  substituted 
for  skimmed  milk,  after  the  calf  is  two  months  old,  with  good  success. 

Mr.  Colburn  said  that  farmers  and  dairymen  made  a  great  mistake  by 
selling  their  March  calves,  as  they  made  much  better  milkers  than  those 
dropped  in  June.  While  it  costs  a  little  more  to  raise  these  early  spring 
calves,  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  milk  and  butter  at  that  season  of 
the  year,  he  thought  that  the  'additional  expense  was  more  than  over- 
balanced by  the  extra  milking  qualities  of  the  cow.  His  method  of 
treatment  in  the  rearing  of  calves  was  given  as  follows: 

For  the  first  week  I  let  them  have  half  of  the  milk ;  then  I  takethem  olf  aud  teach  them 
to  drink.  I  let  the  milk  stand  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours,  skim  it,  warm  it 
milk-warm,  aud  give  it  to  them,  six  quarts  to  a  feed,  twice  a  day  for  the  first  week  or 
fortnight ;  then  I  increase  the  quantity  so  as  to  give  them  all  that  the  cow  will  give. 
When  they  are  about  four  weeks  old,  I  put  a  little  shorts,  oatmeal,  or  oats,  cooked  po- 
tatoes, or  crusts  of  bread  in  a  trough  where  they  can  get  at  it.  After  they  get  so  as  to 
eat  too  mucii,  I  allowance  them  to  about  a  pine  and  a  half  of  oats  a  day,  or  something 
equivalent ;  and  so  right  on  until  they  are  six  or  eight  months  old,  increasing  the  feed. 
I  give  them  milk  until  they  are  four  months  old.  If  you  want  to  carry  the  calves  up 
to  great  growth  early,  keep  them  up  for  eight  months  ;  but  I  usually  turn  them  out 
to  gras;-!  when  four  months  old.  The  firat  winter  I  feed  some  roots  with  good  dry  grass, 
not  hay.  I  have  by  this  system  of  feeding  matured  my  Jersey  calves  at  seventeen 
mouths  old. 

In  the  course  of  discussion  on  the  subject  of  farm  experiments,  Mr. 
Stewart,  of  Kewport,  gave  a  detailed  statement  of  his  system  of  treat- 
ing grass-lands.  After  stating  that  he  had  commenced  farming  on  an 
old  run-down  farm,  he  said : 

My  only  object  has  been  to  raise  grass,  consequently  my  experiments  have  been  in 
that  direction.  The  first  year  I  succeeded  very  well  in  getting  along  with  the  drought, 
and  the  grasshoppers  passed  by  me  with  but  little  injury.    But  the  second  year  they 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  385 

came  down  about  the  middle  of  July,  and  seemed  to  drop  dovrn  ou  my  land  more  than 
upon  any  other  farm  in  that  locality.  They  killed  almost  every  hlade  of  grass  I  had ; 
my  iields  looked  as  if  the  tii-e  had  gone  over  them.  I  was  compelled  to  sell  off  a  large 
portion  of  my  stock,  because  I  had  not  sufficient  fodder  to  keep  them  through  the  fall 
aud  winter.  I  did  not  care  so  much  for  the  loss  of  my  stock  and  cereal  crops  as  I  did 
for  my  acres  of  grass.  My  object  waa  then  to  get  my  Holds  back  again,  aud  I  had  the 
greatest  success  in  this  way.  I  commenced  eowing  grass-seed  in  the  fall ;  sowed  some 
in  September.  This  started  well  aud  grew  well.  We  had  an  average  winter,  but  still 
it  killed  out  in  the  spring.  I  found  before  this  that  the  greatest  trouble  was  in  getting 
a  catch — seeding  my  land  down  to  grass.  My  idea  was  to  experiment  until  I  could  find 
some  way  by  which  I  would  bo  sure  of  success  every  time.  The  result  has  been  in  favor 
of  either  harrowing  my  ground,  if  it  is  very  mellow,  in  the  fall,  pulverizing  it  very 
nicely,  or  plowing  it  and  then  harrowing  it  well,  then  putting  on  the  roller,  letting  it 
remain  until  very  early  in  the  spring — if  the  snow  is  on  the  ground,  I  do  not  know  as 
it  makes  any  difference — and  then  sowing  my  grass-seed.  In  this  way  I  have  always 
succeeded  in  getting,  I  might  say,  more  than  a  catch.  At  first  I  got  too  much,  aud 
I  found  it  best  not  to  sow  more  than  two-thirds  tlie  amount  of  seed  usually  sown 
with  the  grain  in  the  spring.  *  »  »  Until  within  a  few  years  I  have  plowed  or 
harrowed  in  my  dressing,  but  now  I  use  top-dressing.  I  had  a  piece  of  land,  perhaps 
an  acre  and  a  half,  that  seemed  to  bo  drowned  out  badly.  I  plowed  up  about  two-thirds 
of  it,  planted  it  with  beans  and  corn  the  first  year;  should  judge  I  put  on  fifteen  loada 
of  manure  to  the  acre  ;  I  then  seeded  it  down  with  herds-grass,  clover,  and  red  top. 
The  other  third  of  the  piece  I  concluded  I  would  not  plow,  and  I  do  not  thiuk  I  cut 
over  fifteen  hundred-weight  of  hay  to  the  acre  on  it ;  but  late  in  the  fall  I  hauled  on 
not  more  than  sis  or  eight  loads  of  manure  to  the  acre,  left  it  in  small  heaps,  and 
spread  it  very  early  in  the  spring.  It  was  very  fine  after  being  frozen  through  the 
winter,  and  I  spread  it  very  evenly.  The  first  year  I  had  about  a  ton  to  the  acre ;  but 
for  the  last  four  years  I  am  satisfied  that  I  have  cut  two  tons  and  a  half  to  the  acre 
on  that  piece,  Avhile  upon  the  other  part  that  I  dressed  with  more  than  twice  the  labor 
and  with  the  expense  of  seeding  it  anew,  I  have  not  received  over  two-thirds,  if  I  have 
one-half,  that  amount  of  hay.  I  am  experimenting  with  other  pieces  with  about  the 
same  success.  My  land  is  principally  flat  and  gravelly,  with  not  much  clay,  but  con- 
siderable muck.  I  have  top-dressed  in  the  fall,  and  I  cannot  see  any  benefit  from  it.  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  spreading  manure  immediately  after  haying,  and 
allowing  it  to  dry  up  in  the  hot  sun,  is  a  useless  waste  of  labor. 

In  his  report  of  "  the  transactions  of  the  State  Pomological  Society 
daring  the  second  year  of  its  existence,"  the  secretary  says : 

The  work  of  the  first  year,  including  the  winter  meeting  of  January,  1874,  was  of  a 
preliminary  character  and  devoted  chiefly  to  organization,  laying  out  of  work  for 
*he  future,  and  devising  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  specific  objects  and  for 
running  the  machinery  of  the  society  with  the  least  possible  expense  and  friction. 
Among  the  objects  vrbich  the  society  has  prominently  in  view  are  the  following:  To 
develop  and  systematize  the  jiomology  of  the  State  ;  to  fix  reliable  and  standard  lists 
of  varieties  of  fruits  adapted  to  the  diifereut  sections,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  beginner 
may  avoid  the  loss  of  his  time  and  money  in  planting  unsuitable  varieties  upon  the 
recommendation  of  itinerant  vendors  ;  to  ascertain  aud  disseminate  the  knowledge  of 
the  principles  aud  i)rocesses  essential  to  successful  cultivation  ;  to  develop  the  capac- 
ities of  the  State  to  raise  not  only  its  own  fruit,  but  its  fruit-trees  also,  affording  a  sur- 
plus of  both  for  exportation,  instead  of  importing  vast  quantities  of  each,  as  at  present ; 
to  obtain  aud  publish  accurate  annual  statistics,  stiowiug  the  condition  and  progress  of 
this  important  interest.  *  *  »  The  efforts  of  the  society  have  already  awakened  a 
new  and  deeper  interest  in  fruit-growing  both  in  the  orchard  aud  nursery.  Improved 
varieties  of  fruits  and  better  methods  of  culture  are  being  eagerly  sought  for ;  worthless 
or  unprofitable  varieties  aud  methods  of  doubtful  utility  have  in  many  instances  been 
discarded  ;  more  numerous  and  better  exhibitions  of  fruit  have  been  held  than  in  any 
previous  year,  aud  the  discussion  of  the  various  questions  connected  with  fruit-culture, 
both  in  the  farmers'  meetings  and  in  the  newspapers,  has  been  more  general,  more 
intelligent,  and  more  practical  than  ever  before. 

The  Maine  Dairymen's  Association  was  organized  at  Augusta  in  April, 
1874.  The  followiDg  officers  were  elected:  President,  Seward  Dill; 
vice-presidents,  T.  P.  Batchelder,  William  D.  Hayden,  Frank  Back; 
secretary,  J.  W.  Lang ;  treasurer.  Dr.  J.  W.  Xortb,  jr.  The  secretary 
states  that  the  season  of  1874  was  one  of  only  average  returns  to  the 
dairymeu.  A  wet  spring  gave  an  abundant  supply  of  grass,  but  it 
lacked  those  rich,  nutritious  qualities  of  the  highest  excellence.  A  great 
flow  of  milk  was  had  through  June  and  July,  but  the  milk  yielded  less 
25  A 


386  REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

butter  and  cheese  than  usual.  In  August  a  short,  sharp  drought  cut  off 
tlie  exuberance  of  the  forage,  and  a  sudden  shrinkage  was  experienced. 
Many  cheese -factories  stopped  operations  the  last  of  August,  and  nearly 
all  by  the  middle  of  September. 

Eeportfor  1875. — This  volume  is  also  one  of  more  than  average  inter- 
est, although  it  contains  neither  so  many  pages  nor  so  great  a  variety 
of  papers  as  that  for  1874.  The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Waterville, 
in  connection  with  the  Maine  Dairymen's  Association,  in  February,  1875. 
Z.  A.  Gilbert  was  elected  president  of  the  board  ;  J.  E.  Shaw,  treasurer, 
and  Samuel  L.  Boardman,  secretary.  Mr.  Lyman  Lee  read  the  open- 
ing paper,  on  raising  horses  for  Maine.  It  was  discussed  with  consider- 
able spirit  by  the  farmers  present.  He  took  the  position  that  the  farm- 
ers and  horse-breeders  of  the  State  have  generally  been  producing  a 
class  of  horses  ^together  too  light  for  general  road  purposes.  While 
oxen  have  been  going  out  of  use,  and  horses  have  been  gradually  taking 
their  places,  horses  of  the  right  kind  for  farm  and  heavy  road  work  have 
not  been  raised  in  suflBcient  numbers  to  supply  the  demand.  The  result 
has  been  that  the  people  of  the  State  have  been  compelled  to  import 
them  from  the  West  and  from  the  provinces  of  Canada.    He  said : 

The  fatal  fascination  of  raising  fast  liorses  has  seized  upon  too  many  farmers,  and 
attention  to  the  breeding  of  this  class  of  horses  has  driven  out  all  attempts  in  the 
direction  above  indicated.  A  showy  little  stallion  of  eight  or  nine  hundred  pounds  is 
too  often  patronized  in  the  vain  hope  of  securing  a  sx^eedy  colt,  vrhen  the  services  of  a 
well-made-up  horse  of  from  eleven  to  fourteen  hundred  xiouuds,  which  should  be  secured, 
are  not  used.  Farmers  seek  for  speed  in  raising  horses,  and  obtain  it  only  in  very  rare 
instances.  Now,  if  these  animals  chance  to  become  a  little  lame,  or  slightly  blemished, 
they  are  of  little  or  no  value,  while  heavy  horses,  although  they  may  not  be  perfect,  are 
still  useful  and  command  good  prices.  The  breeding  of  fast  horses  should  be  left  to  the 
professional  horsemen  and  trainers,  as  farmers  seldom  make  it  profitable.  One  trouble 
must  be  encountered  at  first,  and  that  is,  many  of  our  mares  are  not  large  enough  to 
breed  from.  This,  however,  may  iu  a  measure  be  overcome  by  selecting  the  largest  and 
best  mares  for  stock-raising,  and  even  by  importation  at  first,  if  need  be.  But  in  case 
of  the  stock-horse  from  which  to  breed,  there  will  be  no  difficulty,  for  as  soon  as  the 
owners  and  keepers  of  such  horses  learn  that  a  large,  firm,  and  compact  breed  of  horses 
is  desired,  they  will  find  it  for  their  interest  to  patronize  the  same.  Then,  again,  would 
it  not  be  better  to  arouse  the  ambition  of  our  young  men,  and  some  of  the  older  ones 
too,  to  raise  and  keep  a  team  of  splendid,  sturdy  horses  for  valuable  use,  instead  of  en- 
gaging in  racing  and  pool-selling,  with  their  attendant  infiuences,  which  in  fact  more 
or  less  affect  the  whole  community  ?  Of  course  no  vvord  is  to  be  said  against  breeding 
lighter  horses  for  light-carriage  use  and  for  driving ;  but  experience  will  show  that 
there  will  always  be  a  sufficient  supply  of  small  horses. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed,  the  general  conclusion  reached  was 
that  the  raising  ot  light,  speedj'  horses  should  not  lead  the  farmers  to 
lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  other  lines  of  breeding  and  other 
branches  of  farming ;  for  while  there  could  be  no  question  as  to  the 
high  value  of  the  road-horses  of  the  State,  yet  sheep,  young  cattle,  and 
dairy-stock  certainly  needed  encouragement,  and  beef-growing,  dairy- 
ing, orcharding,  market-gardening,  and  other  important  branches  of 
farming,  for  which  certain  sections  of  the  State  were  especially  adapted, 
should  not  be  overlooked.  Speed  is  a  valuable  quality,  but  there  are 
other  valuable  qualities  possessed  by  the  horse  which  are  equally  as 
necessary  to  develop  as  that  of  speed,  and  it  is  a  question  if  the  best 
horse  is  not  that  one  possessing  the  most  complete  development  of  all 
these  qualities,  such  as  would  best  fit  him  for  all  useful  and  desirable 
l)urposes. 

Mr.  A.  L.  Bradbury  read  a  paper  giving  the  results  of  his  experiments 
as  to,  the  value  of  whey  and  skimmed  milk  for  feeding  to  calves  and 
pigs.  He  stated  that  some  years  ago  he  took  two  calves  from  the  cows 
at  two  weeks  old,  and  put  them  on  skimmed  milk  and  j)otatoes,  and  fed 


DIGEST    OF   ST.ATE   REPOETS.  387 

two  others  on  the  cows  until  thirteen  weeks  old.  The  result  was,  that 
the  hand-fed  calves  so  far  outgrew  the  others  that  he  had  hard  work  to 
keep  them  from  the  butcher,  while  the  others  he  did  not  want.  The 
hand-led  ones  kept  constantly  ahead  of  the  others,  and  at  two  years 
old  the  smallest  one  came  in  as  a  cow,  and  measured  more  than  6  feet, 
while  the  best  one  fed  on  the  cow  was  only  5  feet,  both  having  had  the 
same  treatment  after  weaning.  Like  results  followed  other  experiments 
of  a  similar  character,  and  proved  beyond  question  the  value  of  whey 
and  skimmed  milk  as  feed  for  calves.  Whey  alone  fed  to  pigs  had 
proved  that  it  was  worth  saving  for  this  purpose. 

The  lectures  by  Professor  Arnold  on  "  Needs  of  the  Dairy  "  and  on 
''  Cheese-Making,"  form  valuable  contributions  to  a  correct  understand- 
ing of  an  interest  which  seems  to  be  making  more  progress  than  any 
other  productive  industry  in  the  State.  A  careful  study  of  these  papers 
must  prove  of  great  practical  benefit  to  dairy -farmers,  whether  in  Maine 
or  elsewhere. 

The  points  in  a  paper  by  Mr.  S.  G.  Foster  on  the  management  of  a 
private  butter-dairy  are  reported  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Foster  stated  tbat  there  was  iio  royal  road  to  success  in  the  matter  of  butter- 
makiug.  While  first-class  butter  sells  for  45  cents  per  pound,  aad  a  fajacy  article  at 
from  50  cents  to  $1.'25  per  pound,  the  great  mass  manufactured  sells  for  an  average  of 
only  about  20  cents  per  pound.  If  a  choice  article  of  butter  is  desired,  care  must  be 
exercised  from  the  time  the  milk  is  drawn  till  it  is  ready  in  the  finished  article  for 
market.  The  causes  of  poor  butter  are  numerous.  There  are  many  points  upon  which 
more  light  is  needed,  and  this  can  be  elimiuated  only  by  careful  experiments  conducted 
with  nice  and  accurate  instruments.  Nothing  should  be  done  without  careful  weights 
and  measures,  and  careful  thought.  Good  butter  is  not  produced  in  ignorance  ;  it  is 
the  result  of  skill  and  common  sense.  The  quantity  of  milk  given  is  made  the  test  of 
the  value  of  the  cow  by  too  many,  rather  than  the  quality  of  the  milk.  There  is  no 
breed  but  j)roduces  good  cows ;  no  breed  but  produces  some  poor  ones.  He  next  spoke 
of  the  necessity  of  cleanliness  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  stable,  the  milking,  and 
the  care  and  keeping  of  the  milk.  The  manipulating,  the  packing,  and  the  storing  of 
the  butter  all  require  good  common  sense,  skill,  and  cleanliness.  In  a  discussion 
which  followed,  Professor  Arnold  said  the  experience  all  over  the  country  was  that  the 
best  cows  for  producing  milk  were  one-half,  three-fourths,  and  seven-eighths  grades, 
and,  so  far  as  his  own  experience  and  observation  went,  it  was  not  true  that  extra- 
ordinary milkers  reproduced  their  own  qualities  in  their  oftspring. 

Among  the  contents  which  have  not  been  noticed  are  interesting 
articles  on  "The  Influence  of  Education  upon  Labor;"  "Labor  upon 
Capital;"  "Agricultural  Education;"  "Aims  and  Methods  of  the  State 
College  with  respect  to  Practical  Education;"  "Specialties  in  Farm- 
ing;" "Success  in  Farming;"  "A  State  Industrial  Exposition  ; "  "Fish 
and  Crops  and  Fish  Guano;"  "Management  of  Grass- Lands  and 
Pastures;"  "Planting  an  Orchard;"  "Sheep-Husbandry  and  Legisla- 
tion for  its  Protection;"  "Kaising  Xeat-Stock;"  "Associated  Dairying 
**in  Maine;"  "  What  the  Dairy  Cow  is,  and  whence  she  came;"  and  other 
papers  of  minor  importance. 

The  semi-annual  meeting  was  held  at  Calais,  Washington  County,  in 
November.  Much  of  the  time  of  the  first  day  was  taken  up  in  the  read- 
ing of  county  reports.  At  the  request  of  the  farmers  of  the  county, 
fruitgrowing,  dairy-farming,  and  sheep-husbandry  formed  the  leading 
topics  of  the  papers  read  and  the  discussions  which  followed. 

During  the  progress  of  the  meeting  Mr.  F.  W.  Shepherd,  who  had 
used  menhaden  as  a  fertilizer  for  many  years  with  varying  results,  gave 
an  account  of  a  recent  experiment  with  which  he  was  highly  gratified. 
He  had  secured  the  best  results  by  making  them  into  a  compost  in  con- 
nection with  yard-manure,  loam,  ashes,  and  plaster  in  the  proportion  of 
one  cord  each  of  loam  and  manure,  ten  barrels  of  menhaden  scrap, 
(eleven  barrels  to  the  ton,)  one  bushel  of  plaster,  and  from  eight  tQ 


388  REPORT    OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

twelve  bushels  of  ashes.  This  is  put  up  iu  layers,  sods  being-  placed  on 
the  outside  to  hold  the  mass.  In  a  few  days  it  will  heat,  when  it  is 
worked  over,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  entire  mass  will  be  about  the  con- 
sistency of  leached  ashes.  This  is  applied  to  land  for  grain  and  grass. 
Put  on  to  grass-land  in  October,  it  had  given  two  loads  of  hay  that  year  on 
land  that  the  previous  year  gave  but  one  5  and  on  a  field  that  had  not  been 
plowed  for  ten  years,  and  had  yielded  but  two  or  three  loads,  applied  as 
above,  it  had  this  season  given  seven  loads.  The  heap  will  compost 
more  readily  if  built  up  high  than  if  spread  out  broad,  and  will  take 
about  ten  days  or  two  weeks  to  become  lit  for  use.  The  scrap  costs  at 
the  factory  $10  per  ton  from  the  press,  or  $12  per  ton  if  packed  in  bar- 
rels. In  this  connection  it  should  be  mentioned  that  an  article  by  Sec- 
retary Boardman,  on  the  menhaden  and  herring  fisheries  of  Maine  iu 
connection  -with  agriculture,  appears  in  this  volume.  The  paper  is  a 
very  elaborate  one,  occupying  64  pages. 

Reports  from  the  various  counties  of  the  State  show  that  upward  of 
forty  associated  dairy  companies  were  in  operation  during  the  year. 
The  secretary  closes  his  condensed  report  as  follows : 

The  year  has  been  oue  of  fally  average  returns,  and  the  farmer  may  well  be  satis- 
fied with  the  results  of  his  labors.  Our  flocks  and  herds  have  been  free  from  plague 
and  disease,  our  staple  crops  generally  spared  from  blight  and  the  ravages  of  insects, 
and  on  the  whole  contentment  and  comfort  have  waited  on  industry,  crowning  it  witb 
satisfaction  and  plenty.  No  one  has  lost  faith  in  farming,  but,  on  the  contrary,  taith  in 
intelligent,  systematic,  and  well-directed  farming  has  steadily  gained  ground  every 
day  during  the  year,  and  more  men  are  in  love  -nith  it,  believe  in  it,  and  are  following 
it  now  than  formerly.  Many  farms,  it  is  true,  have  been  deserted  ;  but  all  over  our 
State  men  are  returning  from  the  city  to  the  farm,  and,  putting  into  operation  busi- 
ness principles  and  intelligent  direction,  are  working  out  good  results  and  stimulating 
improved  farming  throughout  large  sections. 

The  transactions  for  1875  of  the  Maine  State  Pomological  Society  fill 
172  pages,  and  the  second  annual  report  of  the  Maine  Dairymen's  Asso- 
ciation 42  pages,  with  interesting  matter. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  twenty -third  annual  report  of  the  State  Board  for  the  year  1875 
is  one  of  more  than  average  interest.  It  contains  elaborate  papers  on  a 
variety  of  important  subjects  and  exhaustive  discussions  participated  in 
by  many  of  the  most  prominent  agriculturists  of  jS'ew  England. 

The  secretary,  in  his  preliminary  report  to  the  legislature,  states  that 
the  year  has  been  prosperous  and  favorable  for  most  branches  of  farm- 
ing industry.  The  presence  of  heat  and  moisture,  distributed  with  some 
degree  of  uniformity  throughout  the  season  of  most  active  vegetation,^ 
furnishes  tbe  conditions  favorable  for  a  i)roductive  year  on  the  farm. 
In  this  respect  the  season  was  more  than  usually  iDropitious,  no  drought 
of  any  severity  having  occurred  to  injure  the  crops  or  cut  short  the 
period  of  vegetable  growth. 

Among  the  enterprises  of  an  agricultural  character  that  are  especially 
worthy  of  mention  is  that  of  diking  in  and  reclaiming  extensive  tracts 
of  salt-marshes  along  the  sea-shore.  Green  Harbor  Marsh,  situated  in 
the  town  of  Marshfield,  has  been  shut  off  from  the  tides  of  the  ocean  at 
an  expense  exceeding  $30,000,  and  over  1,400  acres  have  been  thus  put 
into  a  condition  to  add  materially  to  the  productive  wealth  of  the  State. 
Extensive  and  careful  scientific  investigations  have  been  instituted, 
under  the  direction  of  the  State  board,  to  ascertain  the  changes  which 
take  place  in  the  soils  of  reclaimed  marshes,  with  the  hope  of  rendering 
efficient  aid  to  those  who  have  undertaken  this  great  public  work. 


DIGEST    OF    STATE   REPORTS.  389 

The  usual  conntry  meeting  of  the  board  was  held  at  Haverhill,  Essex 
County,  in  November.  In  his  opening  address,  Mr.  George  B.  Loring 
thus  ailudes  to  the  place  of  meeting : 

The  town  in  wbich  -wo  are  assembled  has  long  been  distinguislied  for  the  care  and 
system  with  which  the  land  has  been  cultivated  and  the  business  of  manufacturing 
has  been  conducted.  Settled,  as  it  was,  two  hundred  and  thirty-fivo  years  ago,  in 
precisely  the  same  manner  in  -which  so  many  New  England  towns  were  settled,  by  an 
honest,  faithful,  and  earnest  clergyman  leading  his  little  flock  into  the  wilderness  for 
the  purpose, of  enjoying  what  our  fathers  demanded  and  insisted  on  here,  "freedom 
to  worship  God,"  it  became  at  last  one  of  those  towns  in  tbe  connty  which  were  dis- 
tinguished for  the  skill  and  prosperity  of  the  agricultural  community  which  was  settled 
here.  It  Avas  finely  located  on  the  banks  of  this  swift-running  river,  which  came  flash- 
ing along  from  the  mountains  of  New  Hampshire  and  the  lakes  above,  with  no  alluvial 
soil,  but  with  those  rich  and  fertile  and  heavy  clay  banks  which  are  so  superior,  under 
the  long-continued  toil  of  the  farmer,  for  the  purposes  of  the  various  crops.  Here  the 
lathers  established  a  prosperous  agricultural  community,  and  year  after  year,  for  more 
than  two  centuries,  Haverhill  performed  her  part  as  one  of  the  leading  towns  in  this 
commonwealth.  When  the  business  of  agriculture  began  to  decline  and  the  attention 
of  our  people  was  turned  to  other  branches  of  business,  how  she  sprang  forth  to  accept 
the  work  which  was  then  laid  before  us,  advancing  in  a  few  years  from  a  little  town 
of  Sj.'jOO  people,  ijrosperous  in  their  agricultural  pursuits,  to  a  city  of  almost  15,000 
people,  with  more  than  150  firms  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  leather  and  its  prod- 
ucts, and  with  an  annual  ijroduction  of  $10,000,000  from  her  industry  alone. 

Mr.  Loring  gives  the  following  instances  in  illustration  of  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  of  Essex  County  in  former  years  : 

I  remember  one  of  the  records  kept  in  this  county  less  than  a  century  ago,  in  which 
it  was  stated  that  under  the  ordinary  cultivation  of  the  soil  750  bushels  of  potatoes 
had  been  raised  upon  one  acre  of  land,  and  650  bushels  of  carrots,  850  bushels  of  ruta- 
bagas, (Swedish  turnips,)  and  1,050  bushels  of  mangold-wurzels ;  and  upon  ten  acres 
of  land  for  thirty  years  there  had  been  produced  an  average  of  three  tons  of  hay  to  the 
acre — laud  that  had  not  been. broken  by  the  plow  in  all  that  time,  but  had  received  at 
the  hand  of  the  cultivator  a  fair  and  proper  top-dressing  from  year  to  year. 

Prof.  Levi  Stockbridge  read  a  paper  on  plant-food,  in  which  he  gives 
the  results  of  a  series  of  experiments  in  feeding  plants,  conducted  on  the 
agricultural-college  farm.  He  asks:  "What  have  the  ordinary  varia- 
tions of  our  seasons  to  do  with  the  nutrition  of  plants,  or  with  the  devel- 
opment of  plant-food  in  the  soil?"  Answering,  "Much,  every  way,"  he 
proceeds  to  explain  by  saying : 

If  we  have  a  wet  season,  an  extra  quantity  of  water- fall,  this  fills  the  interspaces  of 
the  soil  so  that  the  air  is  excluded,  so  that  the  warmth  is  otxcluded  ;  tbe  soil  does  not 
become  heated.  The  coarse,  raw,  undecomposed,  unferm«nted  mass  of  barn-yard 
manure,  compost,  muck,  straw,  clover,  or  grain  crops  plowed  in,  remain  dormant  and 
dead,  no  nutriment  is  formed,  and  your  plant  is  starved  for  want  of  food.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  your  season  is  one  of  excessive  drought,  little  rain-fall,  and  the  soil  be- 
comes dry,  so  that  decomposition  stops,  then  your  raw,  crude  material,  your  baru- 
yard  manure,  and  your  muck  remain  unchanged;  no  food  is  formed,  and  your  plant 
starves  for  want  of  nutrition.  Now,  then,  the  seasons  have  to  do  with  plant-nutrition 
in  just  this  way,  and  the  farmer  should  have  known  that  if  he  would  feed  his  plants, 
and  do  it  thoroughly,  with  the  variations  of  the  seasons,  he  could  not  afford  to  trust 
them  to  make  plant-food  out  of  raw  or  crude  materials;  but  that  it  was  a  part  of  his 
duty  to  prepare  the  food  for  his  plants  ere  he  committed  it  to  the  soil,  and  then  tl^e 
action  of  the  season  of  which  he  complains  would  have  been  e7itirely  obviated,  and  he 
could  have  produced  crops  yearly  without  regard  to  these  varLations  of  the  seasons 
which  make  maximum  or  minimum  crops. 

After  stating  that  the  primary  aim  of  a  series  of  experiments  begun 
at  the  agricultural  college  in  1869  was  "to  prove  just  this  thing, 
whether  certain  elements  of  plant-food,  prepared  in  the  condition  of 
plant-food  ready  to  nourish  the  plant,  would  not  nourish  and  produce 
almost  in  any  quantity  desired,  without  regard  to  the  ordinary  varia- 
tions of  the  season,"  he  continues  : 

The  first  point  to  be  ascertained  was,  whether  certain  elements  of  plant-nutrition — 
prepared  in  a  certain  way  and  given  to  the  plants-— would  produce  plants.    Those  ex- 


390    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

periments  were  tried  four  years,  and  it  was  found  by  using  tbe  ordinary  materials 
known  to  everybody— nitrogen,  potash,  phosplioric  acid,  soda,  magnesia,  &c.,  iu  certain 
forms,  on  soils  tbat  were  absolutely  sterile — plants  could  be  produced  perfect  in  all 
their  parts.  That  was  the  first  point  to  be  ascertained.  Then  to  ascertain  whether  it 
was  needful  for  the  farmer,  with  such  soils  as  were  within  our  reach,  to  use  all  the 
elements  of  plant-nutrition,  or  whether  the  soil  could  be  relied  upon  to  provide  certain 
elements  in  sufficient  abundance  so  that  the  farmer  need  not  apply  them. 

The  experiments  for  four  years  seem  to  indicate  that,  with  such  soils  as  we  were  using, 
gathering  them  on  the  college  farm  and  for  miles  around,  we  need  not  apply  to  the 
plant  carbon  in  any  form,  state,  or  condition ;  that  that  was  provided  by  nature,  and 
always  would  be ;  that  we  need  not  feed  any  other  organic  element  of  nutrition  but 
nitrogen;  that  nature  had  not  provided  nitrogen  in  sufficient  abundance,  and  that  we 
must  apply  it.  Among  the  mineral  elements  of  the  soil  it  was  found  that  we  need  only 
use  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  for  our  vegetable  crops.  There  were  one  or  two  crops 
where  we  decided  that  we  should  use  not  only  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  mag- 
nesia. Tobacco  was  one,  oats  was  another,  where  we  decided  that  it  was  necessary  to 
use  magnesia;  but  for  the  ordinary  crops  on  such  soils,  marlc  you,  as  we  had  to  experi- 
ment with,  nitrogen,  potash,  and  phosphoric  acid  were  the  only  elements  needed  to  be 
used.  And  we  also  noticed  that  there  was  a  remarkable  relation  existing  between  the 
amount  of  crop  produced  and  the  quantity  of  the  elements  applied,  which  led  to  the 
thought  that,  perhaps,  with  a  certain  quantity  of  nitrogen,  potash,  and  phosphoric 
acid  given  to  the  plant  in  the  form  of  absolute  food,  a  plant  might  be  produced  which 
should  contain  as  mfich  nitrogen,  potiash,  and  phosphoric  acid  as  we  gave  artilicially 
to  the  plant  we  cultivated.  The  results  of  open-field  culture  in  1873-74  seemed  to  sus- 
tain that  belief.  The  crops  experimented  with  this  year  have  been  corn,  oats,  hay, 
beans,  and  the  general  garden- vegetables. 

First,  I  will  take  the  experiments  with  corn.  Two  plots  of  land  were  taken  this  year, 
so  far  as  we  could  determine,  exactly  alike  in  their  quality.  It  was  proposed  to  make, 
over  and  above  the  natural  product  of  the  land,  50  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  Ele- 
ments containing  as  much  nitrogen,  potash,  atid  phosphoric  acid  as  would  be  contained 
in  50  bushels  of  Indiati  corn,  and  the  natural  production  of  stalks  for  50  bushels  of 
Indian  corn,  were  therefore  applied  to  the  land.  The  result  of  that  experiment  was  this : 
The  land  without  the  manure  yielded  25  bushels  of  corn,  in  round  numbers  ;  the  land 
with  the  manure  yielded  74  bushels.  That  is,  the  crop  was  one  bushel  less  than  the 
statement,  being  49  bushels  instead  of  50  bushels. 

For  potatoes,  two  plots  were  taken.  These  two  plots  were  the  plots  which  were 
planted  with  potatoes  last  year;  the  same  plot  without  manure,  the  same  plot  with 
manure,  as  in  1874.  The  statement  wj^s,  the  materials  should  be  applied  to  make  100 
bushels  to  the  acre  more  than  the  natural  production  of  the  land.  The  land  without 
the  manure  made  128  bushels  of  potatoes  to  the  acre  ;  the  land  with  the  manure  made 
279  bushels  to  the  acre,  or  51  bushels  more  than  the  statement.  I  will  not  stop  to 
answer  the  question  why. 

Now  I  will  give  another  experiment  with  corn,  which  will,  perhaps,  answer  this 
query,  why  the  land  yielded  51  bushels  more  of  potatoes  than  the  statement  called  for, 
and  I  will  answer  another  question  which  will  by  and  by  be  asked  me.     »     »     *     » 

In  1874  we  were  trying  the  experiment  of  growing  corn  according  to  this  principle, 
and  we  raised  104  bushels  to  the  acre.  In  1875  we  took  the  same  plot  and  planted  it 
with  corn  again  and  did  not  give  it  any  manure  at  all,  the  object  being  to  see  if  the 
land  was  ruined  or  whether  the  manure  of  1874  reached  over  into  1875  and  affected 
advantageously  the  crop  of  1875.  On  that  plot  this  year  vre  harvested  64  bushels  to 
the  acre,  without  any  manure.  The  normal  bearing  of  the  land  iu  1874 — that  is,  on  the 
plot  where  the  manure  was  applied— was  34  bushels  to  the  acre.  Now,  then,  (if  it  will 
be  accepted  as  such,)  the  manure  of  1874,  after  producing  its  104  bushels  to  the  acre, 
reached  over  into  1875  and  gave  us  29  bushels  and  a  fraction  of  corn  to  the  acre  this 
year  as  the  eifect  of  last  year's  manuring. 

Oats. — A  presumptuous  statement  was  made  in  relation  to  the  growing  of  oats.  It 
was  said  that  we  would  grow  50  bushels  to  the  acre  over  and  above  the  natural  prod- 
uct of  the  laud.  I  ought  to  stop  here  and  say  to  gentlemen  present  that  we  have  got 
the  poorest  laud  apparently — rocky,  drift  soil,  discouraging  in  every  way — on  which 
to  try  our  experiments.  The  X)lot  without  manure  gave  us  15  bushels  of  oats  to  the  acre. 
The  statement  was  50  bushels  more  than  the  land  would  naturally  produce.  The  yield- 
of  the  manured  plot  was  62  bushels  to  the  acre,  or  3  bushels  less  than  the  statement; 
the  land  with  manure  producing  62  bushels,  the  land  without  manure  producing  15 
bushels. 

Hay. — Two  plots  of  land  were  selected  for  the  experiment  with  hay.  The  land  had 
not  been  plowed  or  manured  for  many  years.  The  statement  was  that  there  should  be 
made  on  that  laud  one  ton  of  hay  to  the  acre  more  than  its  natural  product.  The  ele- 
ments were  accordingly  applied  by  top-dressing  in  the  spring,  which  was  wrong,  per- 
haps.   The  yield  of  the  uumanured  land  for  both  crops  was  1,700  pounds  to  the  acre. 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  391 

The  yield  of  the  manured  land  was  3,600  pounds  to  the  acre,  or  1,100  pounds  to  the  acre 
less  than  the  statement. 

Beans. — The  statement  in  regard  to  beans  was  that  wo  would  make  20  bushels  to  the 
acre  more  than  the  natural  product  of  the  land.  Twenty  bushels  of  white  beans  is  a 
pretty  good  croi»  to  the  acre  ;  but  that  was  the  statement,  20  bushels  to  the  acre  over 
and  above  the  natural  product  of  the  laud,  which  it  was  supposed  was  nothing,  the 
land  being  about  as  poor  as  could  be.  The  result  was  that  the  land  without  manure 
yielded  4  bushels,  the  laud  with  manure  yielded  25  bushels.  We  got  one  bushel  to 
the  acre  more  than  the  statetoent. 

Certificates  were  read  from  a  number  of  farmers  who  had  used  his 
formulas  with  the  same  gratifying  results  as  those  detailed  above. 

Formulas  for  supplying  the  elements  of  plant-food  for  the  different 
crops  named  above  are  published  in  this  report. 

In  a  discussion  on  corn  and  grain  crops,  Mr.  Hapgood  stated  that  he 
grew  80  bushels  or  more  of  shelled  corn  to  the  acre.  Explaining  that 
he  preferred  for  corn  sod-land,  plowed  in  the  autumn,  six  inches  deep, 
he  exhibited  some  ears  of  corn  and  said : 

The  field  on  which  the  samples  were  raised  was  plowed  last  autumn. 

In  the  spring  I  spread  on  5  cords,  or  15  two-horse  loads  of  stable-manure  to  the  acre, 
which  I  worked  in  with  a  Boston  horse-hoe  and  a  Geddes  harrow.  I  then  furrowed  the 
field  3A  feet  apart  each  way,  and  laid  a  moderate  shovelful  of  stable-manure  to  the  hill, 
which  takes  about  10  two-horse  loads  to  the  acre,  making  25  two-horse  loads  of  manure 
to  the  acre  of  corn,  which  is  as  much  manure  as  I  think  is  economy  to  use.  From  my 
experience,  I  am  confident  that  for  every  additional  load  of  manure  the  yield  of  any 
kind  of  grain  is  not  increased  more  than  one  bushel  to  the  load,  and  the  yield  of  hay 
not  more  than  100  pounds  to  the  additional  load  of  manure.  In  seeding,!  plant  five 
kernels  to  the  hill,  no  more  nor  less;  this  is  pretty  sure  to  make  four  stalks  to  the  hill, 
which  is  as  much  as  I  intend  shall  grow.  When  6  to  8  inches  high,  I  hoe  it.  Once  hoe- 
ing is  enough,  if  the  field  is  free  from  v/eeds.  My  corn  this  year  was  hoed  but  once. 
The  mode  of  cultivating  corn  is  various.  Some  farmers  spread  manure  on  grass-land 
and  plow  it  under  G  inches  or  more;  some  never  lay  manure  in  the  hill;  some  hoe 
when  it  is  no  more  than  three  inches  out  of  the  ground,  and  hoe  two  or  three  times, 
and  so  on  ;  but  the  test  of  excellence  in  farming  is  always  in  the  yield  of  the  crop. 
I  never  adopt  any  new  mode  of  cultivation,  however  simple  or  however  elaborate, 
which  yields  a  smaller  crop  than  I  now  raise,  or  that  does  not  produce  definite  results 
in  bushels  or  pounds.  *  *  *  The  variety  of  seed-corn  planted  is  a  very  important 
consideration.  It  is  not  possible  to  raise  a  large  yield  of  corn  from  a  small  variety  of 
seed ;  and  yet  many  New  England  farmers  persist  in  raising  these  small  varieties, 
which,  with  high  cultivation,  will  produce  scarcely  more  than  50  bushels  to  the  acre; 
when,  with  a  large  variety  of  corn,  and  at  the  same  cost,  they  might  raise  80  bushels 
or  more  to  the  acre.  They  claim  that  their  corn  has  many  stalks  with  double  ears; 
but  the  proportion  of  stalks  with  two  good  ears  is  not  very  large.  Then  they  argue 
that  small  corn  has  a  small  cob,  and  is  filled  out  well ;  it  makes  good  meal,  and  they 
like  it ;  that  big,  coarse  corn  has  a  great  cob,  and  they  do  not  like  it.  Some  farmers 
stick  at  the  cob,  as  if  that  was  the  first  object,  without  regard  to  the  corn.  After  all, 
there  is  but  little  difference  in  the  weight  of  cob  to  a  bushel  of  corn,  in  the  large  or 
small  varieties  ;  72  pounds  of  ears  of  my  corn  will  make  a  bushel,  or  70  pounds  when 
it  is  well  dried  ;  so  there  is  not  much  weight  in  the  cob  argument,  after  all.  With  one 
dressing  of  25  loads  of  manure  to  the  acre,  I  raise  80  bushels  of  corn.  Then  I  sow  to 
barley,  and  seed  down  to  grass;  the  next  year  after,  corn.  I  have  30  to  40  bushels  of 
barley  to  the  acre  ;  then  the  two  following  years,  about  2  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre,  after 
that,  1|^  tons  ;  then  IJ  tons — so  I  raise  five  or  six  crops  with  one  dressing  of  manure. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  transactions  at  this  session 
was  the  address  delivered  by  Itev.  William  H.  H.  Murry,  on  the  "  Breed- 
ing aud  management  of  horses."  Referring  to  the  maxim  of  the  Arabs, 
that  "the  foal  follows  the  sire,"  he  says : 

To  account  for  it,  in  the  first  place,  the  Arabs  always  select  their  dams  with  great  care. 
Now,  it  may  be  that  the  word  "  best,"  as  applied  to  their  dams,  you  do  not  apply  to 
yours.  That  is,  the  dam  that  you  would  consider  the  best  may  not  be  the  best  in  the 
eye  of  the  Arab  breeder.  What  is  the  best  dam  in  the  eye  of  the  Arab  breeder  ?  May- 
it  not  bo  the  one  that  will  allow  its  foal  to  bear  the  stamp  of  the  horse  ?  I  think  so. 
I  have  two  dams  on  my  farm  that  could  jjot  be  sold  by  a  religious  man  for  over  $300, 
in  a  matter  of  trade,  aud  yet  $3,000  could  not  buy  either  of  them.  Why  ?  Three  colts 
have  come  out  of  each,  and  every  colt  has  looked  precisely  like  its  sire ;  has  put  its 
feet,  when  eating  its  oats,  precisely  like  its  sire ;  has  smelled  of  the  water  and  muz- 


392         REPORT   OP   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

zled  iirouucl  it  before  drinking,  precisely  like  its  sire  ;  has  done  everything  like  its  sire. 
The  dam  simply  carried  it,  as  a  mother  holds  her  baby  in  her  lap,  and  never  marked  it 
at  all.  Now,  may  not  the  old  Arabs  have  snch  facts  in  mind?  May  they  not,  when 
they  laid  down  the  maxim,  "  the  foal  always  follows  the  sire,"  have  had  this  in  raind, 
that  there  should  be  no  dam  bred  to  a  sire  that  would  interrupt  the  sire  in  propagating 
himself?  I  know  a  man  that  has  a  mare  that  has  foaled  two  colts.  He  bought  her  for 
$87.  And  yet  she  is  invaluable.  Why  ?  Because  each  of  the  colts  that  came  from  her 
are  not  only  like  the  sire  iu  a  general  sense,  but  they  are  the  sire  in  miniature.  In 
interior  habits  of  the  stable,  in  the  way  they  move  about  in  the  stall,  the  way  they 
toss  their  heads,  and  the  way  they  feed  and  drink,  they  are  the  sire  over  again. 

You  may  take  all  my  fashionable,  high-bred  mares  out  of  my  stable,  if  you  will  leave 
in  their  places  such  mares  as  that,  for  yon  have  eliminated  for  me  in  doing  it  half  the 
difficulty  out  of  the  problem  of  breeding,  namely,  the  difficulty  which  the  tempera- 
ment, structure,  and  habits  of  dams  brin^  to  the  breeder.  For  instance,  I  could  select 
an  animal  that  is  perfect — one  I  know  is  perfect — one  that  can  transmit  himself  if 
he  is  not  bothered  and  interrupted  in  doing  it  by  the  dam.  I  know  I  can,  I  say, 
select  such  a  stallion  iu  New  York,  in  New  England,  and  iu  six  or  eight  stables  in  the 
Middle  States ;  and  if  I  can  find  a  dam  that  will  not  trouble  that  sire  iu  the  oftspring, 
I- can  repeat  the  sire  in  every  colt.  The  Arabs  may  have  selected  their  dams  in  that 
"way. 

Now,  then,  will  you  see  the  possibility  of  this  old  Arab  maxim  being  true  in  our  prac- 
tice? First,  select  a  dam  that  will  simi>ly  carry  the  foal,  feeding  it  with  its  blood  and 
milk,  but  not  affecting  it  at  all,  and  then  select  a  horse  that  has,  first,  the  general  ex- 
cellence that  you  want,  then  the  special  excellence,  and  then  the  power  to  transmit 
both  the  general  and  special  excellence,  and  would  not  the  maxim  bo  true  that  "  the 
foal  follows  the  sire?" 

Mr.  Murray  states  that,  in  breeding  for  the  market,  the  first  great 
point  to  be  considered  is  pedigree ;  second,  size ;  third,  color ;  fourth, 
health ;  fifth,  temperament  j  sixth,  speed.  The  order  in  which  he  breeds 
in  his  own  stables  is,  first,  beauty.  A  beautiful  horse,  he  says,  will 
always  find  a  buyer,  and  at  a  good  price.  The  second  thing  he  breeds 
for  is  docility ;  the  third,  speed.  If  he  can  get  the  first  two  in  large  de- 
gree he  has  no  fears  but  he  can  secure  an  early  sale,  but  if  he  secures 
speed  without  these  two  points  prominently  developed,  he  will  have  to 
wait  four  or  five  years,  or  until  the  horse  makes  a  record,  before  he  can 
get  his  money  back. 

In  a  discussion  on  cattle-husbandry.  Dr.  G.  B.  Loring  gave  his  ideas 
of  a  good  cow  as  follows : 

If  you  ask  me,  "  What  is  this  animal  called  an  Ayrshire  ?  "  I  say,  it  is  a  good  cow, 
but  the  law  will  apply  to  any  other  class  of  cows  as  it  will  to  Ayrshire  cows.  I 
mean  a  cow  of  such  moderate  size  that  she  will  not  interfere  with  anybody,  to  begin 
with  ;  a  cow  that  manages  herself  handily,  easily;  a  cow  that  possesses  that  vigorous, 
elastic,  powerful  constitution  which  never  belongs  to  a  coarse-boned,  overgrown  frame. 

An  Ayrshire  cow,  then,  is  a  cow  made  up,  anatomically,  jihysiologically,  upon  the 
best  model  for  a  cow  ;  that  is,  a  good  cow,  generally.  She  has  that  structure  of  the 
bead  which  indicates  a  contented,  placid  disposition  and  a  i^owerfal  constitution  ;  a 
calm  and  steady  eye ;  a  face  that  is  as  expressive  as  a  cow's  face  can  be ;  as  much  of  an 
intelligent  look  as  an  animal  of  that  description  can  have.  A  horn  not  too  largo  at  the 
base,  but  largo  enough  to  indicate  that  there  is  a  strong  constitution  there ;  a  head  wide 
between  the  eyes,  and  pretty  high  above  the  eyes  to  the  root  of  the  horns.  I  think  a 
cow  that  has  a  broad  base  to  her  head  is  the  best.  And  if  she  has  a  large,  luxurious 
mouth,  that  looks  as  if  jt  was  made  for  business,  and  can  fill  her  stomach  rapidly,  so 
that  she  can  lie  down  and  rest  and  repose,  she  will  be  all  the  better  fitted  for  the  busi- 
ness of  the  dairy.  I  would  have  a  cow's  neck  small  enough  to  be  graceful,  but  not  too 
small ;  not  a  ewe-neck,  that  is  not  necessary,  but  gracefully,  delicately,  and  elegantly  set 
on,  without  a  waste  muscle  in  it,  but  with  muscle  enough  to  make  it  a  strong,  vigorous, 
and  powerful  part  of  the  animal's  body.  The  shoulder  of  an  animal  of  this  ciescription 
should  be  as  near  like  the  shoulder  of  a  good  trotting-horse  as  it  can  be ;  not  straight  up 
and  down  like  a  thoroughbred's.  The  shoulder  of  a  good  dairy-cow  should  be  a  little  loose, 
with  the  blades  not  rising  above  the  backbone,  with  strong,  powerful  muscles,  and  a 
good,  substantial  base,  with  a  fore  quarter  under  it  as  straight  as  aplumb-line.  Crooked- 
legged,  knock-kneed  cattle  are  never  graceful,  and  seldom  profitable.  The  legs  should 
be  strong  and  well  defined,  and  the  cords  and  muscles  should  stand  out  clean  and  prom- 
inent. The  milk- vein  should  indicate  a  good  superficial  vascular  system,  which  means 
Bimply  this :  it  is  an  organization  in  which  the  superficial  circulation  of  the  blood  in- 
dicates that  what  are  called  the  secretory  organs  are  active  in  the  interior.    The  next 


DIGEST   OP   STATE   REPORTS.  d'dd 

Bign  of  a  good  cow  is  an  open,  bony  structure ;  not  a  coarse  or  loose-fibered,  bony  struct 
ure,  but  a  bony  structure  that  is  so  articulated  or  hung  together  that  there  is  elastic- 
ity and  ease  of  motion  about  it.  Now,  where  are  you  going  to  find  the  indicative  point 
that  will  tell  this  story  ?  Put  your  finger  into  the  point  of  the  shoulder,  and  see  if  the 
cow  has  a  cup-like  cavity  th-ero.  If  she  has,  ten  chances  to  one  she  will  be  a  good 
milker ;  but  if  not,  if  her  shoulder  is  hard  and  compact,  oven  if  she  is  milking  well  to- 
day, she  will  be  likely  to  fail  to-morrow. 

You  next  come  to  the  ribs.  Upon  a  good  chest-development  depends  almost  every- 
thing else  in  a  dairy-cow.  She  must  have  a  finely-shaped  chine,  and  the  spring  of  her 
ribs,  from  the  spine  down  through  her  heart,  must  indicate  that  she  has  a  strong  circu- 
lation; but  you  do  not  want  her  brisket  as  deep  as  a  steer's,  or  like  a  short-horn  bul- 
lock; you  want  the  shape  I  speak  of,  and  you  want  it  with  a  certain  delicacy  of  or- 
ganization which  indicates  that  the  circulatory  system  is  a  strong  one  and  that  neither 
the  heart  nor  the  lungs  are  impaired.  But  go  back  to  the  ribs.  You  want  a  rib,  not 
round,  like  your  finger,  but  flat  and  wide.  When  you  put  your  hand  on  it,  it  should 
feel  as  flat  as  a  lath  ;  and  if  you  can  get  at  the  edge,  you  should  find  the  edge  sharp, 
and  not  a  round  bone,  like  the  rib  of  swine.  A  round  rib  will  answer  for  a  beef  animal, 
but  not  for  a  good  dairy-cow.  Her  backbone,  moreover,  should  be  open  and  loose,  bo 
that  if  you  run  your  hand  along  it  you  will  feel  those  little  cup-like  cavities.  Let  her 
hips  be  strong,  not  too  wide,  and  her  hind  quarters  upright,  substantial,  vigorous.  Let 
her  have  a  long  hind  foot.  I  never  saw  a  short-toed  cow  in  my  life  that  would  perform 
the  work  of  the  dairy  well.  A  long  hind  foot  and  a  good,  broad,  ample  fore  foot.  Then 
if,  in  addition  to  all  this,  you  can  get  a  hide  that  is  elastic  and  soft,  covered  with  a 
warm  substantial  coat  of  hair,  with  a  good  milk-vein  and  an  udder  which  is  iiacked  up 
well  between  the  thighs,  and  so  organized  that  there  is  no  danger  of  inflammation, 
there  you  have  got  a  cow  that  will  produce  all  the  milk  you  ought  reasonably  to  ask, 
and  which,  when  she  has  completed  her  dairy-work,  can  be  so  fattened  as  to  produce 
in  an  economical  way  your  550  pounds  of  as  good  beef  as  can  be  fed  on  a  mountain 
pasture  or  in  a  stall. 

In  an  interesting  discussion  on  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  the  proper 
season  for  pruning  apple-trees  occupied  a  portion  of  the  time.  As  to 
the  most  favorable  season,  Mr.  T.  S.  Gold,  of  Connecticut,  said :  "  We 
are  advised  to  prune  in  June,  but  as  that  is  a  time  when  a  farmer  never 
■will  prune  his  trees,  we  accept  what  is  considered  to  be  the  next  best 
time,  which  is  the  mild  weather  in  winter." 

Mr.  Ordway  took  issue  with  him,  and  said: 

If  you  trim  a  tree  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  at  this  time,  or  any  time  during  December, 
January,  or  February,  and  go  to  it  in  May  or  June  of  the  year  following,  and  take  your 
thumb  and  scratch  upon  the  bark  where  you  have  taken  a  limb  oft',  you  will  invariably 
scratch  off  dead  bark  of  the  thickness  of  an  eighth  or  quarter  of  an  inch.  All  the  bark 
would  have  grown  if  you  had  cut  it  off  in  April,  May,  or  June.  I  tried  that  in  my 
orchard  in  1856.  There  were  some  places,  where  I  cut  off  a  limb,  that  the  baric  died 
back  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  which  had  never  been  known  when  the  trees  had  been 
pruned  in  the  spring  or  in  the  summer.  It  is  a  mistake  to  trim  your  trees  in  the  win- 
ter, and  it  is  a  mistake  to  head-in  your  trees  in  the  fall ;  they  will  die  back  just  as. 
Burely  as  you  do  it. 

Mr.  Wetherell  referred  to  the  practice  of  Mr,  Pierce,  of  Arlington, 
indorsing  him  as  one  of  the  most  successful  fruitgrowers  in  Eastern 
Massachusetts.  He  stated  tliat  his  time  for  pruning,  in  ordinary  sea- 
sons, was  the  first  two  weeks  in  June ;  but  if  he  is  too  busy  then,  he 
takes  off  a  limb  at  any  time  he  may  have  leisure  after  harvest,  a  foot  or 
more  from  the  tree.  Then  in  June  he  takes  a  tine-cut  saw  aud  cuts  off 
the  stump  close  to  the  tree.  The  final  pruning  is  thus  done  at  the  time 
ne  considers  most  desirable,  and  the  wound,  he  says,  heals  over  smooth 
and  sound,  leaving  none  of  that  canker  referred  to.  In  reply,  Mr.  Ord- 
way said: 

I  have  no  doubt  every  nurseryman  will  agree  with  me,  that  there  is  no  time  in  the 
year  when  you  have  got  to  trim  with  as  much  caution  as  in  June.  If  you  are  not  very 
careful  in  pruning,  you  are  just  as  sure  to  start  the  bark  at  the  lower  part  of  your  stub 
as  you  live.  June  is  a  good  time,  but  July  is  better.  I  have  bad  experience  all  my 
life  in  trimming  trees,  and  in  grafting  and  budding  all  kinds  of  fruit,  and  I  never  saw 
but  one  year  when  I  could  not  trim  in  April  and  the  first  of  May.  After  you  get  your 
trees  trimmed,  mix  a  bucket  of  clay  and  hair,  just  the  same  as  a  man  would  mix  mor- 


394  REPORT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

tar,  and  rnb  the  mixture  over  the  place  where  you  have  cut  off  a  limb,  and  you  will 
have  no  trouble.  I  did  that,  after  1856,  to  prevent  the  sap  running  down  and  turning 
black  and  killing  the  bark,  and  I  have  never  had  any  trouble  since.  Therefore,  if  you 
trim  in  June,  you  mnst  be  very  careful  that  you  do  not  start  the  bark.  You  cannot 
put  it  back  and  make  it  stay,  and  there  will  be  a  dead  ^ilace  when  you  leave  it. 

Mr.  Hills,  of  New  Hampshire,  was  satisfied  that  June  was  the  best 
season,  for  this  reason :  If  the  pruning  is  early  enough,  the  wound  will 
heal  over  almost  completely  the  first  year;  but  if  it  is  too  early,  as  in 
April  or  May,  before  growth  commences,  the  tree  "  will  bleed  almost  as 
surely  as  a  grai^e-Yine  pruned  in  spring,  and  the  sap  will  run  down  and 
poison  the  tree.  It  will  run  not  only  that  season,  but  the  next,  and  the 
tree  is  liable  to  be  ruined."  To  prevent  bleeding,  Mr.  Hills  uses  an  applica- 
tion of  gum-shellac,  dissolved  in  alcohol  to  about  the  consistency  of  mo- 
lasses, which,  he  said,  will  harden  in  half  an  hour  as  hard  as  glass,  and 
will  not  only  keep  out,  but  will  also  keep  in,  the  wet.  As  to  the  best 
mode  of  using  it,  he  says : 

The  most  convenient  way  I  have  found  of  using  the  preparation  is  to  fix  a  sponge  on 
a  piece  of  wire  and  put  it  into  the  stopple  of  a  large-mouthed  bottle,  which  you  can 
fill  with  the  preparation,  and  when  you  have  cut  oil'  a  limb  take  out  the  stopple  and 
brush  the  sponge  over  tlie  wound,  just  as  you  would  use  eponge-blacking.  If  it  is  a 
bright  day,  in  half  an  hour  it  will  harden  so  that  you  cannot  make  any  impression  on 
it  Avith  your  thumb-nail.  The  sap  cannot  get  out,  and  it  will  exclude  the  wet  from  the 
outside. 

Among  the  other  topics  of  general  interest  treated  in  this  volume  are: 
"Co-operation  among  Farmers ;"  an  extended  paper,  by  Dr.  J.  E.  Nichols, 
on  the  "Origin,  History,  and  Utilization  of  Bowlder  Eocks;"  "Vege- 
table Culture  and  Market-gardening;"  "Eestoration  of  Forests,"  (24 
pages;)  "Tree-Planting  in  Massachusetts,"  (33  pages;)  "Devon  Cattle;" 
reports  by  Professor  Goessmann  on  the  "Eeclaimed  Salt-marshes  in 
Plymouth  County,"  and  on  "  Fertilizers,"  the  latter  occupying  50  pages; 
"  Mental  Faculties  of  Domestic  Animals;"  "  Origin  and  growth  of  asso- 
ciated effort  in  Massachusetts  for  promoting  agricultural  industries;" 
"Eelations  of  Science  to  Agriculture;"  "The  Texas  Cattle-Disease;" 
and  "Chemical  Corn-Growing." 

MICHIGAN. 

Eeports  of  the  Michigan  State  Board  for  the  years  1873  and  1874  were 
issued  in  one  volume.  One  of  the  interesting  features  is  a  series  of 
articles,  by  Mr.  Henry  S.  Clubb,  on  the  fruit-belt  of  Michigan ;  another, 
a  detailed  account  of  the  experiments  in  feeding  and  fattening  hogs,  by 
Mr.  M.  Miles,  superintendent  of  the  college  farm.  These  articles  are  in 
the  report  for  1873. 

Mr.  Clubb  begins  with  a  description  of  the  pioneer  peach-region  of  the 
State.  It  is  located  sixty-one  miles  northeast  of  Chicago,  on  the  Saint 
Joseph  Eiver.  The  village  of  Saint  Joseph  is  built  on  the  south  side  of 
the  stream,  on  a  fine  eminence,  and  extends  a  mile  or  more  along  the 
lake  shore.  On  the  north  side  the  Paw-Paw  Eiver  enters  the  Saint 
Joseph,  immediately  opposite  Saint  Joseph  village.  On  the  east  bank 
of  the  Paw-Paw  the  village  of  Benton  Harbor  is  located.  The  harbor 
of  Saint  Joseph  is  one  of  the  naturally  good  harbors  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Owiag  to  the  large  increase  of  business  in  Benton  Harbor,  a  separate 
custom-house  was  established  there  in  1871.  In  the  tabular  statement 
given  below  it  will  be  seen  that  the  shipments  of  fruits  are  greater  at 
Benton  than  at  Saint  Joseph.  This  is  owiug  to  the  wide  extent  of  land 
devoted  to  fruit-culture  on  the  north  and  east  sides  of  the  Saint  Joseph, 
which  for  several  miles  runs  ijarallel  with  Lake  Michigan,  leaving  Saint 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS. 


395 


Joseph  on  a  comparatively  uarrow  belt.  This  fruit-region  covers  an  area 
of  about  fourteen  by  eighteen  miles  in  extent,  and  is  occupied  by  the 
eight  townships  named  in  the  following  table  of  statistics  for  1873 : 


Townsbips. 


Benton 

Bainbridge  . 
Hogan  ..t". .. 

Lincoln 

Koyalton  . . . 
Saint  Josepb 

Sodus 

Watervliet  . 

Total... 


Acres  in — 


9,  2541 


214i 
C^ 

288J 

375 

71f 

10} 

1: 


6561 


K 

109i 

1'2J 

103i 

84 

33i 

2i 


P 

134 

3i 

5i 
223 
28i 
lOCJ 


273i 


505j 


Number  of— 


a 


32, 110 

736 
4,847 

35, 154 
3,050 

31,240 
1,107 
1,331 


109,  636 


O 


5,427 
479 

2,  694 

4,  092 
C71 

5,013 
508 
471 


19, 355 


204, 721 
29, 185 
40, 195 

140, 987 
45, 140 
96,  C08 
17,  724 
20,  447 


594, 467 


10,  935 

928 
1,61)0 

11,  108 
4,093 

17, 108 
771 
913 


47, 621 


67,  093 
28,  693 
15,  970 
28,  507 
20,  685 
23,  514 
8,  3;!0 
18,  785 


211, 636 


1  223 

''23 

526 

2,327 

324 

2,  800 

20 


7,503 


1,453 

300 

231 

4, 631 

1,214 

5,193 

172 


13, 094 


295 
114 
70 
49 
91 
115 
32 
75 


841 


Mr.  Clubb  says  that  the  first  peach-tree  planted  in  this  region  was 
raised  from  seed  by  Mr.  Burnett,  who  located  in  this  section  about  a 
century  ago.  Mr.  B.  C.  Hoyt,  who  settled  here  in  1829,  found  the  tree, 
which  continued  to  bear  fruit  until  1839.  Mr.  Hoyt  was  the  first  to  raise 
l)eaches  which  found  their  way  into  the  Chicago  market  in  1839.  They 
wfere  bought  by  a  cook  of  a  steamer,  packed  in  barrels,  and  taken  to 
Chicago  as  a  speculation.  In  1834,  long  before  Saint  Joseph  commenced 
the  peach  business,  Mr.  Brodiss,  who  lived  six  miles  from  Niles,  on  the 
Saint  Joseph  Eiver,  brought  peaches  down  the  river  on  a  canoe,  and 
sold  them  in  the  village  of  Saint  Joseph.  They  were  all  seedlings. 
About  1834  a  family  named  Abbee  planted  some  improved  varieties  of 
peaches  and  apples,  which  were  obtained  from  Rochester,  IsT.  Y.  These 
trees  were  afterward  transplanted  from  the  village  to  Koyalton  township, 
and  fruit  was  sold  from  them  in  Saint  Joseph  in  1837.  In  1840,  Capt. 
Curtiss  Boughton  commenced  the  business  of  transporting  peaches  in 
barrels  and  dry-goods  boxes  on  his  vessel  to  Chicago,  where  he  sold  them 
at  enormous  prolits,  sometimes  realizing  $45  jier  barrel.  This  high  price 
naturally  drew  attention  to  the  business  and  led  to  the  settlement  of  the 
country,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  Saint  Joseph  and  Benton  Harbor, 
resulting  in  the  above  statistics  in  about  thirty  years.  This  extension 
of  peach-growing  has  been  gradual.  Mr.  George  Parmalee  planted  his 
orchard  in  1848.  He  subsequently  enlarged  it  to  ninety  acres.  Captain 
Boughton  planted  130  budded  peach-trees  in  1849.  In  1850  his  ship- 
ments were  10,000  baskets.  The  Cincinnati  peach-orchard,  of  sixty  acres, 
was  planted  in  1857.  It  is  now  owned  by  Messrs.  Perkins  &  Sheldon, 
of  Chicago.  Notwithstanding  the  destruction  of  sox-e  of  its  trees  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  the  yellows,  there  were  40,000  baskets  of  peaches 
shipped  from  this  orchard  during  the  season  of  1874.  No  less  than 
3,300  baskets  have  been  shipped  from  this  orchard  on  a  single  day.  The 
average  net  price  obtained  was  40  cents  a  basket. 
The  following  is  his  estimate  of  this  fruit-region  : 

On  the  whole,  I  regard  the  Saint  Joseph  fruit-region,  which  includes  Benton  Harbor 
and  all  the  towns  named  above,  as  a  most  complete  demonstration  of  the  success  of 
fruit-culture  in  Michigan.  It  is  claimed  that  a  total  failure  of  the  fruit  crop  has  not 
occurred,  except  after  the  extremely  cold  weather  of  1864,  and  although  the  peach  crop 
does  not  always  grow  so  abundantly  aa  it  has  the  season  of  1874,  taking  one  season 


396         REPORT    OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

with  auotlier  it  is  as  sure  as  almost  any  fruit  crop  is  auywliere,  either  in  Enrope  or 
America,  while  the  grape  crop  is  as  sure  as  corn  and  potatoes,  with  the  variety  mostly 
cultivated,  the  Concord.  The  soil  in  the  limits  mentioned  is  so  varied  as  to  render  it 
difficult  to  describe,  for  on  the  same  farm  will  be  fonnd  sand,  sandy  loam,  rich  black 
soil,  loam  and  clay,  each  being  adapted  for  particular  kinds  of  fruit  and  vegetables, 
rendering  the  fruit-farmer  capable  of  producing  fruit  for  market,  commencing  his  har- 
vest with  strawberries  the  lirst  week  in  June,  and  continuing  with  raspberries,  cur- 
rants, gooseberries,  cherries,  summer  apples,  early  peaches,  late  peaches,  grapes,  fall 
and  winter  apples,  until  the  frosts  and  storms  of  December  render  shipment  by  lake 
dangerous. 

Twenty  miles  north  of  Saint  Joseph  is  South  Haven,  another  great 
fruit  center.  Black  Eiver  enters  the  lake  here,  forming  at  the  mouth 
quite  a  good-sized  harbor  for  steamers  and  lake-shore  traders.  From 
Benton  Harbor  to  within  three  or  four  miles  of  this  harbor  the  shore  is 
lined  with  sand-hills,  mostly  covered  on  .the  east  side  with  forests,  not 
much  settled,  but  presenting  many  good  sites  for  fruit-growing.  These 
hills  terminate  in  a  fine  level  bluff  of  clay  subsoil  and  sandy  and  gravelly  , 
loam,  interspersed  with  clay  and  rich  black  vegetable  mold,  averaging, 
perhaps,  40  feet  above  the  lake.  In  this  region  are  some  fine  fruit- 
farms,  among  them  that  of  Mr.  A.  S.  Dyckman,  president  of  the  State 
Pomological  Society.  It  consists  of  05  acres,  within  and  adjoining  South 
Haven.  In  1873,  when  peaches  were  a  very  short  crop  along  the  lake- 
shore,  Mr.  Dyckman  had  an  excellent  yield,  for  which  he  obtained  good 
prices,  aggregating  over  $10,000  net  profits. 

Twenty  miles  north  of  South  Haven  are  Kalamazoo  River  and  Lake. 
This  is  a  much  newer,  but  still  a  very  prolific,  fruit-region.  The  Kala- 
mazoo Lake,  which  is  only  an  enlargement  of  the  river,  constitutes  t^he 
harbor.  The  villages  of  Saugatuck,  on  the  uortb,  and  Douglas,  on  the 
south,  are  shipping-places  for  the  products  of  the  circumjacent  region. 
In  this  neighborhood  Mr.  Perattet  realized,  in  1872,  $1,700  net  profit 
from  the  peaches  on  six  acres. 

Eight  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Kalamazoo  is  Black  Lake  Har- 
bor. It  is  accessible  for  good-sized  vessels  during  the  season  of  navi- 
gation. Inside  is  a  beautiful  lake  about  six  miles  long  and  from  half  a 
mile  to  a  mile  iu  width.  Around  this  lake  are  numerous  orchards  and 
vineyards,  and  at  its  head  is  the  city  of  Holland,  the  commercial  metrop- 
olis of  the  Holland  colony.  Spread  over  the  territory  covered  by  the 
surrounding  towns  and  villages  are  hundreds  of  farms,  mostly  small,  but 
thoroughly  cultivated,  and  almost  every  farm  has  its  orchard  and  vine- 
yard, while  not  a  few  make  the  cultivation  of  peaches  and  grapes  the 
principal  feature. 

Still  farther  north,  opposite  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  is  Grand  Haven  Har- 
bor, near  the  mouth  of  Grand  Eiver,  a  fine  stream  of  water,  300  feet 
across  at  its  mouth,  and  widening  within  to  400  or  500  feet,  with  depth 
of  water  sufiicient  for  the  largest  craft  that  float  on  the  lakes.  The 
principal  fruit-growing  townships  in  this  region  are  Grand  Haven,  Spring 
Lake,  Ferrysburgh,  Peach  Plains,  Fruitport,  Midway,  Eastmanville, 
Nuncia,  Coopersville,  Nortonville,  Spoonville,  Lamont,  Berlin,  Oconto, 
West  Olive,  Eobinson,  Allendale,  Lake  Pottawattomie,  Bass  Eiver, 
Little  Black  Lake,  and  Pigeon  Creek.  There  are  now  about  300  fruit- 
farms  embraced  within  these  townships,  varying  from  5  to  100  acres  in 
extent,  furnishing  the  principal  support  to  about  as  many  families.  All 
the  points  named  are  reached  either  by  navigation  or  railroad,  and  some 
by  l3oth. 

Another  fruit  center  is  Muskegon  City,  11  miles  north  of  Grand  Haven. 
It  is  on  the  south  side  of  Muskegon  Lake,  near  its  junction  with  Lake 
Michigan.    Four  miles  above  is  Black  Lake,  four  miles  long  by  half  a 


DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS. 


397 


mile  iu  witlth.  This  is  surrounded  by  one  of  the  best  fruit-regions  along 
the  lake-shore.  Nine  miles  north  of  Muskegon  is  White  Lake  Harbor. 
During  the  season  of  1873  there  were  shipped  from  this  point  6,000 
baskets  of  peaches,  200  bushels  of  strawberries,  and  G  tons  of  grapes. 
This  section  is  a  com[)aratively  new  fruit-produciug  region,  yet  it  is 
claimed  that  the  finest  apples,  the  choicest  plums,  and  very  good  j)eaches 
and  grapes  can  be  grown  here.  Pentwater  is  located  twenty -seven  miles 
farther  north,  in  Oceana  county.  The  country  is  comparatively  new,  but 
sufficient  experimentshave  beenmade  to  demonstrate  that  a  greatvariety 
of  fruits  can  be  produced  in  abundance.  Pere  Marquette  Lake  is  12 
miles  north  of  Pentwater.  This  lake  is  nine  miles  long  and  from  one-half 
mile  to  one  mile  broad.  On  the  north  side  is  Ludiugton,  the  sliipping- 
poinb  for  the  commerce  of  this  section.  Pears,  plums,  strawberries, 
apples,  &c.,  do  well  in  this  region,  which  promises  to  be  as  prolific  for 
most  of  the  standard  fruits  as  other  parts  of  the  fruit-belt.  Manistee, 
twenty  miles  north  of  Ludiugton,  is  on  Manistee  Lake,  which  is  four  miles 
long  and  from  one-half  to  one  mile  broad.  Around  it  are  to  be  found 
some  old  orchards,  and  a  large  number  of  new  ones.  The  writer  says 
that  the  fruit-growers  in  this  region  were  more  or  less  discouraged  on 
the  peach  question  by  the  severe  frost  of  1872,  but  he  thinks  that  frost 
taught  the  most  observant  an  important  lesson  in  regard  to  peach-grow- 
ing, viz.,  that  the  peach-tree  will  not  bear  prolonged  cultivation  or  heavy 
fertilization ;  that  its  greatest  danger  is  in  overgrowth,  leaving  sappy 
and  unripe  wood,  which  cannot  stand  the  severity  of  an  unusually  cold 
winter. 

A  large  section  north  of  Manisteei  gives  i^romise  of  soon  becoming  as 
great  a  fruit-region  as  the  country  farther  south. 

Mr.  Clubb  gives,  near  the  close  of  his  series  of  articles,  a  tabular  state- 
ment showing  the  number  of  crates  of  small  fruit  and  peck -baskets  of 
peaches,  pears,  plums,  summer  apples,  crabs,  cherries,  grapes,  and 
tomatoes  produced  at  the  places  named  during  the  season  of  1874.  The 
following  is  a  recapitulation  of  this  table : 


Frait-region. 

Packa<;e8  of 
fruit. 

No.  of 
farma. 

Saint  Joseph 

1, 243,  407 
146,118 
200,  980 
62,  000 
397,  COO 
9G,  OCO 
30,  000 
26,  000 
2.-),  000 
40,  fiOO 
44,  000 

841 

South  Haveu 

200 

250 

300 

350 

Muskegon 

150 

Whitehall 

50 

145 

141) 

135 

Traverse -           --     --     -----      -   _-- 

ICO 

Total 

2,  310,  514 

2,721 

He  concludes  as  follows  : 

Fruit-growing  is  the  specialty  of  these  lake-shore  counties,  and  while  the  peach  i.s 
the  leading  fruit  of  Berrien,  Van  Buren,  Allegan,  Ottawa,  and  Muskegon  counties,  and 
is  grown  successfully  iu  Oceana,  Mason,  Manistee,  and  in  some  favored  spots  iu  Benzie, 
Leelenaw,  and  Grand  Traverse  counties,  these  northern  counties  are  taking  the  lead  of 
the  southern  in  -winter  apples,  pears,  and  plums.  Grapes  appear  about  equally  suc- 
cessful iu  all  the  counties  named,  where  varieties  suited  to  each  locality  are  selected. 
All  those  counties  north  of  Allegan  are  but  thinly  settled,  and  the  land  capable  of  pro- 
ducing these  choice  fruits  is  probably  forty  times  more  extensive  than  that  which  is 
yet  used  for  that  purpose;  there  is,  therefore,  a  wide  lield  opening  for  those  who  desire 
to  engage  iu  a  pursuit  which  is  not  only  proiitable  iu  its  ultimate  results,  but  which  is 
healthful  and  ennobling  in  all  its  practical  details. 


398  REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

The  experiments  in  pig-feeding,  by  Mr.  Miles,  began  in  186S,  and  ex- 
tend through  a  period  of  four  years.  As  to  the  object  and  extent  of 
these  experiments,  Mr.  Miles  says  : 

The  first  series  of  pig-feediag  experiments,  now  completed,  have  been  conducted  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  raw  coru-meal  when  fed  by  itself.  The  ex- 
clusive use  of  raw  meal  in  pig-feeding  is  not  to  be  recommended  as  the  best  paying 
method,  as  better  results  can  undoubtedly  be  obtained  with  a  proper  admixture  with 
other  foods.  The  leading  object  in  view  in  the  experiments  already  made  was  to  ob- 
tain a  reliable  standard  of  value  with  which  to  compare  the  results  with  corn  in  other 
forms  and  when  mixed  with  other  foods.  The  complexity  of  the  conditions  involved 
in  experiments  with  mixed  foods  seemed  to  require  this  preliminary  exj)eriment  with 
a  single  article  of  some  standard  food  as  a  starting-point. 

Forty-two  pigs  of  different  kinds  have  been  under  experiment,  and  the  gross  amount 
of  raw  corn-meal  consumed  has  been  over  10  tons.  The  greatest  care  has  been  taken 
to  secure  accuracj'^  in  everything  relating  to  the  experiments,  and  every  preca;ution 
Las  been  taken  to  eliminate  elements  of  error.  From  the  close  agreement  of  the  numer- 
ous experiments  embraced  in  this  series,  it  is  believed  that  the  results  on  the  whole 
may  be  accepted  as  approximately  correct. 

In  summing  up  the  results  of  the  entire  series,  it  would  be  desirable  to  make  a  com- 
parison as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  diiferent  breeds  under  experiment,  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  the  conditions  are  so  varied  as  to  age  as  to  prevent  any  grouping  of 
breeds  that  would  be  satisfactory.  The  experiments  all  show  that  the  age  and  ripe- 
ness (degree  of  fatness)  of  the  animals  have  an  important  influence  on  the  amount  of 
food  consumed  in  proportion  to  weight,  and  on  the  return  received  for  feed  consumed. 
The  younger  animals  eat  more  in  proportion  to  their  live  weight,  and  they  likewise 
require  less  food  to  make  a  given  increase  in  live  weight.  As  animals  ripen  they  con- 
sume less  food  in  proportion  to  live  .weight,  and  they  likewise  require  a  larger  amount 
of  feed  to  make  a  given  increase  in  live  weight.  It  is  possible  that  the  size  of  the 
animals  may  have  an  influence  on  consumption  In  proportion  to  weight,  and  upon  the 
amount  of  food  required  to  produce  a  given  increase ;  but  this  is  a  difficult  matter 
to  determine  by  experiment,  and  the  data  for  its  discussion  have  not  as  yet  been 
obtained. 

The  incorrectness  of  the  prevalent  opinion,  that  the  animals  that  consume  the 
smallest  amount  of  food  are  the  most  jirotitable,  is  conclusively  shown  in  the  results  of 
these  exi)eriment8.  It  will  be  safe  to  say  that  the  animal  capable  of  eating  the  most 
is  the  most  profitable,  provided  the  digestive  organs  are  capable  of  assimilating  a  large 
amount  of  food  liud  converting  it  into  animal  products.  In  such  cases  the  proportion 
of  food  required  to  supply  the  waste  of  tissues  and  keep  the  animal  machinery  iu 
working  order  is  less  than  when  the  amount  consumed  is  but  little.  It  is  only,  iu  fact, 
from  the  excess  of  food  over  what  is  required  for  repair  of  the  tissues  that  a  profit  iu 
animal  products  can  be  obtained. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  influence  of  age  and  ripeness  upon  the  amount  of 
feed  consumed  and  upon  the  return  obtained  for  it,  the  results  of  the  entire  series  of 
experiments  have  been  tabulated  in  periods  of  four  weeks,  and  in  groups  of  ages  over 
six  months  and  under  six  months,  logether  with  the  general  average  of  all  ages  for 
each  period.  In  the  table  which  follows,  pen  9  of  1870  and  pens  14  and  16  of  1869, 
have  been  entirely  omitted,  for  the  reason  that  the  irregular  progress  of  these  animals 
indicated  an  abnormal  condition  of  the  digestive  organs  that  rendered  their  record  of 
no  value.    The  weights  are  all  given  in  pounds  and  decimals  of  a  x>ound. 


DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS. 
Summary  of  results  of  pig-feeding  experiments  of  1868, 1869, 1870,  and  1871. 


399 


Periods  of  fonr  weeks  each. 

Ages  of  groaps. 

-So 

'So 
n  y  K 

11' 

f.  «J3 

1"" 

33.  52 
17.74 

20.45 

3.86 

Over  six  months 

3.91 
3.93 

26.60 
19.07 

3.81 

4.08 

20.57 

23.22 
17.23 

4.00 

4.55 

4.64 

18.50 

21.  27 
15.19 

4.61 

5.71 

6.59 

15.94 

6.43 

Average  of  1st,  2d,  and  3d  pe- 
riods. 

2(i.  54 
17.83 

4.08 

4.22 

19.57 

4.19 

■  As  the  table  stands,  it  will  be  seea  that  the  digestive  organs  did  not  fully  adapt  them- 
eelves  to  the  work  required  of  them  until  the  second  period,  when  the  best  results  were 
obtained.  It  was  undoubtedly  a  mistake  to  put  such  young  animals  at  once  on  a  full 
feed  of  raw  meal.  They  should  have  been  fed  smaller  amounts  for  several  days  before 
commencing  the  experiment,  to  give  their  digestive  organs  a  chance  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  new  situation.  Another  singular  tact  was  obtained  in  tabulating  the  first 
period  of  feeding  of  the  animals  over  six  months  old.  If  the  first  week  of  feeding  is 
omitted  from  their  record,  the  results  for  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  weeks  would 
show  that  18.58  pounds  of  meal  were  consumed  for  each  100  pounds  of  live  weight  per 
week,  and  that  4.57  pounds  of  meal  were  required  to  make  a  pound  of  increase  in  live 
weight. 

The  average  amount  of  meal  consumed  per  week  for  each  100  pounds  of  live  weight 
is  shown  to  be  greater  for  the  period  of  3  weeks  than  for  the  period  of  4  weeks, 
while  a  larger  amounc  is  required  to  make  a  pound  of  increase.  The  first  week  of  the 
experiment  the  digestive  organs  of  these  older  animals  appeared  to  be  capable  of  assim- 
ilating all  the  meal  consumed,  while  at  a  later  period  they  sLiowed  that  they  had  been 
overtasked,  so  that  with  an  increased  consumption  of  food  (showing  no  impairment  of 
the  health  to  affect  the  rppetite)  they  were  unable  to  assimilate  and  lay  up  in  increase 
as  large  a  proportion  of  their  food  as  they  did  during  the  first  week.  The  fourth  pe- 
riod is  not  included  in  the  general  average  given  at  the  bottom  of  the  table,  for  the 
reason  that  in  all  of  the  experiments  the  last  period  of  feeding  shows  a  rapid  decrease 
in  the  amount  of  food  consumed,  and  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  amount  of  meal 
required  to  produce  a  pound  of  increase  in  live  weight.  As  the  averages  during  the 
periods  of  profitable  feeding  were  thought  to  be  of  the  greatest  value,  they  were  there- 
fore inserted  in  the  table. 

The  incorporatioii  iiitotlie  Michigan  State  Agricultural  Society  of  the 
Northern  Michigan  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Society  was  eftected  at 
Lansing  on  the  6th  day  of  February,  1873.  Mr.  George  W.  Griggs,  of 
Grand  Eapids,  was  elected  president.  In  his  inaugural  address  he 
said : 

A  State  society  should  have  a  State  policy,  and  one  embracing  the  whole  State  and 
every  interest  of  that  State.  Michigan  has  a  diversified  industry,  and  all  her  industries 
should  he  encouraged.  Her  mines  and  lumber  cover  a  large  portion  of  territory.  Her 
wool  products  now  rank  third  among  the  States.    Her  stock  interests  are  of  growing 


400         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

importance.  As  a  fruit  State  she  is  attracting  attention  from  all  tHrections.  Her 
cereals  and  grasses  and  dairy  products  are  of  great  value.  These  all  demand  the  fos- 
tering care  of  a  State  society.  Each  should  have  a  place,  and  be  given  the  considerar 
tion  vfhich  is  its  due.  Let  the  people  of  Michigan  understand  this  to  be  the  policy 
of  the  society,  and  let  them  ])repare  to  receive  our  State  fairs.  I  do  not  believe  it  to  be 
a  sound  financial  policy  for  this  society  to  own  a  rod  of  ground  or  a  stick  of  timber. 
Let  the  local  organizations  own  and  prepare  the  necessary  grounds  and  buildings.  Let 
Lansing,  Jackson,  Detroit,  Kalamazoo,  East  Saginaw,  Adrian,  and  Grand  Rapida  own 
sufficient  grounds  and  buildings  to  accommodate  a  State  fair.  The  State  Agricultural 
Society  ought  not  to  bo  obliged  to  expend  one  cent  for  such  grounds  and  buildings. 
With  such  accommodations  these  places  will  always  be  sure,  with  wise  management, 
to  secure  good  county  exhibitions;  and  with  such  accommodations  ready  for  it,  the 
State  society  should  move  from  place  to  place,  dispensing  its  benefits  all  around  the 
State.  This  policy ,  a  few  years  ago,  might  not  have  been  convenient  or  possible.  The 
extension  of  our  railroad  system  now  makes  it  possible.  Lansing  to-day  is  a  railroad 
center.  So  are  Jackson,  East  Saginaw,  Grand  Rapids,  Kalamazoo,  and  Adrian.  Detroit 
is  acknowledged  to  be  the  commercial  emporium  of  the  State,  and  for  one  I  delight  to 
commend  her  great  progress  in  population  and  wealth.  To  hold  a  State  fair  it  is  nec- 
essary to  have  railroad  facilities  for  the  transportation  of  passengers  and  stock,  hotels 
for  the  accommodation  of  visitors,  and  a  people  who  will  strive  to  provide  necessary 
accommodations  at  reasonable  prices.  These  guaranteed,  I  believe  it  the  best  policy 
to  hold  the  fairs  of  the  State  society  in  different  localities  of  the  State — north,  south, 
central,  east,  and  west. 

The  State  fair  for  1873,  held  at  Grand  Eapids,  was  reported  as  success- 
ful ia  every  respect.    The  net  earnings  for  the  year  aggregated  $14,567. 

Report  for  1874. — This  report  contains  addresses  and  original  papers 
of  vital  interest  to  the  farmers  and  fruit-growers  of  Michigan. 

The  Board  at  its  annual  meeting,  September  17,  1874,  elected  the  fol- 
lowing executive  oiScers :  E.  0.  Humphrey,  president ;  F.  C.  Kimball, 
secretary ;  A.  J.  Dean,  treasurer. 

An  address  by  Prof.  R.  C.  Kedzie  before  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, on  "  The  application  of  chemistry  to  practical  agriculture  and  the 
laws  of  health,"  is  published  in  this  rejiort.  He  thus  describes  the  du- 
ties of  an  agricultural  chemist : 

One  duty  often  assigned  to  the  agricultural  chemist  by  those  who  know  little  either 
of  chemistry  or  agriculture  is  to  "  analyze  the  soil,"  as  if  the  chemical  analysis  of  the 
soil  would  determine  every  question  of  its  agricultural  capabilities,  the  kind,  amount, 
and  quality  of  the  crops  it  would  raise.  In  the  early  history  of  the  science,  analyses 
of  certain  barren  soils  revealed  the  cause  of  the  barrenness  in  the  sulphate  of  iron  pres- 
ent. When  this  was  removed  or  decomposed  by  lime,  the  soil  was  fruitful.  A  few 
instances  of  this  kind  gave  great  hopes  of  benefit  from  soil- analysis.  But  such  instances 
of  barrenness  from  purely  chemical  causes  are  rare  and  exceptional.  *  *  *  But  it 
is  often  found  that  the  most  careful  chemical  analysis  will  not  distinguish  between 
a  fertile  and  a  barren  soil.  One  reason  is  that  the  barrenness  may  be  due  to  physical 
causes,  e.  y.,  want  of  drainage.  Chemical  aualysis  can  ouly  determine  the  chemical 
conditions  of  the  soil,  and  will  not  always  reveal  physical  evils.  Agricultural  chemists 
now  regard  the  analysis  of  the  soil  as  of  only  secondary  importance. 

One  duty  of  the  chemist  is  to  explain  the  facts  which  are  already  known  in  agri- 
culture. By  knowing  the  reason  why  we  do  a  thing  we  may  discover  better  ways  of 
doing  it,  or  that  some  other  and  easier  process  may  accomplish  the  same  result.  We 
thus  silt  our  processes  and  eliminate  needless  elements  or  introduce  better  ones. 

But  there  is  another  benefit  of  knowing  the  reason  of  our  actions.  When  the  mind 
comprehends  and  watches  the  wonderful  chemical  processes  which  are  always  going  on 
in  earth,  in  air,  and  in  the  growing  crop,  the  body  forgets  half  the  weariness  of  toil. 
Nothing  is  so  wearisome  as  work  without  thought.  It  is  mere  drudgery,  and  every 
man,  and  especially  every  boy,  hates  it.  Let  the  boy  know  that  in  handling  the  hoe, 
holding  the  plow,  in  harrowing  and  cultivating,  he  is  providing  the  conditions  of  won- 
derful chemical  changes.  Let  him  understand  those  changes,  the  chemistry  of  plant- 
growth,  of  ripening  of  grains  and  fruits,  why  the  bitter  and  austere  apple  of  July  be- 
comes the  golden  pippin  of  September.  Let  such  thoughts  fill  his  brain,  aud  the  weari- 
ness of  the  body  is  forgotten.  Glorified  and  loving  nature  walks  by  his  side  in  the 
fields  of  toil,  unfolding  her  wonderful  mysteries,  and  loneliness  and  discontent  have  fled. 

Again  as  to  analyses  of  manures: 

T,he  chemist  may  benefit  the  farmer  by  mating  analyses  of  manures  and  determining 
their,  nature  and  value.    Artificial  manures  are  being  largely  introduced  into  this 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  401 

country,  and  farmers  may  -want  to  know  whether  ifc  will  pay  to  buy  and  use  them.  The 
Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  eonnecticut  has  done  the  farmers  of  the  East  p:ood  service 
by  analyzing  these  ruanures — the  suiierphosphatea,  guanos,  &c. — showing  their  compo- 
Bition  and  real  cash  value.  The  same  kind  of  work  must  bo  done  in  this  State,  if  farm- 
ers are  to  receive  the  assistance  which  they  have  a  right  to  demand.      *      *      *      » 

The  chemist  may  aid  the  farmer  by  showing  the  value  of  manural  matters  within 
his  reach,  enabling  him  to  secure  at  home  what  is  now  imported  at  such  great  esponsa 
fi'om  abroad. 

Of  a  recent  important  discovery  in  agricultural  chemistry  he  says : 

Three  years  ago,  Doherain,  of  Franco,  made  the  important  discovery  that  v/hen  vege- 
table matter  undergoes  decomposition  in  presence  of  some  al&aline  substance,  it  com- 
bines with  tree  nitrogen  and  retains  it  in  a  fixed  form.  This  has  been  conlirmed  at  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School,  and  scienoe  wiU  yet  point  out  the  means  by  which  the  farmer 
may  make  at  home  all  the  combined  nitrogen  he  wants.  This  discovery  will  be  worth 
more  than  the  discovery  of  a  thousand  guano-beds  in  the  far-off  Pacific. 

Prof.  A.  J.  Cook,  of  the  State  agricultural  college,  contributes  an 
illustrated  paper  on  insects  iujurious  to  the  farm,  garden,  and  orchard. 

In  an  essay  on  the  breeding  and  improvement  of  horses,  Mr.  G.  W. 
Sherman  speaks  of  the  importance  and  profits  of  rearing  better  horses, 
as  follows : 

First,  call  our  common  stock  of  horsea  Worth  on  the  average  $150  each.  Compare 
this  with  the  price  Mr.  Bonner  paid  for  Dexter,  $.34,750,  and  you  have  a  surplus  of 
$84,600  in  favor  of  fine  breeding.  This  is  no  stretch  of  imagination.  The  line  is  cor- 
rectly drawn,  even  if  it  should  overtax  credulity.  Neither  is  this  an  isolated  case,  nor 
drawn  at  its  full  extreme.  There  Jjave  been  sales  made  since  Mr.  Bonner  purchased 
Dexter  where  parties  have  paid  !$50,000.  Time  would  fail  me  in  going  over  the  list  of 
sales  running  into  thousands.  While  on  this  head,  it  might  be  the  proper  place  to 
mention  some  of  the  breeds  of  these  famous  equines  and  the  fabulous  prices  paid  to 
some  of  these  noble  sires.  First  on  the  calendar  is  Mr.  Eysdeck's  Hamiltonian,  and  the 
sire  of  Dexter.  This  horse  has  been  standing  in  Orange  County  the  past  season  for 
$500  a  mare,  |3S0  required  to  be  paid  down ;  while  many  of  his  descendants  are  stand- 
ing in  other  places  and  States  for  $200  and  $300  per  mare.  I  shall  not  have  time  to 
call  your  attention  to  all  tho  notables  in  the  horse  family.  Their  names  are  being 
handed  down  to  us  on  pages  of  history.  I  will  pass  over  the  history  of  the  American 
Fclipse  and  the  Old  Messenger — rival  horses  in  their  day — v/hose  very  names  are  almost 
hallowed  to  all  horse-connoisseurs.  Next  I  will  mention  the  Old  HiU  Black  Hawk  and 
Wadsworth  Henry  Clay  ;  few  of  the  latter-day  horses  have  left  a  more  numerous  or 
better  grade  of  colts.  The  old  Green  Mountain  Morgan,  the  Bulrush  Morgan,  the 
Stockbridge  Ohief,  and  Kimball  Jackson  head  the  list  among  the  prominent  horses, 
and  have  bequeathed  to  us  a  legacy  wo  ought  to  cherish  and  to  regenerate.  Had  we 
not  been  dereMct  in  obeying  the  organic  laws  of  horse-physiology,  we  should  not  have 
allowed  the  race  to  became  so  degenerated.  ThcEe  is  no  truer  saying  than  like  begets 
like.  Had  we,  as  a  nation,  been  as  mindful  in  propagating  our  brute  creation  as  we  have 
in  selecting  and  propagating  our  vegetables,  we  should  have  none  of  those  walking 
dictionaries  of  all  tho  diseases  that  horse-fleah  is  heir  to,  in  one  volume,  badly  bound. 

Mr.  O.  F.  MiMcr,  in  a  paper  on  poultry-raising,  contributes  some  val- 
uable suggestions.  After  alluding  to  the  small  cost  of  raising  and  fat- 
tening chickens,  he  gives  directions  for  their  proper  care,  the  kind  of  food 
they  should  have,  and  the  most  profitable  varieties  to  raise.  He  says 
that  a  poultry-house  should  be  located  on  gravel  or  dry  sandy  loam. 
Stagnant  water  sheuld  be  avoided.  It  should  be  built  facing  the  south, 
if  possible,  and  if  on  a  side-hill  sloping  to  the  south,  ail  the  better.  It 
should  be  made,  warm  and  dry,  and  so  constructed  that  it  can  be  easily 
cleaned  out,  which  should  be  done  quite  often.  .  Fowls  should  be  per- 
mitted to  range  at  liberty  a  greater  portion  of  the  time.  Their  nests 
should  be  constructed  so  as  to  admit  of  easy  access,  and  should  be  kept 
comparatively  dark,  and  so  made  that  they  can  enter  them  unperceived 
and  lay  without  fear  of  being  disturbed.  They  should  not  be  confined 
to  one  variety  of  food  the  whole  winter.  The  food  should  be  changed 
every  few  days,  or  two  kinds  of  food  a  day  is  still  better ;  say  a  feeding 
of  corn  in  the  morning  and  a  feeding  of  oats  or  barley  in  the  evening, 
26  A 


402         EEPORT   OF   THB  COiiaeiSBIONEB  OF  AGBICULTUEE. 

with  now  and  then  a  m«al  of  some  sort  of  cooked  food.  Thoy  should 
have,  ODce  or  twice  a  week,  some  meat  and  some  kind  of  vegetables. 
There  should  always  be  some  dry  ashes  near  the  poultry -house  tor  them 
to  wallow  in,  as  it  is  good  to  keep  them  free  from  vermin.  There  should 
be  a  box  of  lime  or  old  mortar,  and  one  of  dry  gravel,  where  the  hens  • 
can  get  at  it,  especially  in  the  winter  season.  Fowls  over  fat  or  lean 
seldom  lay.  Food  that  will  keep  them  in  the  best  working  trim,  as  is 
said  of  the  horse,  is  the  best,  and  they  should  be  fed  regularly.  The 
variety  of  fowls  that  are  the  most  profitable  to  be  kept  is  a  matter  of 
some  importance.  If  near  large  markets,  where  eggis  could  l>e  shipped 
without  making  the  freight  so  high,  then  perhaps  those  that  produced 
the  greatest  number  of  eggs  during  the  year  would  be  the  best  variety 
to  keep.  In  most  of  our  large  cities  the  price  of  eggs  is  seldom,  if  ever, 
below  25  cents  per  dozen,  and  often  as  high  as  40  cents,  while  the  price 
paid  to  the  producer  is  seldom  more  than  one-half  that  amount.  There- 
fore, that  variety  should  be  selected  that  will  produce  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  eggs  during  the  season  of  the  year  that  they  bring  the  highest 
price,  and,  at  the  same  time,  are  of  the  most  value  for  their  meat.  It  is 
generally  conceded  that  for  winter  laying,  and  for  meat  for  the  table, 
the  light  Brahma  takes  the  preference.  Mr.  Miller  gives  the  following 
illustrations  of  profit  in  raising  poultry : 

Mr.  Neieon  Kitter,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  in  the  first  three  months  of  1869  received  eggs 
from  fifty-six  hens,  as  follows:  In  January,  668;  Februarj",  891;  March,  984;  with 
fourteen  of  the  hens  sitting  from  about  the  middle  of  the  mouth.  The  eggs  were  sold 
for  $66.98;  the  expense  of  keeping  was  $26.13;  the  profit  on  eggs  for  three  mouths 
was  $40.85.  The  hens  were  a  cross  of  Brahraaii.  L.  P.  Trimble,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  kept 
for  BIX  months  ending  July  1,  1870,  an  average  of  eighteen  heus  and  two  cocks.  They 
produced  1,290  eggs,  which,  at  market  value,  were  worth  $40.49.  There  were  also 
thirty-two  March  chickens,  worth  July  1,  $8,  making  the  value  of  the  product  $48.49. 
The  cost  of  feed  was  $19.45 ;  net  profit  for  six  months,  $29.04,  or  $1.45  per  fowl. 

Among  the  other  contents  are  full  reports  of  all  departments  of  the 
State  Agricultural  College,  and  two  addresses  by  its  president,  T.  C. 
Abbott ;  one  before  the  students,  on  manual  labor,  and  an  extended  one 
before  the  house  of  representatives,  on  agricultural  education. 

Fomological. — The  fourth  annual  report  of  the  State  Pomological  So- 
ciety, for  the  year  1874,  constitutes  a  volume  of  upward  of  500  pages. 
Reports  of  the  parent  association  and  its  auxiliaries  give  a  most  encour- 
aging view  of  the  progress  of  pomology  in  this  comparatively  young 
commonwealth. 

The  president,  George  Parmelee,  in  his  inaugural  address,  February 
9,  1875,  says :      • 

Is  there  any  reasonable  objection  to  specialties  m  countries  where  favorable  pecu- 
liarities tit  them  for  the  most  profitable  production  ?  Is  there  any  reasonable  objection 
to  the  State  of  Michigan  making  the  most  out  of  what  nature  has  done  for  her?  If 
there  is,  it  will  be  hard  for  her  farmers  to  see  it  while  the  money  profit  stands  promi- 
nently V)efore  their  eyes.  There  is  no  such  objection.  With  our  utiequaled  water  influ- 
ences, with  our  location  in  the  midst  of  the  populous  and  wealthy  Northern  States, 
and  with  profitable  markets  open  to  us  on  all  sides,  we  shall  drift  more  and  more  into 
fruit  production.  Our  fruit  interest  has  already  advanced  to  considerable  i)roportiou8. 
Starting  from  the  old  Dousman  apple-orchard  on  Mackinaw  Island,  and  the  old  French 
apple  and  pear  trees  on  Detroit  River,  all  seedlings,  we  have  gone  to  net  results  of 
many  millions.  Within  the  memory  of  some  of  us  here  our  present  great  interest  hfis 
grown  from  nothing.  We  have  passed  the  day  of  wild  speculation  in  fruit-lauds,  the 
"  belt "  proving  to  be  too  wide  a  matter  for  speculation,  as  from  center  to  circumfer- 
ence various  valuable  fruits  can  be  grown  profitably.  Our  constantly  increasing  and 
cheapening  transportation  facilities  are  opening  to  us  a  great  number  of  good  markets. 
Our  best-keeping  apples  can  go  to  Europe  in  good  condition,  and  to  Louisiana  or  Texas, 
while  the  nearer  eastern  and  western  markets  are  ever  ready  to  take  the  bulk  of  the 
crop.  Our  peaches,  pears,  sweet  cherries,  and  grapes  do  not  have  to  go  far  for  good 
markets,  aud  the  increasing  demand  will  admit  of  a  very  great  increase  of  production. 


DIGEST   OP   STATE   EEP0BT8.  403 

•  "  •  Sorely  no  3t»t»  ea«t  of  the  Rocky  Moantaini  ba»  »tich  an  extended  area 
•uited  to  the  production  of  tirst- class  apples,' and  with  onr  nearness  to  non-prodncing 
regions  giving  na  the  beat  of  markets,  and  with  our  adaptation  to  the  production  of 
the  other  staple  fruits  of  tho  temperate  clime,  we  are  not  behind.  We  are  surely 
favored  beyond  the  atljoining  States. 

A  catalogue  of  "  popular  and  valuable  varieties  of  fruits,  compiled 
from  the  best  authorities" — having  respect  to  the  climate  of  Michigan — 
is  given. 

At  the  February  meeting  held  at  Lansiug,  Mr.  Emmons  Buell  read  a 
short  essay  on  fruitvgrowiug.  fie  advises  top-graft  winter  varieties  on 
Northern  Spy  -trees  two  to  three  years  old.  He  regards  the  Eed  Can- 
ada, in  tree  and  fruit,  as  approaching  more  nearly  all  the  requisite  qual 
ities  desired  in  a  winter  api)le  of  any  on  the  Michigan  list.    He  says: 

The  tree  is  hardy,  a  fair  grower,  and  in  style  of  top  all  that  can  be  desired.  In  fruit 
it  is  a  good  bearer,  a  good  handler,  and  keeps  well;  in  quality  unexceptionable,  while 
its  bright  red  color  makes  it  very  attractive,  as  the  high  price  it  brings  in  market  fully 
attests.  But  if  you  must  add  the  Baldwin,  Wagener,  King,  &c.,  do  not  fail  to  put 
them  on  Spy  stocks.  Give  the  ground  good  cultivation  in  the  early  part  of  the  sea- 
son, and  wash  tho  trees  with  soft  soap  about  the  1st  of  June  for  a  number  of  years. 

As  to  profits  in  Michigan,  Mr.  Buell  says  : 

An  orchard  will  contain  about  50  trees  to  an  acre.  I  think  they  may  be  safely  esti- 
mated to  produce  one  baxrel  per  tree  for  a  great  number  of  years,  or  while  in  good  con- 
dition. This  would  give  .50  barrels  per  acre  for  each  year,  and  at  $2  per  barrel  would 
be  $100  per  acre.  I  think  a  good  orchard,  with  care,  and  composed  of  the  best  varie- 
ties, will  exceed,  rather  than  fall  short,  of  these  estimates. 

Mr.  William  L.  Webber,  in  an  essay  on  "The  destiny  of  Northern 
Michigan,"  says : 

An  erroneous  idea  is  entertained  by  many  conceniing  the  character  of  the  soil  on 
which  the  pine  is  found.  In  most  cases  the  pine  grows  intermixed  with  hard  wood,  or 
in  clumps  surrounded  by  beech  and  maple,  sometimes  found  in  belts  interspersed  with 
other  timber;  but  even  whore  pine  is  almost  the  only  timber  upon  tfio  ground,  it  has 
been  found  that  the  soil  is  capable  of  producing  excellent  returns  to  the  agriculturist. 
It  is  true  the  pine  stumps  are  an  incumbrance  and  somewhat  difficult  of  removal,  but 
time  and  labor  will  remove  them  ;  and  as  the  soil  is  capable  of  producing  good  crops, 
the  time  will  come  when  as  good  returns  will  be  had  from  land  once  covered  with  heavy 
pine  as  from  the  average  lands  covered  with  hard  wood. 

Of  the  extent  of  these  lands  and  of  the  advantages  likely  to  accrue 
to  the  people  of  the  State  from  the  unlimited  amount  of  lumber  they 
will  yield,  Mr.  Webber  says : 

In  considering  the  future  of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  northern  half  of  this 
peninsula,  the  fact  that  a  large  portion  of  it  is  covered  with  valuable  timber  is  not  to 
be  lost  sight  of.  Of  pine  alone  there  is  probably  sufficient  to  make  50,000,000,000  feet 
of  lumber.  The  wealth  of  the  State  will  be  promoted  by  handling  this  immense  quan- 
tity only  so  fast  as  tho  timber  may  be  required  at  remunerative  rates,  and  erecting  and 
operating  such  manufactories  as  will  fit  it  for  the  consumer's  use  btfore  transportation, 
BO  that  Michigan  may  receive  the  full  benefit  of  its  native  wealth ;  and  that  policy 
which  rhould  cut  this  timber  and  force  in  upon  the  market  faster  than  demanded,  or 
which  should  send  it  in  a  coarse  and  unfinished  condition  into  other  States  for  tte  finer 
manipulations,  would  be  an  unwise  one.  Properly  treated,  the  lumbering  interest  and 
the  agricultural  interest  should  go  hand  in  hand  and  support  each  other.  A  home  mar- 
ket is  always  more  valuable  to  the  agriculturist  than  a  foreign  one,  and  the  lumbering 
which  goes  on  in  the  immediate  vicinity  will  not  only  furnish  a  market  for  the  surplus 
products  of  the  farmer,  but  also  employment  for  himself  and  his  teams  when  their 
services  may  not  be  required  upon  the  farm,  and  at  remunerative  prices.  Growing,  as 
the  pine  does,  in  belts  and  groups  intermingled  with  hard  timber,  probably  two-thirds 
of  the  space  may  be  reclaimed  for  agricultural  purposes  without  material  injury  to  the 
pine  timber. 

In  speaking  of  the  advantages  of  Michigan  as  they  relate  to  agri- 
culture, manufactures,  and  commerce,  the  writer  says  that,  aside  from 
its  long  lake-coast  line  and  from  its  navigable  rivers,  the  construction 
of  railroads  has  added  largely  to  its  commercial  facilities.    In  1854=  the 


404         REPORT   OF   THE   COJOIISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

State  had  444  miles  of  railroad ;  in  1864, 898  miles ;  in  1874, 3,253  miles. 
Ten  years  ago  Northern  Michigan  had  not  to  exceed  15  miles  of  rail- 
way ;  it  now  has  590  miles. 

During  the  past  decade  Michigan  has  advanced  to  the  front  rank  of 
fruit-producing  States.  Its  soil  and  climate  seem  to  be  specially  adapted 
to  the  greatest  production  of  many  of  the  more  valuable  varieties,  and 
hence  every  year  shows  a  largely  increased  interest  in  the  cultivation  of 
such  fruits  as  have  proved  most  profitable.  In  a  paper  on  the  effects  of 
Lake  Michigan  on  fruit-culture,  Mr.  Henry  S.  Clubb  says : 

The  spring  season  finda  Lake  Micliigati  a  mass  of  water  nearly  covered  with  floating 
ice.  The  storma  of  March  and  the  rains  of  April  having  broken  up  the  ice  in  the  rivers, 
large  quantities  of  it  finds  its  way  to  the  lake,  where  it  is  driven  hither  and  thither  at 
the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves.  Sometimes  there  are  drifts  and  gorges  of  this  ice 
on  the  west  side,  but  more  frequently  it  hugs  the  east  shore,  and  is  so  extensive  that 
the  blue,  open  water  beyond  is  scarcely  distinguishable  from  a  dark  cloud  on  the  hori- 
zon, as  one  stands  on  the  east  shore.  None  but  the  most  daring  navigators,  with  the 
•toutest-built  propellers,  will  venture  through  this  terribly  seething  mass.  Milwaukee 
and  Grand  Haven  are,  at  present,  the  only  harbors  kept  open  throughout  the  ice  season. 
The  shore  is  usually  protected  by  a  pile  of  ice  from  20  to  50  feet  in  height,  thrown  up 
during  the  winter  by  the  action  of  the  waves. 

The  effect  of  this  floating  ice,  and  the  ice  and  snow  piled  on  the  shore,  is  to  retard  the 
season.  The  prevailing  winds  begin  from  the  west,  southwest,  and  northwest ;  the 
east  shore  is  kept  backward  by  the  cool  breezes,  which  permeate  the  fruit-trees  and 
prevent  that  early  expansion  of  the  peach-buds,  so  much  deplored  on  the  west  side  of 
the  lake,  and  which  renders  the  destruction  of  peach  prospects  so  common  every  spring 
in  the  Western  and  Southern  States.  Not  until  summer  weather  is  fairly  established 
and  danger  of  late  frosts  over,  does  the  water  of  Lake  Michigan  become  warm  so  as  to 
melt  the  ice,  and  the  sun  dissolve  the  ice-wall  so  as  to  allow  the  breeze  which  passes 
over  the  lake  to  permit  the  expansion  of  the  fruit-buds  on  the  peach-trees  of  the  eastern 
shore. 

As  the  seaaon  advances  the  water  of  the  lake,  which  has  hitherto  been  bo  much  cooler 
than  the  atmosphere  received  from  the  south  and  west,  gradually  warms  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  8»n's  rays  and  the  land  breezes.  lb  is  much  less  changeable  in  its  tem- 
perature than  the  land  breezes.  It  warms  slowly,  but  when  warmed  it  retains  the 
heat  proportionately  with  its  depth  and  volume.  The  effect  of  this  warm  condition  of 
the  lake  water  is  to  prevent  sudden  changes  on  the  lee  shore.  Regularly  as  the  tides 
of  the  ocean,  the  summer  breezes  traverse  the  land  and  water  along  the  lake  shore.  In 
the  forenoon  the  breeze  is  usually  toward  the  lake,  and  in  the  afternoon  a  lake  breeze 
comes  over  the  land,  modifying  the  temperature  and  making  the  hottest  days  of  July 
and  August  pleasant  and  agreeable,  healthful  alike  to  animal  and  vegetable  life.  This 
is  the  true  system  of  ventilation,  of  atmospheric  drainage,  and,  where  the  sloping  hill- 
sides are  favorably  formed,  almost  certain  is  the  exemption  from  summer  frosts. 

As  summer  proceeds  with  its  work  of  perfecting  fruit,  the  lake  has  not  only  a  pro- 
tecting but  a  fertilizing  influence.  The  intense  heat  of  the  sun  is  exerted  on  a  large 
expanse  of  water,  and  the  atmosphere  is  laden  with  the  moisture  drawn  up  during  tha 
day,  and  in  the  dryest  season  dew  comes  to  the  aid  of  exhausted  nature,  and,  wherever 
cultivation  of  the  soil  is  properly  attended  to,  the  cooled  earth  condenses  the  moisture 
and  absorbs  it,  producing  the  best  possible  condition  for  growth.  In  calm,  summer 
weather,  this  condition  is  probably  best  secured  along  the  lake-shore,  as  during  strong 
winds  the  moist  air  is  apt  to  be  carried  farther  inland  before  the  earth,  cooled  hy  culti- 
vation, can  condense  and  absorb  the  moisture,  and  immediate  proximity  to  the  lake 
during  strong  summer  winds  may  be  no  great  advantage ;  but  as  summer  is  the  period 
of  calm  and  the  winds  are  seldom  strong  or  violent,  the  moist  lake  air  is  an  important 
element  of  fertilization.  It  is  a  fact,  well  established  in  ray  observation  of  Ottowa 
County,  that  land  within  six  to' ten  miles  of  the  lake  is  less  liable  to  suffer  during  a 
long  period  of  dry  weather  than  land  farther  east. 

Mr.  Clubb  states  that  the  gradual  flow  of  water  from  the  southern 
extremity  or  head  of  Lake  Michigan  to  its  northern  exit  at  the  Straits 
of  Mackinac,  has  the  effect  of  reversing  the  usual  experience  in  north- 
ern latitudes.  Instead  of  cold  and  frost  setting  in  earlier  in  Northern 
than  in  Southern  Michigan,  the  very  opposite  is  experienced,  and  sev- 
eral weeks  after  peach-trees  have  been  denuded  of  their  foliage  at  Saint 
Joseph  and  other  regions  south,  they  are  in  full  leaf  at  Northport,  in 
Leelenaw  county,  and  other  places  around  Grand  Traverse  Bay.    The 


DIGEST    OP    STATE   REPORTS.  405 

influence  of  the  lake  stream  seems  to  be  as  well  marked  here  as  is  that 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  in  England  and  other  portions  of  Northern  Europe, 
where  the  temperate  season  is  prolonged,  along  the  sea-coast,  many 
weeks  longer  than  in  the  same  hititudo  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
Atlantic,  or  even  in  the  interior  of  Europe. 

In  an  article  on  plum-culture,  Mr.  T.  T.  Lyon  gives  the  following  pre- 
ventive against  the  depredations  of  the  curculio  : 

,  Some  three  or  iour  years  since,  Mr.Windoes,  of  Kamalazoo,  accidentally  discovered  that 
some  of  his  iilum-trees,  which  had  been  subjected  to  the  dense  smoke  of  burning  coal- 
tar,  were  not  visited  by  the  curculio,  while  those  adjacent,  and  not  so  treated,  lost  their 
crop  as  usual.  Taking  the  cue  from  this  fact,  he  for  some  three  years  in  succession 
repeated  the  process,  adding  a  little  sulphur  to  the  coal-tar  and  burning  the  mixture 
in  an  iron  vessel  under  the  trees.  By  the  offer  of  the  material  gratis,  a  neighbor  was  also 
induced  to  make  the  trial  upon  his  own  trees,  which  resulted  also  in  the  saving  of  his 
crop  of  plums.  Three  years  of  success  with  this  remedy  has  given  Mr.  Windoes  so 
much  conlidenco  in  its  olfectrveness  that  he  has  during  the  past  year  made  it  public, 
and  quite  a  number  of  persons  made  trial  of  it  upon  their  last  summer's  crop  of  plums ; 
but  we  regret  to  eay,  as  far  as  we  have  yet  learned,  with  but  indifferent  success.  As 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  actual  and  repeated  success  of  Mr.  Windoes,  we  can  only 
account  for  these  failures  upon  the  supposition  that  a  different  quality  of  coal-tar  was 
used,  or,  otherwise,  that  there  may  have  been  a  lack  of  thoroughness  in  the  application 
of  the  remedy. 

As  to  the  profitableness  of  plum-culture,  Mr.  Lyon  states  that  a  plan- 
tation of  .considerable  extent  will  full^'^  warrant  the  making  of  thorough 
arrangements  for  the  care  and  management  of  the  same,  as  well  as  the 
providing  of  all  requisite  facilities  for  the  warfare  upon  the  curculio  in 
the  most  efiflcient  manner ;  while  in  such  cases  the  actual  expenditure 
for  these  purposes  will  be  found  to  be  very  small  when  compared  with 
the  value  of  even  a  very  moderate  crop.  AVith  a  plantation  of  one  hun- 
dred trees  in  bearing,  two  men  would  apply  the  jarring  process  (or  that 
and  the  Eansom  trap  jointly)  to  the  whole  in  about  one  and  a  half  hours  j 
and  if  this  were  required  to  be  repeated  three  times  a  day,  the  whole 
would  require  but  the  equivalent  of  one  man's  time.  This  might  be 
required  for  a  j)eriod  of  six  weeks  at  most,  although  during  very  windy 
or  rainy  weather  no  apiilication  would  be  needed.  The  cost  of  apparatus 
with  which  to  prosecute  the  warfare  against  the  curculio  need  not  exceed 
$10  or  $12,  to  which  must  be  added  the  hire  of  a  trusty  man  or  boy  for 
the  above  time.  These  two  items  will  constitute  nearly  or  quite  the  en- 
tire cost  of  management  for  the  season  in  excess  of  that  required  for  a 
similar  orchard  of  apples.  As  to  the  relative  values  of  the  products  of 
each  when  grown,  we  leave  to  those  interested  to  estimate  for  them- 
selves, only  remarking  that,  so  far  as  we  have  been  conversant  with  the 
results  in  such  cases,  those  derived  from  the  culture  of  the  plum,  even 
with  curculio  warfare  against  them,  have  been  highly  satisfactory. 

In  planting  an  orchard  of  plum-trees,  Mr,  Lyon  says  that  16J  feet  in 
the  rows  each  way  is  a  very  good  average  distance,  although  in  exten- 
sive plantations  it  may  be  found  desirable,  fOi.  the  convenience  of 
gathering  the  fruit  and  to  facilitate  the  reaching  of  all  parts  of  the 
plantation  with  a  team  and  conveyance,  espe'cially  while  the  trees  are 
laden  with  fruit,  to  leave  after  every  fourth  or  sixth  row  an  increased 
width  of  perhaps  20  or  25  feet,  as  well  as  one  or  more  such  wider  spaces 
in  the  transverse  direction.  The  distance  of  the  trees  apart,  .however, 
should  be  determined  with  more  or  less  reference  to  the  habits  of  growth 
of  the  varieties  to  be  planted. 

Mr.  Lyon  also  contributes  a  paper  on  new  varieties  of  fruits,  in  which 
the  leading  characteristics  of  the  following-named  varieties  are  given : 
Apples:  Shiawasse  Beauty,  Maun,  Grattan,  and  Somerset.  Siberian 
Grabs :  Brier's  Sweet,  Byer's  Beauty,  Marengo,  Lady  Elgin,  and  Sylvan 


406         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICCTLTURE 

Sweet.  Cherries:  Lieb.  Grapes:  lona,  Crotou,  Eumclan,  Isabella, 
Martha,  Walter,  Kalamazoo,  Seuasqua,  WordoD,  Champiou,  and  Tol- 
man's  Stiedliug-,  Rogers  Hybrids,  Arnold  Hybrids,  Wylie  Hybrids, 
Eicketts  Hybrids,  Campbell's  Seedlings,  Lady,  and  Iiliaca.  Peaches: 
Foster,  Mountain  Rose,  Atlanta,  Richmond,  Sol  way.  South  wick's  Late, 
Eiver's  Peaches,  (twenty  varieties,)  and  Amsden's  June,  Fears :  Dana's 
Honey,  Clapp's  Favorite,  Edmonds,  Mount  Vernon,  and  Souvenir  du 
Congress.  Flums:  Miner,  Wild  Goose,  Weaver,  and  Jodoigne  Green 
Gage.  Strawherries :  America,  Black  Defiance,  Boudinot,  Boydeu's  IsTo. 
30,  (SethBoyden.)  Charles  Downing,  Colonel  Cheeney,Cowiug's  Seedling, 
Cumberland  Triumph,  Dr.  Warder,  Early  Queen,  French,  Golden  Defi- 
ance, Golden  Perpetual,  Golden  Queen,  Keech's  2,200,  Kentucky,  Kis- 
sena,  Kohocten,  Kramer,  Late  Prolific,  Lenuig's  White,  Matilda,  Monarch 
of  the  West,  New  Jersey  Scarlet,  Romeyn's  Seedling,  Springdale.  Of 
these,  Cowing's  Seedling  is  spoken  of  as  bearing  the  largest  berry  in  cul- 
tivation ;  the  vine  is  vigorous  and  hardy,  and  the  fruit  of  fine  flavor  and 
great  promise. 

Mr.  Frank  A.  Guiley  contributes  a  brief  article  on  the  treatment  and 
value  of  manure.  Holding  that  success  and  profits  depend  upon  the 
amount  produced  per  acre  above  the  cost  price,  he  has  been  experiment- 
ing for  years  in  the  endeavor  to  bring  his  lands  up  to  the  highest  practi- 
cable point  of  fertility.  He  states  that  fifteen  years  ago  the  livery-stable 
men  of  Detroit  were  glad  togive  away  their  manure,  and  frequently  had 
to  hire  it  removed.  It  now  brings  from  50  cents  to  $1.50  per  wagon-load. 
Its  rapid  increase  ia  value  has  caused  Mr.  Guiley  to  economize,  as  far 
as  practicable,  by  manufacturing  his  own  fertilizers,  and  in  this  he  has 
succeeded  by  the  rearing  of  pigs  and  the  feeding  of  cattle  on  his  own 
place.  Previous  to  the  past  year  he  bought  nearly  all  his  own  feed.  He 
is  now  renting  land  for  the  purpose  of  raising  feed,  for  which  he  pays  an 
annual  rental  of  from  $3  to  $6  per  acre.    He  says: 

If  we  can  make  our  sales  of  pork  and  pigs  and  the  amonnt  received  for  the  cattle, 
after  deducting  their  cost,  equal  the  value  of  feed  consumed,  letting  the  manure  bal- 
ance the  work,  we  consider  it  a  good  investment.  But  we  find  we  can  do  better  than 
this  by  keeping  the  small-boued,  fine-bred  pigs.  With  judicious  and  heavy  feeding, 
taking  the  value  of  the  manure  into  consideration,  we  think  we  can  compete  with  the 
western  farmers  in  raising  pork.  Our  pigs  during  the  past  year  have  returned  $1,000 
•  over  the  value  of  feed  consumed  on  pigs  sold  for  pork  and  feeding,  while  at  the  same 
time  we  are  establishing  a  herd  of  thoroughbred  pigs.  But  we  expect  a  greater  profit 
on  the  increased  producdon  of  crops  caused  by  the  use  of  this  manure. 

We  make  a  practice  of  buying  thin  steers  in  the  fall,  either  two,  three,  or  four  years 
old,  which  cost  us  Irom  $20  to  .$50  each.  These  are  fed  until  in  good  condition,  and 
thfcu  sold  at  from  50  to  lOO  per  cent,  advance.  There  are  a  class  of  farmers  who  raise 
cattle  till  they  a^o  two,  three,  or  four  years  old,  merely  giving  them  feed  enough  to 
keep  thein  alive  and  make  them  grow,  and  this  class  of  farmers  is  found  all  over  the 
State.  Vv'e  can  buy  these  ca-ttle,  feed  them  heavily  three  or  four  months,  and  get  nearly 
as  much  for  feeding  them  that  length  of  time  as  the  man  who  raised  them  did  for 
keeping  them  two  or  three  years.  But  it  is  not  done  by  a  slipshod  way  of  feeding. 
Our  cattle  are  kept  in  warm  stables  and  fed  regularlyou  cut  hay,  straw,  and  s' alks, 
mixed  with  pulped  roots,  and  all  the  steamed  corn-meal  and  mill-feed  they  will  bear. 

Mr.  Guiley  says  there  is  probably  no  way  in  which  manure  can  be 
made  with  less  trouble,  experience,  and  expense  than  in  feediug  cattle 
during  the  winter.  It  is  a  practice  which  could  be  adopted  with  suc- 
cess by  gardeners  in  any  vicinity  where  manure  is  scaixe  and  feed  can 
be  bought  at  a  reasonable  price.  It  does  not  require  a  very  great 
exiienditure  for  buildings  and  machinery.  An  old  barn  or  shed  can  be 
fitted  up  v,ith  gates  and  mangers  at  an  expense  of  $i  or  $2  per  head, 
with  stanchions;  or,  where  cattle  are  tied  with  ropes,  the  expense  would 
be  Ifss,  but  the  extra  amount  of  work  will  more  than  balance  the  cost 
of  gates.     He  fitted  up  a  shed-floor  for  25  head  with  gates  and  mangers, 


DIGEST    OP   STATE   REPORTS.  407 

at  an  expense  of  75  cents  per  head  for  lumber  and  nails,  and  it  was  all 
made  portable,  so  that  it  could  be  taken  down  and  packed  up  during" 
thxi  summer.  Some  of  bis  experiments,  showing  the  profits  of  judicious 
manuring, are  given  as  follows: 

On  a  piece  of  laud  put  in  our  bands  .to  work  last  spring  was  a  field  of  21  acres,  -which 
the  ownors  wished  to  have  sowed  to  oats  and  seeded  to  clover.  The  tiold  had  been 
cropped  several  years  without  manure.  The  soil  was  of  an  average  fertility  all  over 
the  field.  A  crop  of  corn  planted  on  it  the  previous  year  had  made  about  an  equal 
growth  in  all  parts,  and  all  so  .poor  that  it  was  considered  not  worth  busking,  and  was 
fed  in  the  stalk.  On  the  farm  was  a  pile  of  manure  one  year  obi,  left  from  a  cow-stable, 
which  we  were  directed  to  put  on  this  field.  The  pile  would  havemade  about  20  or  25  such 
loads  as  we  buy  for  a  doll.i  r  per  load.  I  estimated  it  to  bo  worth  $35.  After  the  ground 
had  been  plowed  we  spread  this  manure  as  evenly  as  possible  over  12  acres  on  one  side  of 
the  field,  at  an  expense  of  §15  for  handling  the  manure.  The  12  acres  manured  yielded 
543  bushels,  or  49  bushels  to  the  acre  ;  the  9  acres  unmanured  yielded  180  bushels,  or 
20  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  manure  increased  the  crop  29  bushels  to  the  ace,  or  303 
bushels  on  the  farm,  worth  50  cents  per  bushel,  or  $;151.50.  The  cost  of  preparing 
ground,  seed,  sowing,  and  reaping  was  the  same  per  acre  on  the  whole  field.  The  cost 
of  binding,  drawing,  and  thrashing  was  more  on  the  manured  portion,  but  as  the  straw 
■was  twice  as  heavy  we  will  let  that  balance  the  extra  work.  The  manure  and  drawing 
cost  $60 ;  therefore,  $50  expended  in  manure  made  an  increase  in  the  crop  of  $151.50,  or 
a  profit  of  $101.50  in  one  season.  In  addition  to  this,  the  clover  made  a  good  catch  on 
the  manured  land,  while  on  the  rest  it  hardly  grew  at  all. 

As  to  the  beneficial  effects  of  marsh-muck,  he  says : 

There  is  something  about  marsh-muck  that  seems  to  have  a  remarkable  effect  on  old 
land,  especially  on  light  soil,  and  particularly  on  garden-land  that  has  been  heavily 
cropped  and  manured  for  several  years.  It  seems  to  have  somewhat  the  same  effect 
that  is  caused  by  plowing  under  green  crops.  I  have  known  good  crops  of  onions 
raised  on  sandy  soil  for  two  years  by  a  heavy  application  of  muck  and  a  light  sprink- 
ling of  leached  ashes.  On  old  onion-beds  the  tendency  of  onions  is  to  ripen  too  early, 
or  before  they  get  their  growth,  thereby  decreasing  the  crop.  By  using  muck  and  a 
variety  of  other  manures,  we  can  raise  good  crops  on  the  same  land  for  years  in  succes- 
sion. They  will  do  better  to  change  the  crop,  but  as  it  is  expensive  fitting  ground  in 
proper  shape  for  onions,  and  as  it  is  the  most  certain  and  profitable  crop  that  we  raise, 
we  find  it  does  not  pay  to  change  often.  We  have  raised  onions  on  the  same  ground 
for  seven  years  in  succession,  never  having  a  profit  of  less  than  $175  to  the  acre. 

Mr.  A.  S.  Dyckman,  in  an  essay  on  pruning  peach-trees,  strongly 
urges  a  judicious  thinning  out  of  the  limbs  and  shortening  in  of  the  heads 
of  the  trees  once  a  year.  One  of  the  effects  of  this  thinning  process  is 
to  induce  a  stocky  growth  of  wood.  This  thinning  is  done,  not  by  short- 
ening the  young  limbs,  but  by  cutting  them  out  entire  to  their  junction 
with  the  parent  limb,  leaving  each  remaining  shoot  in  the  perfection  of 
its  natural  growth.  Another  efl'ect  is  to  distribute  fruit-bearing  wood 
through  the  interior  of  the  tree-top,  where  the  burden  can  be  borne  with 
less  liability  to  break  the  main  limbs  than  where  the  fruit  is  borne  mostly 
on  the  exrremities,  as  in  case  of  a  thick  head,  which  will  inevitably 
smother  out  the  interior  shoots.  Another  effect  is  not  only  to  reduce 
the  number  of  fruit-buds,  but  to  materially  increase  their  distances 
apart,  thus  performing  an  important  part  of  annual  fruit-thinning.  Still 
another  etiecc  is  to  admit  air  and  sunlight  through  the  top,  preventing 
mildew  and  rot,  and  imparting  rich  qualities  and  high  color  to  the  fruit. 
Where  each  individual  shoot  has  its  equal  share  of  air,  light,  and  warmth, 
it  also  promotes  the  general  health  and  vigor  of  the  tree,  and  makes  the 
fruit  more  uniform  in  size,  color,  and  quality. 

Mr.  D.  B.  Waters,  in  an  essay  on  the  same  subject,  quotes  the  follow- 
ing statement  of  Mr.  G.  Eugle : 

I  commenced  the  shortening-in  system  of  pruning  the  peach  when  the  trees  were  six 
years  old,  and  by  trying  a  few  trees  the  first  season.  The  result  was  so  very  satisfac- 
tory, the  trees  so  pruned  yielding  nearly  as  much  in  quantity  and  the  fruit  of  double 
and  sometimes  treble  the  size,  that  I  went  over  nearly  the  whole  orchard  th  ■  following 
Beason.    A  few  trees  have  been  left  without  pruning  untU  the  present,  for  the  sake  of 


408         REPORT   OF   THE    COMMISSIONER    OP   AGRICULTURE. 

experiment,  although,  after  two  years'  experience,  there  wa.s  no  doubt  in  my  mind 
about  its  beneticial  effects.  The  benefits  accniing  are  treble:  first, an  increased  mar- 
ket value  of  the  fruit ;  second,  a  more  handsome,  vigorous,  and  healthy  tree ;  and, 
third,  a  groat  saving  of  labor  and  time  in  thinning  the  fruit.  We  all  kn«w  what  an 
unsightly  object  an  old  peach-tree  becomes  vrhen  left  to  itself.  A  few  leng,  lean,  skele- 
ton branches,  with  nearly  all  the  foliage  and  fruit  at  the  extreme  ends,  will  correctly 
describe  them.  All  this  can  be  remedied,  and  handsome,  round,  compact  heads,  well 
filled  with  foliage  and  fruit  throughout  secured,  by  the  simple  process  of  shortening-iu. 
I  usually  choose  mild  weather  in  the  late  fall  or  winter  in  which  to  perform  the  work. 
Early  spring  is  just  as  good  a  time,  only  our  duties  are  more  pressing  then,  and  if  put 
oft' until  that  time  is  very  apt  to  be  neglected.  Occasionally  I  have  found  it  of  great 
advantage  to  cut  back  some  of  the  longer  branches  to  where  they  are  an  inch  to  an 
iucli  and  one-half  in  diameter,  but  usniilly  it  is  only  necessary  to  shorten  the  new 
growth  from  one-half  to  two-thirds — shortening  the  longer  growths  the  most.  My  treea 
BO  treated  exhibit  all  the  beauty  and  vigor  of  form  and  growth  at  twelve  years  of  age 
usually  seen  in  trees  of  four  and  five  years.  When  the  season  for  thinning  the  fruit 
arrives,  I  find  it  takes  only  about  one-third  the  time  to  do  it.  This  of  itself  would  pay 
if  there  were  no  other  benefits,  as  at  that  time  we  are  driven  with  all  kinds  of  work, 
and  are  apt  to  neglect,  or,  at  best,  slight,  this  very  necessary  labor.  For  I  hold  that  no 
man  who  raises  peaches  for  market  can  afford  to  let  his  trees  mature  a  great  mass  of 
small,  inferior  fruit,  which  will  bring  next  to  nothing,  when,  by  judicious  thinning,  he 
can  get  the  highest  market-price.  On  my  younger  orchards  I  have  commenced  cutting 
back  at  four  years  from  setting,  but  shortening  only  the  leading  shoots  the  first  season. 

This  report  contains  many  additional  papefrs  and  discussions  of  inter- 
est and  value. 

MISSOURI. 

The  eleventh  annual  report  of  the  Missouri  State  Board  of  Agricult- 
ure, for  the  year  1875,  is  one  of  more  than  average  interest.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  business  transactions  of  the  Board  at  its  annual  meeting,  the 
volume  contains  many  practical  papers  and  interesting  discussions  on 
various  important  branches  of  agriculture.  It  also  contains  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  annual  meetings  of  the  St&ite 
Horticultural  Society,  and  an  exceedingly  valuable  illustrated  report 
by  Prof.  0.  V.  Eiley,  State  entomologist.  Additional  papers,  detailing 
the  results  of  further  investig^itions  into  the  habits  of  the  western  locust, 
and  of  the  history  and  habits  of  the  grape  phylloxera,  are  contained  in 
Professor  Eiley's  report.  His  thorough  investigations  into  the  habits  of 
the  last-named  insect  add  much  to  the  value  of  this  report. 

The  State  Board  convened  on  the  1st  day  of  December  and  continued 
in  session  four  days.  In  his  opening  address,  President  Luman  A.  Brown 
briefly  alhided  to  the  devastation  committed  by  the  grasshoppers  in  the 
early  part  of  the  season  on  the  growing  crops  of  the  northern  counties 
of  the  State.  He  also  alluded  to  the  great  prevalence  of  hog-cholera  in 
various  sections  of  the  State  during  the  past  season,  and  urged  upon  the 
Board  the  importance  of  devoting  a  portion  of  its  time  to  a  consideration 
and  discussion  of  this  subject.  At  the  afternoon  session  of  the  board 
the  subject  came  up  for  consideration  and  was  discussed  at  some  length. 
Mr.  Colman  said  the  disease  resembled  a  low  fever  of  typhoidal  char- 
acteristics, and  he  thought  it  was  in  some  degree  contagious.  Hogs 
attacked  by  it  die  very  suddenly,  and  it  takes  but  a  short  time  to  carry 
oS"  an  entire  herd.  Mr.  Monteith  said  that  in  the  higher  portions  of  the 
State,  amoag  the  Ozark  hills,  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  clear  run- 
ning water,  the  hog-cholera,  so  called,  is  scarcely  known.  He  regards 
the  disease  as  a  kind  of  low  typhoid  fever,  and  attributes  its  prevalence 
largely  to  the  absence  of  pure  water.  Speaking  of  preventives  of  the 
disease,  he  stated  that  he  had  once  cured  a  bad  case  of  listula  by  an 
application  of  dry  earth,  after  trying  a  great  many  other  remedies,  and 
he  believed  there  were  many  properties  in  earth  which,  if  properly  ap- 


DIGEST   OP  STATE   REPORTS.  409 

plied,  would  cure  many  diseases.    As  to  the  good  effects  of  new  earth, 
he  said : 

Where  liogs  trample  constantly  over  earth,  the  fresh  soil  disappears.  We  find  in 
ponltry-breediug  that  where  we  keep  largo  numbers  of  fowls  together,  we  must  keep 
the  ground  stirred  to  bring  up  fresh  earth.  In  the  poultry-house  there  should  be  no 
less  than  six  inches  of  dry  earth,  which  should  be  raked  over  three  times  a  week,  and 
removed  once  in  sis  months,  and  then  you  can  keep  fifty  fowls  together  without  danger. 
I  have  kept  dry  earth  in  barrels  by  my  pig-pens,  spreading  it  frequently.  It  is  a  good 
absorbent,  and  keeps  my  pigs  in  excellent  health. 

Dr.  Claggett  stated  that  in  several  cases  where  hogs  had  died  with  so- 
called  hog-cholera,  post-mortem  examinations  had  revealed  diseased 
lungs.  In  such  cases  the  disease  was  not  hog-cholera.  He  then  alluded 
to  the  absorptive  powers  of  different  soils,  and  agreed  with  Mr.  Monteith 
as  to  the  beneficial  effects  of  dry  earth  when  applied  to  wounds  and 
sores. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Charles  thought  a  great  many  hogs  got  sick  without  having 
hog-cholera,  and  he  regarded  it  as  much  a  mistake  to  say  that  every 
sick  hog  had  the  hog-cholera  as  that  every  sick  cow  had  the  hollow-horn. 
He  had  lost  fifty-seven  hogs  by  some  disease,  and  had  but  three  left,  and 
two  of  the  three  had  been  sick.  He  thought  the  disease  was  the  quinsy, 
or  winter  fever. 

Mr.  L.  A.  Brown  said  his  farm  had  been  visited  by  this  disease,  which 
had  caused  him  to  lose  seventy  hogs.  He  believed  the  disease  to  be 
contagious.  His  hogs  had  been  kept  in  a  clover  pasture  of  two  hundred 
acres,  with  good  running  water.  His  neighbors'  hogs  had  been  turned 
into  the  road,  with  no  water  to  drink j  they  took  the  disease,  ran  along 
the  fence  where  his  hogs  were  confined,  and  imparted  to  them  the  dis- 
ease of  which  they  died. 

A  resolution  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  investi- 
gate the  subject  was  adopted  by  the  board. 

Mr.  O.  W.  Murtfelt  read  a  paper  urging  the  establishment  of  experi- 
mental agricultural  stations,  which  eventually  resulted  in  a  protracted 
discussion  on  the  subject  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  State 
Agricultural  College.  On  the  last  day  of  the  session  a  resolution  was 
adopted  calling  the  attention  of  the  farmers  of  the  State  to  the  impor- 
tance of  forest-tree  culture  and  to  the  law  passed  by  the  legislature  to 
encourage  the  planting  and  cultivation  of  timber-trees. 

Rorticultural. — The  sixteenth  annual  meeting  of  the  Missouri  State 
Horticultural  Society  was  held  at  Saint  Louis,  on  the  12th,  13th,  14th, 
and  15th  days  of  January,  1875.  The  meeting  was  well  attended,  and 
the  proceedings  marked  with  much  interest  to  the  fruit-growers  of  the 
State. 

President  Henry  T.  Mudd,  in  his  opening  address,  gave  a  brief 
history  of  the  organization  and  progress  of  the  society.  From  this 
address  the  following  facts  are  gleaned :  A  small  number  of  Missouri 
fruit-growers  met  at  Jefferson  City  on  the  5th  day  of  January,  1859,  and 
organized  the  present  society.  Prof.  George  0.  Swallow  presided, 
and  Mr.  F.  E.  Elliott,  (shortly  after  elected  secretary  of  the  American 
Pomological  Society,)  acted  as  secretary.  A  constitution  was  framed 
and  adopted,  and  lull.  N.  J.  Colman  was  elected  as  the  first  president 
of  the  association.  A  vice-president  for  each  of  the  then  seven  con- 
gressional districts  was  designated,  and  Mr.  F.  R.  Elliott  and  €reorge 
Husman  were  respectively  elected  as  recording  and  corresponding  sec- 
retaries. The  first  exhibition  of  the  society  was  held  on  the  27th  day  of 
September,  1859,  at  which  a  fine  display  of  grapes  and  some  native 
wine  was  made.    The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  association  was  held 


410    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

in  conjum  tion  with  this  exhibition.  Mr.  William  Minor  was  elected 
recordinj^:  secretary  in  place  of  Mr.  Elliott,  who  had  removed  from  the 
State. 

The  second  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Saint  Louis,  on  the  8th  day  of 
January,  3801.  Many  varieties  of  fruits,  wines,  &c.,  were  exhibited  at 
this  meeting,  and  such  exhibitions  have  since  annually  occurred.  Dr. 
C.  W.  Spalding  was  elected  president  at  this  meeting  for  the  ensuing 
year.  The  third  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  same  city,  on  the  14th 
day  of  January,  18(32,  as  were  also  the  fourth  and  fifth  annual  meetings 
of  the  two  succeeding  years.  ISio  material  changes  were  made  in  the 
officers  of  the  society  at  these  meetings.  Since  the  year  1801  the  asso- 
ciation has  more  than  doubled  in  numerical  strength,  and  now  numbers 
among  its  members  a  majority  of  the  leading  fruit-growers  of  the  State. 
The  later  history  of  the  society  is  not  given. 

During  the  afternoon  session  of  the  society  a  debate  occurred  on  the 
subject  of  peach  culture  and  the  varieties  best  adapted  to  the  climate 
and  soil  of  Missouri,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  following-named 
sorts  were  adopted  and  recommended  for  general  cultivation  :  Troth's 
Early,  Yellow  Rareripe,  Stump  the  World,  Old  Mixon  Free,  and  Salway. 

Mr.  Foster  read  a  brief  paper  on  the  subject  of  pear  culture.  He 
stated  it  as  a  fact  that  of  the  half  million  pear-trees  sold  and  planted 
annually  in  Illinois  and  Missouri,  scarcely  one  in  a  thousand  survives 
the  tenth  year.  This,  he  thinks,  is  owing  to  errors  committed  in  the 
early  stages  of  pear  culture.'  He  advises  great  care  in  the  selection  of 
seeds;  for,  if  collected  from  fruit  of  diseased  trees,  they  are  certain  to 
carry  the  germs  of  disease  with  them.  Sound  and  perfectly  healthy 
seeds  can  be  procured  only  from  trees  three  or  four  hundred  years  old. 
Trees  from  such  seeds  will  invariably  prove  healthy.  In  Saint  Louis 
county  there  are  trees  over  two  hundred  years  old  which  are  still  sound 
and  healthy.    They  are  over  70  feet  in  height,  and  bear  prolifically. 

First-class  seedling  stock,  properly  cultivated,  will  cost  50  cents 
per  tree  in  the  nursery.  Bad  stock  causes  more  trouble  and  disap- 
pointment in  pear  culture  than  all  other  causes  combined.  The  trees 
have  the  foundation  of  disease  in  them  from  the  beginning — u  disease 
fruitful  of  blight  and  mildew.  The  blight  commences  i^  the  leaf  and 
descends  through  the  branches  to  the  body  of  the  tree,  and  thence 
rapidly  to  the  roots,  when  the  tree  dies.  The  writer  said  there  were 
three  conditions  essential  to  the  health  of  the  tree,  viz,,  sound,  good 
stocks,  from  healthy  seeds  of  long-lived  trees,  proper  working,  and  an 
ample  supply  of  food  essential  to  the  growth  of  the  tree.  Lime,  ashes, 
cinders,  and  bones  all  contain  elements  of  value  to  the  growth  and 
longevity  of  the  tree.  Trees  should  be  well  grown  ia  the  nursery  before 
planting  out,  and  the  soil  well  drained. 

In  the  course  of  some  remarks  on  the  same  subject,  JMr.  Maliuckrodt 
said  : 

I  was  raised  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  where  pear-trees  grow  like  oaks.  There  are 
two  principal  causes  why  culture  in  general  and  pear  cultuioiu  particular  is  more  diffi- 
cult in  this  country  than  in  Europe.  One  is  the  great  prevalence  of  insects  here,  the 
otber  the  uncertainty  and  severity  of  the  climate.  Still  another  is  found  in  the  soil; 
it  is  too  new,  too  recently  reclaimed.  Two  years  ago  a  piece  of  land  near  me  was  in 
timber ;  now  it  is  in  fruit-trees,  largely  in  pears.  In  Europe  they  have  small  planta- 
tions, and  give  much  more  care  in  cultivation.  From  the  Black  Sea  to  Najtles  the  pear- 
tree  gruws  like  an  oak,  and  40  to  50  bushels  per  tree  is  quite  a  common  product.  In 
Europe  they  take  a  long  time  to  do  everything,  and  try  to  do  it  well.  They  very  fre- 
quently plant  the  seed  where  they  want  the  tree  to  stand.  This  gives  a  vigorous, 
hardy  tree  that  is  able  to  resist  the  attacks  of  insects  and  other  troubles,  and  bear 
heavy  crops  of  fruit  for  several  generations. 


DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS.  411 

Mr.  John  B.  Brooks  presented  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  the  cultiva- 
tion of  small  fruits,  in  the  course  of  x\  hich  be  gives  the  following  direc- 
tions for  the  prevention  of  depredations  by  the  curculio  on  the  plum 
crop : 

In  the  cultivation  of  plums,  of  which  I  have  an  orchard  of  abont  thirty  trees  of  eight 
different  kinds,  I  experienced  disapiwintment  every  year  from  the  ravages  of  the  cur- 
culio, aliLiongb  tlie  trees  were  loaded  with  plums."  I  did  not  get,  a  ripe  plum  until 
three  years  previous  to  last  summer,  but  since  then  I  have  had  an  abundance  every 
year.  The  remedy  is  salt  scattered  under  the  trees  as  far  ;i8  the  limbs  extend.  I  scat- 
ter the  salt  about  the  time  the  bloom  is  fallinjf,  and  the  plums  are  about  the  size  of 
peas;  for  the  curculio  begins  his  work  as  soon  as  he  can  find  a  plum  large  enough  to 
bite.  I  also  throw  salt  up  among  the  branches,  as  a  little  will  lodge  there.  I  think 
one  taste  of  salt  is  enough  for  the  most  ravenous  of  these  pests.  About  half  a  bushel  is 
enough  for  twenty  trees. 

In  the  course  of  his  annual  report,  Prof.  C.  V.  Eiley  states  that  the 
grape  phylloxera  has  made  its  appearance  in  California  and  some  of  the 
Southern  States,  where  it  is  already  doing  considerable  damage.  In" 
the  first-named  State,  in  the  neighbarhood  of  Sonoma,  many  vineyards 
have  been  seriously  affected.  Hundreds  of  vines  have  been  taken  up 
the  roots  of  which  were  found  crowded  with  lice.  In  North  and  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  one  or  two  other  Southern  States,  where  they 
are  known  to  exist,  they  have  not  as  yet  seriously  affected  the  vines. 

NEW  HAIIPSHIRE. 

The  third  annual  report  of  the  State  Board  for  1873  constitutes  a 
volume  of  over  500  pages.  Its  general  excellence  is  prefaced  with  a 
prime  defect,  the  lack  of  a  table  of  contents,  for  which  an  index  is  by 
no  means  a  proper  substitute ;  both  are  needed.  Besides  a  report  of 
transactions  at  the  annual  meeting,  and  at  nearly  thirty  meetings  held 
in  different  sections  of  the  State,  in  order  to  bring  the  influence  of  the 
Board  within  reach  of  all  farmers,  the  volume  contains  essays,  addresses, 
and  discussions  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects  pertaining  to  agricultural 
industries  and  rural  life.  Among  the  topics  are:  food,  physiology,  and 
force  ;  sheep,  wool,  and  mutton  ;  manures  and  fertilizers,  with  the  report 
of  commission  to  test  special  fertilizers;  the  farmer's  position,  and 
bow  to  improve  it;  farm-labor;  agricultural  knowledge;  good  farmers; 
pay  or  no  pay;  the  better  culture;,  swine-breeding;  grass-culture  and 
manures ;  culture  of  fruit ;  of  the  apple ;  of  the  potato ;  and  of  soil 
and  mind.  Condensed  reports  of  co  operating  organizations  are  also 
given,  including  the  New  England  Agricultural  Society,  the  Milk-Pro- 
ducers' Association,  the  State  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Association, 
and  the  State  Poultry  Society.  An  interesting  report  of  the  semi- 
centennial of  the  Merrimack  County  Agricultural  Society  includes  a 
historical  address  by  Joseph  B.  Walker,  and  a  poem  by  George  Kent, 
who  was  one  of  the  founders. 

In  his  annual  review,  the  secretary,  J.  O.  Adams,  states  that  the 
record  of  the  year  has  been  one  of  "  unusual  freedom  from  disease  for 
both  man  and  beast,  a  moderate  loss  of  property  by  storm  and  tempest, 
and  an  average  harvest  of  the  ordinary  products  of  the  soil."  The 
winter  was  one  of  frequent  storms  and  excessive  cold,  snow  falling  to  an 
unprecedented  depth,  and  remaining  on  the  earth  until  many  days  later 
than  in  recent  years.  In  some  portions  of  the  State  there  were  eighteen 
weeks  of  uninterrupted  sleighing.  The  season  was  therefore  much  later 
than  usual,  not  less  than  ten  days  on  an  average  throughout  the  State. 
Notwithstanding  the  severe  weather  and  the  lateness  of  the  season,  how- 
ever, the  crops  were  regarded  as  a  full  average.    The  secretary  thinks  that 


412    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

local  returns  warranted  the  foilowiug  estimates:  Grass,  20  per  cent, 
better  than  in  the  year  1872,  and  10  per  cent,  better  than  an  average  of 
four  or  five  years ;  and  the  hay  made  was  regarded  as  10  per  cent,  bet- 
ter in  quahty  than  ordinary  harvests."  Wheat  was  scarcely  an  average, 
but  the  oat  crop  was  reported  10  per  cent,  better  than  usual.  Corn  was 
an  average;  rye  not  extra.  The  other  crops  in  the  list  of  grains  and 
pulse  were  only  fair ;  while  potatoes,  except  early  varieties,  generally 
advanced  25  per  cent,  in  amount  and  50  per  cent,  in  quality.  All  root 
crops  were  extra.  In  dairy  products,  while  the  quantity  of  butter  and 
cheese  was  less,  the  amount  of  milk  sold  was  much  greater  than  aver- 
age. The  amount  of  beef  and  mutton  fattened  did  not  exceed  the  aver- 
age, and  pork  fell  considerably  short.  Prices  of  farm  products  were 
fair.    The  secretary  closes  his  review  as  follows : 

There  are  certain  old  practices  that  farmers  are  gradually  abandoning,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  seems  to  be  that  of  plowing  and  hoeing  more  than  can  be  well 
manured  or  well  tilled.  Now  Hampshire  fanners  are  growing  more  grass  and  roots 
and  less  corn.  They  can  find  a  greater  profit  in  raising  stock  or  selling  hay  than  in 
growing  wheat,  barley,  oats,  or  Indian  com.  They  are  also  beginning  to  adapt  their 
culture  to  the  demands  of  the  market,  and  are  growing  more  and  better  fruit,  and  pro- 
ducing vegetables  for  the  towns  and  villages  or  to  feed  out  to  stock. 

Farmers  aire  reading  and  thinking  more.  They  find  wisdom  in  books  and  in  farmers' 
clubs  and  agricultural  organizations  more  valuable  than  that  which  they  inherited 
from  their  fathers.  They  manifest  a  greater  desire  to  dress  the  soil,  and  are  more 
economical  of  fertilizing  material,  and  are  learning  to  save  much  that  has  been  accus- 
tomed to  run  to  waste.  This  desire  has  led  them  to  invest  largely  in  suiperphosphates 
and  other  commercial  fertilizers,  and  to  apply  them  with  so  little  care  that  now  they 
declare  they  are  losing  confidence  in  them,  and  reject  many  articles  that  are  of  real 
value. 

The  meetings  held  by  the  Board  in  various  sections  of  the  State  were 
generally  well  attended  by  tTie  farmers  of  the  vicinity,  many  of  whom 
participated  in  the  discussion  of  subjects  presented.  Papers  of  more 
than  ordinary  interest  were  read. 

At  the  meeting  at  Lancaster,  the  subject  of  breeding  and  rearing 
neat-stock  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  Buffum  said  : 

Everybody  concedes  the  hay  crop  to  be  important ;  and  surely,  to  all  thinking  men 
the  stock  which  consumes  the  hay  and  convene  it  into  a  fertilising  material — without 
which  there  can  be  no  considel-able  vegetable  or  grain  product — cannot  be  less  so.  You 
may,  indeed,  have  good  pastures  and  fine  grass-lands,  and  yet  bo  exceedingly  deficient 
in  valuable  stock.  To  illustrate :  By  the  census  returns  it  appears  that  the  cattle  in 
Coos  county  are  rated  at  $28  the  head,  while  in  Cheshire  county  the  valuation  is  $50 
per  head.  The  average  through  the  State  is  about  $35.  Hence,  it  will  be  seen,  you  are 
considerably  below  the  average,  and  do  not  add  your  fair  pioportion  to  the  aggregate 
valuation  of  the  commonwealth.  The  total  valuation  of  stock  within  the  limits  of  the 
State  is  put  at  about  $7,000,000.  Now,  with  proper  care  in  the  selection  of  breeds, 
and  the  best  methods  of  rearing  and  feeding,  the  people  of  this  county  can  add  at  least 
a  million  dollars  to  their  valuation  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years.  You  will  also 
increase  the  amount  of  hay  and  grain  produced  upon  your  farms,  and,  by  your  largely 
increased  mauurial  products,  not  only  keep  up  the  fertility  of  your  fields  to  the  present 
standard,  but  render  them  still  more  x>roductive.  The  more  manure,  and  the  better  its 
quality,  the  greater  the  amount  of  hay,  grain,  corn,  and  other  crops  to  the  acre.  With 
the  right  machine  (and  in  this  regard  cattle  may  weU  be  called  machines)  for  convert- 
ing farm  products  into  nutritious  plant-food,  you  can  make  your  own  manures  far 
cheaper  than  you  can  buy  commercial  fertilizers  of  the  manufacturers,  who  are  not 
always  reliable  men.  Indeed,  every  ton  of  hay  you  raise  will  bring  you  a  higher 
price  if  consumed  upon  the  farm  than  if  sold  for  money  and  laid  out  in  superphosphates 
or  other  manures. 

Continuing,  Mr.  Buftum  zealously  advocated  the  rearing  of  only  pure- 
blood  stock.  His  experience  and  observation  had  both  confirmed  him 
in  the  opinion  that  crossing  of  breeds  for  any  considerable  length  of  time 
will  not  pay.    Such  practice  must  eventually  result  in  loss  of  symmetry, 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  413 

size,  form,  color,  and  quality.    The  system  of  breeding  in  and  in  bo  re- 
garded as  unreMaole. 

Mr.  Lucas,  a  farmer  of  Lancaster,  gave  his  experience  in  farming.  He 
had  raised  this  year  from  his  orchard  $115  worth  of  apples,  and  had 
made  17  barrels  of  cider,  which  sold  at  ^6  per  barrel.  On  2^  acres  of 
land  ho  had  grown  1,000  bushels  of  potatoes.  From  4  bushels  of  sowing, 
on  2  acres,  he  had  gathered  65  bushels  of  wheat. 

In  an  article  on  fruit-culture,  Mr.  A.  Leavens  names  the  following  as 
choice  varieties  suitable  for  the  climate  of  New  Hampshire :  Apples. — 
Uarly :  William's  Favorite,  Foundling,  and  Duchesse  of  Oldenburg. 
Fall  and  winter :  Hubbardston  Nonesuch,  Grimes's  Golden  Pippin, 
Fameuse,  Baldwin,  and  Eed  Canada,  or  Old  Massachusetts  Nonesuch.  • 
Pears. — Clapp's  Favorite,  Bartlett,  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey,  Flemish 
Beauty,  Buflfum,  Beurre  Bose,  Beurre  d'Anjou,  and  Duchesse  d'Angou- 
leme.  Grapes. — Eumelan,  Creveling,  Concord,  lona,  Worden's  Seed- 
ling, and  Allen's  Hybrid. 

The  writer  says  that  according  to  the  census  report  of  1870  the  fruit 
crop  of  this  State,  estimated  at  $743,500,  exceeds  in  value  each  of  the 
other  crops,  except  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes.    He  says : 

This  estimate  is  only  for  apples  and  peara,  and  did  not  include  other  sorts  of  fruitB, 
which  no  doubt  wonld  have  increased  the  amount  to  near  a  million  of  dollars.  *  *  • 
A  good  orchard  is  a  permanent  improvement  to  a  farm,  adding  just  so  much  to  its  real 
value,  and,  if  well  cared  for,  will  always  yield  an  annual  income.  Let  us  go  back  to  the 
nursery.  Suppose  1,000  apple-trees,  and  say  500  pear,  are  started  in  the  nursery  rows. 
In  5  years,  if  cared  for  properly,  the  apple-treea  would  be  worth  at  least  $300,  and  the 
pear-trees  as  much  more  ;  in  10  years  these  trees  would  be  worth  at  least  $3,000  ;  in  15 
years  at  least  $5,000.  The  cost  of  raising  that  number  of  trees,  reckoning  the  highest 
price  paid  for  lalior,  ought  not  to  exceed  ; 


As  to  the  best  location  for  apple-orehards  in  New  H*ampshire,  Mr. 
Leavens  says : 

In  this  latitude  it  is  generally  conceded  that  an  orchard  will  do  the  best  on  a  south- 
eastern exposure.  If  practicable,  it  should  be  placed  under  the  shelter  of  a  belt  ot 
wood,  to  protect  it  from  the  strong  northwest  winds.  The  apple  can  be  grown  in  any 
soil,  except, dry  sand  or  land  excessively  wet.  It  will  fruit  best  in  a  deep,  rich,  sandy 
loam,  but  can  be  grown  successfully  on  cheap  hill-side  lands  or  in  rocky  pastures — land 
which  may  be  nearly  useless  for  other  purposes.  This  is  a  point  worthy  of  special 
attention,  for  with  proper  care  such  land  can  be  made  profitable  and  the  best  parts  of 
a  farm  saved  for  other  crops  if  desired.  Any  soil  that  wiH  retain  sufficient  moisture 
to  maintain  continued  growth  through  the  heat  of  summer  will  answer  for  the  apple. 
A  great  deal  is  being  said  and  written  on  the  importance  of  subsoiling  and  under- 
draining  fruit-lands,  both  of  them  very  useful  practices,  no  doubt ;  but  the  fact  i.s, 
not  one  fruit-grower  in  a  thousand  will  undertake  it.  If  they  attempt  fruit-culture  at 
all,  they  will  use  such  lands  as  they  have  prepared  as  best  they  can  without  an  extraor- 
dinary expeuse.  Now,  eloping  land  usually  has  sufficient  natural  drainage  for  the 
Bite  of  an  orchard,  and  in  most  instances  such  land  will  produce  less  wood  and  more 
fruit  than  deeper  and  richer  soil.  A  clay  soil  can  bo  greatly  improved  by  subsoil  plow- 
ing, and  it  should  be  done  at  least  a  year  before  planting  the  trees,  if  possible.  For 
the  pear  it  is  usually  conceded  that  the  soil  cannot  well  be  too  rich  or  too  mellow,  or 
too  well  prepared,  for  the.  best  success.  StiU,  for  want  of  a  better,  the  pear  and  the 
apple  both  can  be  raised  on  poorish  sandy  lands,  but  with  an  added  amount  of  labqr 
in  mulcliing  around  the  trees,  top-dressing  the  land,  and  thorough  cultivation.  With 
so  much  thin  soil  aa  wo  have  in  this  State,  we  must  often  make  the  best  use  of  what 
we  have. 

In  an  article  on  sheep,  wool,  and  mutton,  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Lang,  alsike 
clover  is  highly  recommendpd  as  a  pasture  or  forage  plant :  First,  be- 
cause it  is  not  laable  to  be  winter-killed ;  second,  it  stands  severe 
droughts  well ;  third,  it  makes  a  superior  hay  ;  fourth,  it  will  grow  on 
both  dry  and  wet  land ;  fifth,  the  stalks  and  leaves  keep  green  when 
seeds  are  ripe ;  sixth,  it  is  richer  in  the  constituents  of  honey,  conse- 
quently makes  better  bee-pasturage  than  common  clover. 


414         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMIbSIOHTIsB   OF   A.iiALOXJl.TUKE. 

Mr.  Noah  W.  Hardy,  in  a  paper  on  potato-cniture,  ctfttees  that  he  has 
beeu  iu  the  habit  of  experiuieuting  with  many  different  varieties,  with 
the  s^ewof  diacovering  those  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate  ol'  New 
Hampshire,  Liist  year  he  planted  27  different  varieties.  Ho  thinks 
that  tbe  earlier  the  variety  the  quicker  the  potato  loses  its  good  eat- 
ing qualities,  or,  in  other  words,  the  longer  it  is  maturing  the  longer  it 
will  remain  good  for  the  table.  The  late  varieties  are  not  so  liable  as 
the  early  ones  to  be  cut  off  by  drought.  Varieties  will  not  mix  when 
planted  together.  He  gives  the  following  with  respect  to  the  connec- 
tion between  seed  and  product : 

Fertile  past  twenty  years  my  practice  has  been  to  plant  the  largest  of  the  small  ones 
►  cutting  two  eyes  on  a  piece  and  putting  three  pieces  in  a  hill ;  and,  as  every  eye  will 
not  corae,  I  intend  to  have  three  or  four  staLke  to  a  hill.  If  you  get  twelve  or  fifteen 
stalks  to  a  hill,  you  will  surely  have  small  potatoes,  for  there  ia  just  as  mucli  impro- 
priety iu  o^ersecding  potatoes  as  corn.  If  seeded  light,  the  vines  will  grow  strong  and 
erect,  admit  the  sun  and  air  to  the  ground,  thus  tending  to  prevent  disease  and  blight. 
When  overseeded,  the  vines  grow  slender,  are  liabLe  to  break  down,  retain  the  moist- 
ure of  the  ground,  mildew,  and  prematurely  decay.  I  believe  the  only  advantage  de- 
rived from  planting  large  potatoes  is  the  extra  amount  of  starch  secreted,  and  that,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  more  than  made  up  by  the  gain,  in  seed  and  the  slight  cost  of  the 
small  ones.  In  other  words,  if  you  plant  a  potato  the  size  of  a  marble,  that  produces 
but  one  sprout ;  and  cut  a  piece  of  the  same  size  from  one  weighing  two  pounds,  what 
advantage  has  one  over  the  other?  None.  As  an  experiment  I  ouce  planted  in  my 
garden  a  potato  the  size  of  a  pea.  It  produced  one  sprout,  with  a  vine  three-fourth, 
of  an  iuch  through,  and  several  potatoes,  one  weighing  a  pound. 

Mr.  Hardy  reports  that  he  has  been  successful  in  planting  potatoes 
with  a  plow,  and  describes  the  process  as  follows : 

First,  spread  your  manui-e  broadcast  on  the  grass  or  sward  land ;  a  piece  a  little 
sloping  is  preferable.  Begin  by  turning  a  straight  furi'ow  up  the  hill  on  the  lower  side 
of  the  field ;  let  the  team  pass  back  without  plowing,  and  turn  another  furrow  40 
inches  from  and  parallel  with  the  first.  If  the  plow  turns  a  10-inch  slice — the  most 
convenient  size  for  the  purpose — there  will  be  left  a  strip  of  grass  20  inches  wide  be- 
tween the  two  furrows.  On  this  plat  of  grass,  along  the  edges  of  the  overturned  sod, 
the  potatoes  should  now  be  dropped,  one  or  more  sets  in  a  place.  Let  the  team  -pasa 
back  now,  one  of  the  team  in  the  first  furrow,  the  other  one  on  the  strip  of  grass  between 
the  furrows,  and  turn  the  upper  half  of  this  strip  of  grnss  upon  the  other  part,  leaving 
two  furrows  lying  close  together,  inverted,  covering  an  equal  space  of  unplowed  sod. 
The  plow  would  naturally  turn  back  the  first  furrow,  but  you  must  bear  hard  on  the 
handles,  and  allow  long  traces  or  chains.  Care  should  also  be  taken  to  plow  a  good 
deep  furrow  on  the  upper  side,  that  enough  soil  is  raised  to  cover  the  jjotitoes,  and  if 
the  lower  furrow-slice  should  break  or  fall  back,  it  must  be  replaced  by  hand  before 
the  upper  furrow  is  turned.  Forty  inches  from  the  second  the  third  furrow  is  turned, 
and  the  second  row  of  potatoes  dropped  and  covered  like  the  first,  and  so  on  till  the 
piece  is  finished.  Then  take  a  broad  hoe,  level  the  top  of  the  ridges,  filling  the  crevices, 
and  leaving  the  rows  smooth,  like  a  bed.  If  necessary,  some  earth  can  be  drawn  from 
the  fiirrow-bottoms.  Thus  the  seed-potatoes  are  lying  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the 
ground,  as  they  should,  planted  the  usual  way.  A  light  sw^ard  is  preferable  to  a  heavy 
one,  as  the  latter  would  be  liable  to  lie  too  heavy  on  th«  potatoes.  The  advantages 
derived  from  planting  in  this  way  are,  first,  a  great  saving  of  labor,  as  they  need  no 
hoeing;  second,  you  can  plant  either  late  or  early  in  the  season,  for  the  grass  is  readily 
killed,  the  inverted  sod  retaining  the  moisture  in  a  dry  time;  third,  yon  ctu  haul  the 
manure  on  at  your  leisure,  using  the  long  manure,  or  the  highly  fermented,  like  horse 
or  sheep,  as  it  will  not  lie  iu  bodies  sufficiently  large  to  heat;  fourth,  all  the  vegetable 
matter  is  turned  iu  and  decays,  becoming  accessible  to  the  roots  ;  fifth,  you  get  a  better 
quality  of  potatoes,  as  they  grow  smooth  and  handsome  between  the  gratis,  cracking 
the  sod,  leaving  it  quite  open  and  porous ;  sixth,  your  ground  is  thus  well  prepared 
for  future  use  with  as  little  labor  as  vrould  have  been  required  in  breaking  it  up. 

OHIO. 

The  twenty-eighth  annual  report  of  the  State  Board,  for  1873,  consti- 
tutes a  volume  of  over  600  pages.  Its  table  of  contents,  if  it  had  one, 
(and  it  ought  to  have,)  would,  at  first  glance,  by  its  attractive  variety, 
encourage  the  agrfcultural  reader  to  go  forward,  and  guide  him  to  points 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   SKPOaTS.  416 

of  special  interest.  Such  a  table  would  refer  him  to  reports  of  the 
transactions  of  the  board,  of  the  State  agricaltural  convention,  of  the 
State  fair,  ol  the  commissioners  of  fisheries,  of  the  Ohio  and  the  West- 
ern Reserve  Dairymen's  Associations,  of  cheese-factories,  of  agricultural 
experiments  by  the  Georgia  State  Agricultural  College,  and  condensed 
reports  from  the  county  agricultural  societies.  It  would  also  refer  to  a 
history  of  the  settlement,  resources,  and  products  of  Holmes  county  5 
the  organization  audachievements.of  Ross  County  Horticultural  Society  5 
addresses  by  Professor  Johnson,  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  on 
"The  guiding  idea  in  the  use  of  fertilizers,"  and  by  J.  R.  Dodge,  on 
"European  breeds  of  sheep;"  statistics  of  acreage  and  production  in 
Ohio  agriculture ;  and  essays  on  parasitic  diseases  of  sheep ;  the  wild 
cattle  of  Scotland  ;  milk  and  its  typical  relations ;  rise  and  progress  of 
Devons;  market-gardening;  importance  of  humus,  (with  analyses  of 
the  Nile  deposits;)  function  of  potash  in  vegetation;  the  farmer  as  a 
citizen;  milk-sickness;  capouiziug;  Kentucky  blue-grass;  cranberry- 
culture;  preservation  of  forests;  points  in  judging  of  live  stock;  plans 
and  specifications  for  a  farm-house;  and  a  new  seedling  grape. 

This  report  for  1873  includes  the  transactions  of  the  twenty-ninth  an- 
nual agricultural  convention,  held  in  Columbus,  January  7,  1874.  Rep- 
resentatives were  in  attendance  from  seventy-two  counties.  The  dis- 
cussions were  of  more  interest  than  usual.  In  his  opening  address  the 
president  of  the  board,  L.  G.  Delano,  alluded  to  the  financial  crisis  then 
passing  over  the  country,  and  congratulated  the  farmers  of  the  State  on 
being  well  prepared  to  go  through  it,  and  their  good  prospect  for  pay- 
ing prices. 

Reports  from  county  societies,  farmers'  clubs,  patrons  of  husbandry, 
live-stock  conventions,  &c.,  showed  that  marked  and  renewed  interest 
was  being  taken  in  agriculture.  The  reports  from  county  societies  rep- 
resent them  in  a  healthy  and,  in  most  cases,  flourishing  condition  ;  the 
fairs  of  this  year  being  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  previous  years  in 
point  of  attendance,  stock,  articles,  &c.  County  and  State  fairs  seem 
to  be  fully  appreciated  by  the  people,  not  only  as  a  place  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  their  products  and  handiwork,  but  as  places  for  recreation. 

The  State  fair  at  Mansfield,  in  September,  1873,  was  satisfactory  in 
every  respect.  The  arrangements  were  unexceptionable,  the  weather 
fine,  and  the  attendance  over  an  average  for  a  second  fair  in  the  same 
place.  The  exhibition  of  horses  was  very  large,  but  somewhat  deficient 
in  quality.  With  sheep  it  was  just  the  reverse.  Cattle,  hogs,  and  poul- 
try were  largely  represented,  and  by  specimens  which  showed  a  great 
advance  in  qualities.  The  departments  of  fruit  and  of  the  fine  arts  were 
well  represented,  and  the  fair  as  a  whole  was  a  gratifying  success. 

The  report  contains  a  valuable  paper  by  Dr.  E.  L.  Sturtevant,  on 
"  Milk ;  its  typical  relations,"  &(i.    He  says : 

The  cow,  in  a  state  of  nature,  is  incapable  of  yielding  much  more  milk  than  is 
required  by  her  calf,  and  the  surplus  furnished  over  this  amount  is  iucrtased  with 
domestication,  and  the  skill  and  art  of  the  breeder  who  seeks  to  secure  the  fulfillment 
of  uses. 

In  our  domesticated  breeds  we  have  a  variety  of  types,  in  accordance  with  the  views 
of  the  owners  of  many  generations  and  the  requirements  of  locality.  Tjje  gray  Swiss 
cow,  useful  for  draught  and  accustomed  to  feed  on  Alpine  pastures,  dih'ers  widely  in 
form  from  the  short-horn,  a  breed  nurtured  with  the  most  artificial  care,  and  supplying 
in  perfection  an  artificial  demand  ;  and  these  in  turn  fi-om  the  Ayrshire  cow,  the  sym- 
bolizatiou  of  the  dairy  type.  Each  separate  breed  has  not  only  its  own  type,  but  also 
includes  individuals  who  depart  moi'e  or  leas  from  the  typical  form.  Under  one  aspect 
this  type  may  be  considered  as  the  average  of  all  the  superior  cows  of  the  breed. 
This,  in  the  ehort-horu,  is  the  brick-set-on-edge  form,  tail  and  legs  added  more  fi-om 
D,ece8sity  than  desire  of  the  breeder,  and  with  certain  other  requirements  suited  to  the 


416         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

fancy  or  supposed  needs.  The  type  of  the  dairy-cow  ia  the  vredgo-shape,  that  results 
from  the  superior  development  of  those  parts  concerned  in  the  production  of  milk. 
These  two  forms  may  he  considered  the  most  perfect  representation  of  animals  fitted 
for  the  tT^'o  requirements  of  civilization :  cheap  and  therefore  abundant  meat,  and 
cheap  and  therefore  abundant  milk. 

In  deflcribing  a  breed,  therefore,  Tre  must  describe  the  typical  animal,  and  not  the 
exceptional  cow  which  departs  fsom  these  shapes.  The  typical  cow,  again,  is  an  em- 
bodiment of  the  forms  considered  the  most  profitable  by  the  owner  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
is  an  expression  of  the  average  opinion  of  the  best  breeders  of  the  form  which  is  co- 
related  with  their  uses.  The  corollary  to  this  proposition  is,  that  the  more  simple  are 
the  requirement  of  uses,  the  better  defined  is  the  type  of  the  breed  in  its  shapes.  For 
illustrations  we  may  bring  forward  the  well-known  breeds.  The  short-horn,  maaaive 
and  square-built,  is  designed  by  bis  breeder  for  beef,  and  we  have  accordingly  the  form 
most  economical  for  thJs  purpose. 

When  a  family  of  this  breed  has  been  bred  for  generations  for  the  dairy^  we  have  a 
departure  from  this  massiveness  of  form  and  an  approach  toward  the  type  of  the  dairy 
breed.  In  the  Ayrshire  cow  we  have  the  form  most  economical  for  the  production  of 
milk,  and  this  form  is  one  of  great  uniformity,  except  in  localities  where,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  ideas  of  beauty  adapted  for  short-horn  breeders,  the  fancy  has  allowed  a 
deviation  from  type. 

Of  milk,  the  writer  says,  the  approximate  elements  are  butter,  cheese, 
sugar  of.  milk,  salts,  and  water.  The  water,  on  an  average,  is  about  87 
per  cent. ;  the  caseine  or  cheese,  in  its  natural  condition  in  the  milk,  is 
recognized  as  being  insoluble  by  the  addition  of  acid  or  rennet.  The 
butter,  the  proportion  of  which  is  very  variable,  occurs  in  the  milk  in 
the  form  of  small  globules  inclosed  by  an  enveloping  membrane,  and 
these  globules  are  what  give  color  to  the  milk,  and  affect  in  a  large  de- 
gree its  weight.  As  the  result  of  a  large  number  of  experiments  with 
mifii  from  different  breeds,  Mr.  Sturtevant  presents  the  following  con- 
clusions: 

First.  The  butter-globules  of  the  inUk  show  a  certain  and  definite  relation  between 
the  quality  of  the  milk  and  the  breed. 

Second  The  breed  determines,  to  a  lajge  extent,  the  composition  of  the  butter. 

Third.  The  breed  determined,  to  a  large  extent,  the  most  economical  and  advantage- 
ous manufacture  of  cheese. 

In  the  Ayrshire  and  Jersey  breeds  he  considered  his  experiments  fairly 
complete ;  in  the  Dutch  or  Holstein  breed,  more  limited.  As  to  the 
characteristics  of  tlie  milk  of  these  different  breeds,  as  indicated  by  his 
experiments,  Mr.  Sturtevant  says  : 

The  milk-globule  of  the  Jersey  breed  is  larger  than  is  the  corresponding  globule  of 
the  other  breeds  mentioned,  and  there  are  fewer  globules  under  n  certain  size,  one 
twenty-seven  thousandth  of  an  inch,  and  such,  for  convenience,  I  shall  call  granules. 

The  milk-globule  of  the  Ayrshire  breed  is  smaller  than  that  of  the  Jersey,  and  in- 
termediate in  size  between  those  of  the  Jersey  and  Holstein,  and  the  milk  from  individ- 
ual cows  of  the  Ayrshire  breed  can  be  grouped  into  two  classes  or  grades,  according  to 
the  size  and  distribution  of  the  globules.    This  milk  abounds  in  granules". 

The  milk-globule  of  the  Holstein  is  the  smallest  of  the  throe.  The  globules  are  more 
uniform  in  their  size  than  in  the  Ayrshire  milk,  and  there  are  fewer  granules. 

The  globules  determine  some  of  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  milk.  If  samples 
of  the  Jersey,  Ayrshire,  and  Dutch  milk  are  placed  in  a  percentage-glass,  under  like  con- 
ditions, it  will  be  noticed  that  the  cream  will  rise  in  each  sam])le  with  a  diflerent  rapid- 
ity ;  the  larger  globules,  on  account  of  their  less  specific  gravity,  reaching  the  surface 
first.  As  a  matter  of  experiment,  some  Jersey  milk  threw  up  its  cream  in  four  hours, 
leaving  a  blue  skim-milk  ;  some  Ayrshire  samples,  in  about  ton  hours,  leaving  a  white 
Bkim-milk  scarcely  recognizable  as  such ;  some  Dutch  milk,  in  about  five  hours,  leaving 
a  blue  skim-milk. 

The  larger  milk-globules  and  few  grannies  being  m  part  the  explanation  of  the  first, 
the  evenness  of  size  of  milk-globule  and  few  granules  the  interpretation  of  the  reaction 
of  the  third,  and  the  numerous  granules  and  uuevenness  of  size  o-f  globule  off'ering  a 
solution  for  the  appearance  and  action  of  the  second  sample.  *  »  «  The  milk  of 
these  breeds  acts  dilJerently  in  the  churn.  The  larger  the  globule,  the  quicker  is  the 
butter  produced  from  the  milk ;  and  the  more  uniform  the  size  of  the  globule,  the 
larger  the  yield  of  butter  from  a  given  quantity  of  cream  of  equal  richness  by  analysis. 
The  globules  of  similar  size  appear  to  be  evenly  affected 'by  the  procesa  of  churning, 


DIGEST  OP  STATE   REPORTS.  417 

and  bre^k  at  aboat  the  same  time.  This  was  well  illustrated  by  an  experiment  made  of 
churnin  »  a  portion  of  milk  from  two  cows  separately,  and  weighing  the  produce.  The 
amount  of  butter  was  largely  in  excess  of  that  gained  by  churning  the  same  quantity 
of  the  same  milk  mixed,  and  the  microscope  revealed  the  cause. 

A  curious  feature  brought  out  by  these  experiments  is,  that  the  mixed 
milk  from  two  breeds  will  not  produce  as  much  butter  as  will  the  same 
milk  churned  separately.  The  explanation  is  in  the  variation  in  the  sizes 
of  the  globules.  When  a  large-globuled  milk  and  a  small-globuled  milk 
are  churned  together,  the  larger  globules  separate  first  into  butter,  and  the 
breaking  of  the  smaller  globules  appears  to  be  retarded.  When,  there- 
fore, a  Jersey  cow  is  kept  in  an  Ayrshire  or  Dutch  herd  for  the  purpose 
of  infl.uencing  the  color  of  the  butter,  the  large  globules  of  the  Jersey 
milk  are  broken  first  in  the  churn ;  and  while  the  smaller  globules  are 
being  broken,  the  butter  which  first  came  is  being  overchurned,  and 
theoretically,  at  least,  the  quality  of  the  result  is  impaired,  if  not  the 
quantity  lessened.  When  a  few  Ayrshire  or  Dutch  cows  are  kept  in  a 
herd  of  Jerseys,  and  the  milk  churned  together,  both  theoretically  and 
practically  a  large  portion  of  the  butter  of  the  small-globuled  milk  is 
left  in  the  buttermilk  in  the  state  of  globules. 

Dr.  Sturtevant  arranges  the  breeds  in  the  order  of  the  average  size  of 
the  milk-globules,  as  follows : 

Jersey,  Ayrshire,  (butter  family,)  Ayrshire,  (cheese  family,)  Holstein,  or  Dutch.  Like- 
wise we  can  arrange  the  breeds  in  accordance  with  certain  properties  of  the  milk :  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  cream  rises — Jen^ey,  Ayrshire,  Dutch ;  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  cream  churns — Jersey,  Ayrshire,  Dutch ;  the  completeness  with  which  the  cream 
rises — Jersey,  Dutch,  Ayrshire ;  the  value  of  the  milk  for  cheese — Ayrshire,  Dutch, 
Jersey ;  quaJities  desirable  lor  the  milk -retailer — Ayrshire,  Dutch,  Jersey. 

Dr.  N.  S.  Townshend,  professor  of  veterinary  science  in  the  Ohio  Agri- 
cultural College,  contributes  a  brief  paper  on  "  Parasitic  diseases  of 
sheep."  The  writer  says  that,  in  Ohio,  sheep  are  subject  to  an  affection 
known  as  white-skin,  paper-skin,  pelt-rot,  &c.  In  the  British  Isles  the 
same  disease  is  called  hoose,  or  husk,  and  in  Germany,  Lungenwurm- 
seuche,  or  Lungenwurmhusten.  In  its  early  stages  the  disease  is  char- 
acterized by  fits  of  coughing  and  sneezing,  with  discharge  of  mucus 
from  the  nostrils.  The  affected  sheep  stretches  the  neck,  gapes,  rubs 
the  nose  upon  the  grass,  and  gives  other  evidences  of  difficult  breathing 
or  of  irritation  of  the  air-passages.  After  a  time  the  animal  loses  flesh 
and  strength,  the  eyes  and  mucus  membranes  are  unusually  pale,  a 
diarrhea  comes  on,  and  rapidly  hastens  the  general  emaciation.  The 
wool  becomes  loose,  is  easily  pulled  olf,  or  comes  off  in  patches  sponta- 
neously, leaving  the  skin  peculiarly  pale  and  bloodless,  and  hence  the 
name  white-skin,  paper-skin,  &c.  Finally,  the  sheep  dies  from  exhaustion, 
except  in  a  few  cases,  when,  in  earlier  stages,  it  dies  from  suffocation. 

Dr.  Townshend  states  that  this  disease  is  caused  by  white  thread- 
worms. In  examinations  he  found  the  bronchial  tubes  full  of  these 
worms.  Sometimes  they  were  extended  at  length,  but  more  frequently 
they  were  found  rolled  up  in  bunches.  When  fully  mature,  in  the  spring 
of  the  year,  they  are  from  two  to  four  inches  in  length ;  the  males 
scarcely  exceed  two  inches,  and  are  of  a  light  yellow  color;  the  females 
are  considerably  larger,  and  more  nearly  white.  This  parasite  is  known 
to  zoologists  as  Strongylus  broncJdalis,  Strongyhis  filaria,  Filaria  hroncM- 
alis,  &c.  It  belongs  to  the  class  of  nematoid  or  thread-like  worms.  He 
advises  the  following  treatment : 

The  proper  treatment  for  sheep  suffering  from  this  affection  should  have  regard  to  two 
points :  first,  to  support  the  strength  of  the  sheep  ;  and,  second,  to  expel  the  parasites. 
To  sustain  the  strength  and  vitality  of  the  affected  sheep  is  very  important,  and  for 
this  purpose  the  most  generous  feed  is  better  than  medicine.    To  expel  the  worms, 

27  A 


418        REPORT  OP  THB  OOMMTflSIONER  OF  AamCULTURE. 

famigation  in  a  close  room  has  been  employed ;  the  sheep  Vd  compelled  for  several  min- 
utes to  inhale  the  fames  of  tar,  burning  sulphur,  tobacco,  or  chlorine  gas.  This,  method 
is  said  to  secure  the  expulsion  of  the  worms  in  large  qnantities.  A  more  convenient 
and  equally  effective  treatment  consists  in  the  frequent  administration  of  snjall  doses 
of  oil  of  turpentine.  This  article,  given  in  large  do8eF>,  passes  oflf  by  the  bowels  or  the 
kidneys,  and  is  not  as  effectual  to  remove  lung-worrjs  as  when  administerr/tl  in  small 
and  repeated  dosen  that  will  be  eliminated  by  the  r^/spiratory  apparatus,  and  so  come 
directly  in  contact  with  the  worms.  Oil,  or  spiiits  of  tur^jentiue,  as  the  arricle  is 
usually  called,  is  probably  the  best  anthelmintic  known,  but  it  should  be  used  with  cir- 
cumspection. If  administered  by  force,  and  in  the  pure  state,  a  few  dropw  passing  into 
the  wmdpipe  may  occasion  serious  trouble ;  it  is  therefore  better  that  it  shoald  be  diluted 
either  with  whisky,  which  converts  it  into  an  essence,  or  with  linseed-oil,  which  partly 
conceals  its  extreme  pungency  and  renders  it  leos  iiritating  to  the  throat.  To  remove 
lung- worms  from  sheep,  the  dose  of  tarpentine  should  never  exceed  a  teaspoonful,  and 
less  wiU  answer  equally  well  if  given  daily  for  a  week  or  more.  A  convenient  form  for 
the  administration  of  turpentine  to  lambs  is  to  mix  an  ounce  of  the  oil  with  half  a 
pint  of  whisky,  shake  them  together  thoroughly,  and  give  a  tablespoonful  once  a  day 
so  long  as  necessary. 

Mr.  George  W.  Campbell  gives  a  brief  history  of  a  new  Concord  seed- 
ling-grape known  in  Ohio,  where  it  originated,  as  the  '<  Lady  "  grape.  He 
says: 

This  valuable  new  grapo  was  first  brought  to  notice  by  W.  S.  Imlay,  of  Musldngum 
county,  who  has  now  fruited  it  for  six  or  more  years.  Its  character  may  therefore  be 
considered  well  established,  and  it  will  mark  a  new  era  in  grape-culture  as  the  first 
introduction  of  a  very  early  grape  of  really  excellent  quality.  It  is  a  true  Concord 
seedling,  and  seems  to  have  all  the  hardiness,  health,  vigor,  and  productiveness  of  the 
Concord  with  greatly  improved  quality,  and  a  period  of  ripening  at  least  two  weeks 
earlier.  I  have  fruited  it  for  three  years  at  Delaware  and  have  found  it  to  ripen  inva- 
riably in  advance  of  the  Hartford  Prolific.  The  present  season  it  was  in  good  eating 
condition  August  15,  before  the  Hartford  was  colored.  Its  extreme  earlineea,  combined 
with  its  perfect  health  and  hardiness,  will  also  render  it  specially  adapted  to  northern 
localities  where  the  season  is  too  short  for  the  Concord. 

The  "  Lady  "  is  a  white  grape,  handsome  and  attractive  in  appearance,  witl>  large, 
round  berries  and  medium  large  bunchea.  When  fully  ripe,  of  a  light,  greenish-yellow 
color,  covered  with  white  bloom  ;  skin  thin ;  seeds  few  and  very  small ;  pul^)  tender  and 
wholly  without  coarseness  or  impurity  of  flavor,  and  of  uniform  character  from  the 
outside  to  the  center;  in  quality  much  more  delicate  and  refined  than  Concord;  pecu- 
liarly sweet  and  rich,  with  just  enough  of  sprightly  vinous  acid  to  prevent  cloying  the 
appetite. 

The  tentli  annual  convention  of  the  Ohio  Dairymen's  Association  was 
largely  attended  by/epresentatives  of  dairy  intesests  in  Ohio  and  neigh- 
boring States.  Among  the  various  subjects  of  interest  discussed,  the 
first  was  the  adulteration  of  milk.  Mr.  Anson  Bartlett  regarded  the 
graduated  cup  and  cream-gauge  as  the  surest  means  of  detecting 
skimmed  milk,  and  the  lactometer  as  less  reliable.  By  skimming  all 
the  cream  from  dilferent  samples  of  milk,  the  remainders  ought  to  be 
substantially  alike,  and  it  was  then  easy  to  detect  adulteration  by  water 
or  otherwise.  Mr.  Weltoa  thought  the  cream-gauge  was  as  good  a  test 
as  had  yet  been  discovered.  Mr.  Pope  believed  the  test  of  the  lactom- 
eter generally  accurate,  and  said  there  had  been  an  effort  to  have  it 
established  as  the  legal  test.  Mr.  Wire  said  he  regarded  the  evidence 
of  the  lactometer  in  cases  of  adulteration  as  fully  conclusive.  The  fol- 
lowing resolutions  were  adopted  as  the  sense  of  the  convention : 

1.  That  this  convention  recommend  each  cheese-factory,  before  opening  in  the  spring, 
to  notify  all  patrons,  in  writing  or  by  printed  circular,  just  what  its  rules  will  be  as  to 
skimming,  and  that  the  person  in  charge  of  each  factory  should,  during  the  entire 
season,  make  regular  and  careful  use  of  the  lactometer,  microscope,  pei-ceut.  tube,  and 
cream-gauge  for  the  detection  of  skimmed  and  adulterated  milk. 

2.  That  this  convention  regards  the  testimony  of  these  instruments,  when  carefully 
and  repeatedly  used,  as  trustworthy  and  conclusive,  and  that  it  recommends  the  most 
rigorous  enforcement  of  the  penalties  of  the  law  against  every  patron  of  a,  cheese-fac- 
tory detected  in  watering  or  fraudulently  skimming  his  milk. 


DIGEST   OP   STATE   REPORTS.  419 

Daring  a  discussion  as  to  the  best  manner  of  saving,  curing,  and  using 
rennet,  Mr.  Wire  said : 

CalTCB  fhould  be  "deaconed  "  in  the  morning  without  having  been  recently  fed,  and 
they  should  be  so  muzzled  a8  to  prevent  their  reaching  the  ground  so  as  to  get  dirt  into 
their  stomachs.  The  rennets  should  be  cured  -with  fine  salt  and  kfpt  in  paper  sacks. 
When  preparing  for  use  they  should  be  soaked  for  24  hours  before  u^njj,  being  fre- 
quently squeezed  with  the  hand  and  handled  from  one  crock  to  another.  They  should 
be  soaked  in  the  cleanest  whey  with  so  much  salt  that  it  will  not  quite  all  dissolve. 
Keep  Ihem  in  earthen  vessels,  with  a  weight  to  keep  them  under  the  liquor. 

In  discussing  the  best  manner  of  saving,  curing,  and  using  rennet> 
Mr.  Wire  said  lie  would  not  kill  a  calf  for  the  rennet  under  six  days  old? 
and  if  it  was  three  weeks  old  it  would  be  better,  if  it  had  not  been  upon 
the  ground.  Being  asked  why  whey  was  better  than  water  for  soaking 
rennets,  he  said  he  could  not  give  the  scientific  reason,  but  experience 
had  shown  him  that  it  was  decidedly  better.  Messrs.  H.  N.  Carter  and 
A.  Bartlett  both  indorsed  Mr.  Wire's  statement  that  in  preparing  rennets 
for  use  they  should  be  soaked  in  whey  24  hours. 

The  Western  Reserve  Dairymen's  Association  held  its  annual  meeting 
at  Garrettsville,  in  February,  1874.  Mr.  Cornelius  Baldwin  opened  a 
discussion  on  the  selection  of  the  best  cows  for  the  dairy.    He  said : 

There  are  but  three  breeds  of  milkers  in  America — the  Dutch  or  Holsteiu,  Alderneys, 
and  Ayrshirea.  There  are  but  few  of  the  former  found.  As  the  Alderneys  are  espe- 
cially known  for  their  butter-producing  qualities,  the  question  narrows  down  to  the 
Ayrshires.  On  the  average  you  can  scarcely  meet  with  a  poor  Ayrnhire  cow.  You  may 
select  good  cows  from  any  l)r«ed,  but  such  uniformity  cannot  be  found  in  any  other 
breed  as  the  Ayrsh  re  develops  in  her  milking  qualities.  As  dairymen  we  must  only 
consider  milking  qualities  and  let  other  considerations  go.  Every  dairy  has  good 
cows,  good  feeders,  well  built,  and  good  milkers.  If  your  bull  is  selected  from  such 
stock,  you  can  soon  produce  a  breed  of  good  milkers  ;  but  from  a  failure  to  comply  strictly 
with  the  latter  requirement,  the  stock  is  not  improved. 

Mr.  Baldwin  then  proceeded  to  illustrate  his  subject  by  large  drawings 
of  cows,  showing  the  points  and  marks  relating  to  the  good  qualities  for 
milk-stock.  He  reckoned  sixty-five  points  or  marks  thai  indicate  a  good 
cow ;  some  are  of  minor  importance,  while  others  are  infallible  guides  to 
be  observed  in  the  selection  of  good  milkers.  The  principal  features  of 
a  good  cow  are  a  small  bony  head,  slender  horn,  a  symmetrical  neck,  not 
large  shoulders,  straight  back,  heavy  hips,  not  too  straight  hind  leg,  thin 
thighs,  large  milk-veins,  and  very  crooked,  large  veins  on  udder;  udder 
large  and  yielding,  with  homogeneous  texture,  covered  with  fine  hair, 
and  shrinking  much  when  milked ;  a  greasy  dandruff  in  the  hair  is  also 
a  good  sign.     In  reply  to  a  question,  he  said: 

How  to  select  dairies  that  will  produce  forty  pounds  of  milk  per  day  to  each  cow  is 
what  dairymen  want  answered.  More  money  is  paid  for  poor  cows  than  is  paid  for 
good  ones.  Milking  qualities  are  inherited.  A  bull  from  a  line  of  milkers  and  a  cow 
that  is  a  good  milker  will  almost  always  have  an  oftspriug  that  will  be  a  better  milker 
than  its  dam.  n»fact,  any  farmer  can  produce  a  breed  of  thoroughbreds  that  will  en- 
tire'y  answer  aU  purposes  of  higher-priced  and  more  celebrated  breeds. 

Report  for  1874. — This  is  a  volume  of  over  600  pages.  As  the  preced- 
ing volume  reports  the  transactions  of  the  agricultural  convention  held 
in  January,  1874,  so  this  of  that  held  in  January,  1875.  Besides  the 
transactions  of  the  board,  it  also  contains  reports  of  the  county  and  dis- 
trict societies,  and  a  full  account  of  the  exposition  and  reports  of  com- 
mittees at  the  State  fair,  including  a  list  of  the  premiums  awarded. 

At  the  thirtieth  annual  agricultural  convention  sixty-nine  counties  • 
were  represented.     In  his  opening  address  the  president,  L.  G.  Delano, 
gave  a  brief  history  of  the  organization  of  the  State  board,  and  of  the 
State  convention  under  it.    He  said  : 

The  first  meeting  of  this  board  was  held  in  Columbus  April  1,  1846.  At  that  meet- 
ing the  board  elected  Allen  Trimble,  president,  Samuel  Medary,  secretary,  and  Michael 


420         REPOET    OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OP  AGRICULTURE. 

L.  Sullivan,  treasurer.  The  first  meeting  of  the  board  and  delegates  of  county  Bocie- 
ties  was  held  December  9,  1846,  and  from  that  time  until  the  present  there  has  annu- 
ally assembled  in  the  city  of  Columbus  a  convention  of  the  leading  agriculturists  of 
the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  views,  procuring  facts  in  relation  to  agricult- 
ure, and  to  give  such  information  respecting  its  condition  and  wants  as  their  deliber- 
ations might  suggest. 

The  first  State  fair,  which,  was  suggested  by  President  Trimble,  was 
held  in  Cincinnati  in  September,  1850.  As  evidences  of  the  inventive 
genius  of  the  age,  President  Delano  states  that  since  the  holding  of  this 
fair  the  following  implements  have  been  brought  into  use :  <'  Harpoon 
hay-fork,  steel-spring  hay-rake,  grain-drill,  portable  saw-mill,  steam 
feed-boiler,  log  crosscut  and  drag  saw,  and  others  of  equal  merit."  Tile 
underdraining  has  also  been  introduced  into  the  State  since  this  date. 
A  statement  prepared  by  Secretary  Klippart  gives  the  following  exhibit 
of  the  premiums  offered  and  paid  by  the  society  from  1850  to  1874,  in- 
clusive : 

Horses,  $48,424 ;  cattle,  $39,920 ;  sheep,  $18,944 ;  swino,  $10,473 ;  poultry,  $2,776 ; 
machinery,  $17,932  ;  manufacturers'  and  mechanics'  products,  $13,719 ;  domestic  man- 
ufacture and  textile  fabrics,  $14,540  ;  farm-products,  $15,454 ;  fruits,  $9,616 ;  powers, 
$5,9,88;  fine  arts,  $4,731;  field-crops,  $8,992 ;  essays,  $4,650.  Total  amount,  |216,159, 
besides  8  gold  medals,  497  silver  medals,  217  bronze  medals,  and  2,315  diplomas. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Stevens  read  a  paper  in  opposition  to  the  ratification  of  the 
Canadian  reciprocity  treaty.  Mr.  Millikin  delivered  an  elaborate  address 
on  the  present  condition  of' agriculture.  Prof.  N.  S.  Townshend  dis- 
cussed the  requisites  of  successful  farming.  This  address  contains 
many  valuable  suggestions.  President  Orton,  of  the  Ohio  Agricultural 
College,  addressed  the  convention  in  reference  to  the  question,  "Is  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  college  duly  supported  by  the  people  of 
the  State  V^  From  the  tenor  of  his  remarks,  it  would  seem  that  the  col- 
lege is  making  fair  progress,  but  is  not  as  liberally  patronized  or  in  as 
flourishing  a  condition  as  some  of  the  institutions  of  a  like  character  in 
neighboring  States. 

The  twenty-fifth  State  fair  is  reported  as  one  of  the  most  successful 
ever  held.  The  list  of  entries  and  awards  in  the  live-stock  divisions 
showed  no  diminution  of  numbers.  There  was  a  slight  decrease  of 
entries  in  the  divisions  of  machinery  and  of  worked  metals;  but  in  the 
department  of  fruits  they  were  considerably  in  excess  of  former  years. 
Favorable  weather  during  the  fair  secured  excellent  attendance. 

As  the  result  of  investigation,  Secretary  Klippart  reports  that  few 
localities  produced  as  high  as  40  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  while  no 
county  averages  20. 

Sixty-seven  county  and  district  associations  report  their  conditions  as 
flourishing.  * 

The  eleventh  annual  convention  of  the  Ohio  Dairy  me  Vs  Association, 
held  in  Cleveland  in  January,  1875,  was  well  attended  by  representatives 
of  the  dairy  interests  i  n  this  and  neighboring  States.  Some  of  the  papers 
read  were  of  a  very  high  order.  Mr.  Cornelius  Baldwin  read  one  on  the 
"  Selection  of  cows  for  the  dairy."  The  lecture  was  illustrated  by  large 
drawings.  Mr.  Baldwin  seems  to  have  established  a  reputation  in  his 
neighborhood  for  accuracy  in  the  selection  of  good  milkers  by  observa- 
tion of  the  points  which  he  describes.  He  claims  such  accuracy  for  his 
observation  that  he  can  go  into  a  dairy,  and,  being  informed  what  one 
or  two  of  the  cows  can  do  at  the  pail,  can  name  the  amount  of  each  of 
the  other  cows  within  four  pounds  in  the  day's  milking.  He  claims  it  is 
necessary  to  know  only  wliat  one  or  two  of  the  cows  are  doing  in  order 
that  he  may  form  a  decision  concerning  the  quality  of  food  and  care 
which  the  cows  receive.    He  proceeded  to  illustrate  the  Guenon  theory 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  421 

of  the  escutcheon,  explaining  it  in  detail,  as  he  had  proved  it  in  a  series 
of  careful  investigations,  extending  over  a  term  of  years.  He  claims 
for  this  system  of  marks  that  he  can,  almost  without  fail,  read  the  real 
value  of  a  cow  for  the  dairy,  not  only  in  regard  to  quality  and  quantity, 
but  also  in  respect  to  holding  out  her  milk  late  in  the  season.  He  ana- 
lyzed the  system,  and  pointed  out  its  leading  features  as  mentioned  in 
the  books,  and  also  some  features  discovered  by  himself  not  laid  down  in 
the  books,  but  which  would  seem  to  be  of  great  value  in  determining 
judgment.  The  contrast  between  the  extremes,  one  of  which  gave 
sixty-four  pounds  per  day  and  the  other  eighteen,  on  the  best  pasture, 
was  strikingly  apparent.  Mr.  Baldwin  then  gave  the  following  points 
to  be  observed  in  the  selection  of  dairy-cows  : 

The  head  of  an  extremely  good  cow  should  be  small,  as  the  hest  milkers  are  fine- 
boned;  it  should  also  be  long  and  "  cut-up"  under  the  neck,  with  a  dishing  face.  The 
neck  should  be  thin  and  comparatively  long.  The  hips  should  be  high.  The  hind  lega 
of  the  cow  that  is  best  for  dairy  purposes  should  be  somewhat  crooked,  and  it  was  here 
that  the  breeders,  in  making  selections,  often  made  mistakes  by  preferring  cattle  with 
a  log  quite  straight  up  and  down  behind,  like  the  best  short-horns.  There  should  be  a 
Blight  "  sag"  to  the  belly,  but  the  animal  should  be,  on  the  whole,  a  little  wedge- 
shaped  from  back  to  front,  the  hips  being  higher  than  the  shoulders,  and  the  line  from 
the  belly  to  brisket  inclining  upward.  The  tails  of  the  dairy-cattle  are  generally  of 
pretty  good  length,  with  a  considerable  taper.  The  eyebrows  of  the  best  cattle  are 
light  and  somewhat  flattened. 

There  are  four  points  which  should  be  especially  studied,  and  which  serve  as  infalli- 
ble indications  of  milking  qualities  in  cows.  First,  the  milk-veins,  so  called,  passing 
from  the  forward  side  of  the  udder  along  the  under  side  of  the  animal  toward  the  front. 
They  are  either  small  or  large,  straight  or  very  crooked.  Consider  the  size  of  these 
veins,  for  the  size  is  one  of  the  infallible  tests  of  a  good  milker.  Bo  careful  to  see 
whether  the  vein  is  double  or  not,  for  it  sometimes  branches  out,  and,  if  double,  the 
two  should  be  added  together,  because  they  may  be  equal  to  one  large  vein.  The  veins 
sometimes  form  an  angle  on  the  front  side  of  the  udder.  This  seldom  occurs,  except 
on  a  very  good  cow.  On  calves  and  fleshy  cattle  it  is  difficult  to  find  these  veins ; 
therefore  the  test  can  only  be  applied  to  cows  in  milking  condition.  A  net-work  of 
veins  on  the  perineum  is  a  good  test,  and  indicates  milk.  The  chine,  reaching  from 
the  shoulder  half-way  to  the  hip,  should  be  examined.  If  it  be  double,  the  cow  is 
above  the  average.  Sometimes,  with  a  single  chine,  there  is  a  depression  into  which 
two  fingers  can  be  laid,  if  the  animal  is  not  too  fat.  This  is  good.  It  indicates  a  lax 
physical  condition  in  the  animal,  and  this  is  favorable  either  for  milk  or  beef. 

The  fourth  test,  which  is  regarded  as  infallible,  consists  in  observation  of  the 
escutcheon,  the  milk-mirror.  The  escutcheon  extends  from  the  front  of  the  bag,  where 
the  hair  begins  to  grow,  backward  over  the  bag  and  up  and  around  the  thighs.  Cows 
with  escutcheon  well  marked  have  strong  constitutions,  digestion  rapid  and  complete, 
a  restless  and  nervous  disposition. 

Mr.  Baldwin  divides  the  rear  mirror  into  two  parts :  the  vertical  mir- 
ror, which  extends  from  the  bag  toward  the  root  of  the  tail,  and  the 
thigh  mirror,  which  extends  around  the  thigh  outward.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  take  the  straight  vertical  mirror  alone  as  a  guide,  and  to  say  that  when 
there  is  a  wi(ie  vertical  mirror  there  is  good  milk.  The  thigh  mirror 
must  be  large  and  well  marked.  Oval  spots  of  large  size  on  the  back 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  bag  are  indications  of  a  large  flow  of  milk. 
The  front  mirror  is  the  space  between  the  front  teat  and  the  place  where 
the  bag  joins  the  body  in  front.  If  this  space  is  large,  the  indication  is 
ot  good  milking  qualities. 

Another  test,  which  he  pronounces  infallible,  is  the  color  of  the  dan- 
druff which  gathers  chiefly  in  the  upper  p^rt  of  the  thigh  mirror.  If  the 
dandruff  be  oily  and  lemon-colored,  there  will  be  rich  milk ;  if  dry  and 
brown,  like  the  dust  of  the  floor,  poor  milk  may  bo  expected.  Excep- 
tions to  these  tests  should  be  made  in  the  case  of  blemished  cattle — 
cows  which  give  a  large  mess  and  then  drop  off  one-third  within  a  month 
after  connection  with  the  bull.  These  cows  may  be  distinguished  by 
coarse  hair  growing  upon  the  broad  escutcheon  behind.    Cows  with 


422         REPORT    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

these  crests  of  coarse  hair  will  lose  their  milk  tifter  being  in  calf,  and 
should  not  be  bred  from. 

Quite  a  lengthy  debate  in  regard  to  the  use  of  skimmed  milk  in  cheese 
resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  deprecating  such  use. 

Mr.  Edward  J.  Wickson,  in  an  address  on  the  future  of  dairying,  said: 

t  have  authentic  reports  from  ninety  cheese-factoriea  and  creamericB,  located  in 
•widely  dift'erent  localities,  giving  the  average  net  return  per  cow  to  patrons,  the  liigheet 
average  per  cow  to  a  single  patron,  and  lowest  average  per  cow  to  a  single  patron. 
The  figures  are  drawn  from  the  actual  records  of  the  yields  of  more  than  3G,000  cows. 
In  these  factories,  during  the  season  of  1874,  the  average  yield  per  cow  was  $39.57.  In 
the  individual  factories  the  highest  average  per  cow  reported  was  $55.07,  and  the 
lowest  per  cow  in  a  factory  running  the  same  number  of  days  was  $31.22.  Taking  all 
the  cows  into  the  account,  it  appears  that  the  average  return  per  cow  for  the  season  of 
average  length  was  $39.57.  It  will  be  remembered  that  these  figures  are  factory  aver- 
ages, not  average  yields  in  single  herds. 

It  appears  from  comparing  the  reports  of  these  ninety  factories  that  the  average 
return  net  to  patrons  per  lOU  pounds  of.  milk  has  been  $1.22.  The  highest  net  yield  is 
$1.38,  and  the  lowest  99  cents.  I  have  been  much  interested  in  comparing  the  average 
returns  per  row  with  the  average  selling-price  of  the  factory,  and  the  pounds  of  milk 
required  to  make  a  pound  of  cheese,  in  order  to  determine  how  much  of  the  large  yield 
per  cow  was  due  to  the  dairymen  and  how  much  to  the  cheese-maker  and  salesman. 
In  the  factory  reporting  the  highest  average  per  cow,  ($55.P7,)  the  selling-price  of  the 
season  averaged  14.11  cents,  and  the  milk  taken  was  9.76  pounds  to  a  pound  of  cheeee. 
Comparing  this  with  the  lowest  average  per  cow,  ($31.22,)  I  find  that  the  latter  sold 
cheese  for  one-quarter  of  a  cent  less  per  pound  through  the  season,  and  used  nearly 
one-half  a  pound  more  milk  to  a  pound  of  cheese  on  an  average.  But  this  difference 
in  manufacture  and  price  can  form  only  a  small  part  of  the  difiercDce  between  the  low 
mark  at  $31  and  the  high  mark  at  $55. 

The  main  points  in  the  profitableness  of  dairies  are  vested  in  the  farm,  not  in  the 
factory,  as  the  following  figures  show.  Of  the  dairies  sending  milk  to  the  sixty  fac- 
tories, the  best  season's  average  per  cow  is  $82.17,  and  the  average  of  all  the  highest 
dairies  reported  by  the  factories  is  $50.04.  The  lowest  yield  in  a  single  dairy  carrying 
to  the  factory  dvtring  a  long  season  is  $14.50  average  money  to  a  cow,  and  the  average 
of  all  the  poor  dairies  reported  is  $29.34  per  cow.  »  *  »  Now,  the  question  arises, 
and  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  man  who  is  working  for  the  profits  of  the 
dairy,  whence  comes  this  great  difference  in  the  returns  from  the  dairy-herds  T  Is  it  Lu 
the  soil,  the  pasture,  the  cow,  the  feed,  and  care  in  the  factory,  and  how  much  influ- 
ence does  the  final  resort,  the  market,  exert  upon  the  dairyman's  receipts  1  I  believe 
that  all  of  these  things  are  factors  of  the  result,  and  that  every  one  of  them  should  be 
scrutinized  to  see  whether  there  cannot  be  some  element  of  improvement  introduced. 

The  fourth  annual  convention  of  the  Western  Reserve  Dairymen's 
Association  convened  at  Garrettsville,  February  10,  1875.  In  a  dis- 
cussion on  the  comparative  merits  of  sweet-cream  butter  and  ripe-cream 
butter,  Mr.  Green  stated : 

He  had  formerly  operated  a  creamery  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  had  made  care- 
ful experiments  in  the  uses  of  cream.  Very  much  depended  upon  skill  in  handling. 
Sweet-cream  butter  would  melt  down  at  a  low  temperature,  but  sour-cream  butter 
(i.  e.,  cream  taken  from  sweet  milk,  but  held  before  churning  until  chemical  action  had 
begun)  would  stand.  Some  preferred  the  flavor  of  •weet-cream  butter,  others  much 
prefer  the  flavor  and  aroma  of  sour-cream  butter.  The  yield  from  sour  cream  may 
be  put  down  at  5  per  cent,  more  than  from  sweet  cream,  and  the  butter  has  a  better 
texture.  The  5  per  cent,  additional  yield  may  be  overbalanced  by  the  greater  value 
of  the  buttermilk  from  sweet  cream.  *  »  *  Butter  would  lose  its  exquisite  flavor 
in  two  or  three  weeks,  and  after  that  creamery  butter  was  no  better  than  dairy  butter, 
while  fresh  creamery  butter  would  command  from  5  to  10  cents  a  pound  more  than 
dairy  butter. 

Mr.  S.  D.  Harris,  in  a  discussion  on  grasses,  said : 

It  has  been  too  much  the  custom  to  depend  upon  timothy  alone  for  hay.  There  is 
no  better  crop  than  timothy  when  the  circumstances  are  all  favorable,  but  it  is  a 
dangerous  crop  to  depend  upon.  The  roots  are  so  much  exposed  that  in  a  dry  time, 
upon  land  that  is  hard  run,  the  crop  receives  a  back-set  from  which  it  will  scarcely  re- 
cover. What  is  needed  is  a  mixture  with  the  finer  fibrous  rooted  grasses.  If  it  is  sown 
with  clover,  and  the  clover  has  the  ascendency,  it  will  kill  the  grass.  Clover  is  a  grc-t 
grass-killer.  Close  shaving  with  the  scythe  and  clos*;  pasturing  will  not  answer  v/i  J* 
timothy,  for  timothy  will  not  soffcx  xanoh  aboMw    Tbdr*  tkoald  b«  laMoieixt  rmz.Ajj 


DIGEST    OF    STATE    REPORTS.  423 

of  grasses  to  take  fall  possession  of  the  soil  and  make  a  strong  sod.    If  fibrous-rooted 
grasses  are  mixed  with  timothy,  the  bulbs  of  the  timothy  will  be  protected. 

Kentucky  blue-grass  or  June  grass,  with  orchard-grass,  makes  a  good  mixture  for 
pasture,  but  not  for  meadow,  as  they  do  not  mature  at  the  same  time.  Red  clover  and 
orchard-grass  go  well  together  as  to  time  of  ripening  for  hay.  Some  say  they  do  not 
like  orchard-grass  because  it  goes  into  bunches,  leaving  barren  spaces  between.  When 
it  operates  in  that  way  it  is  because  of  a  want  of  fertility  in  the  soil.  *  *  *  As  a 
green  crop  for  soiling  early  in  the'  season,  rye  comes  in  tirst,  but  some  farmers  say  that 
rye  is  not  good  feed  lor  milch-cows ;  that  they  fall  off  in  their  yield  of  milk  as  soon  as 
they  begin  to  feed  on  ereen  rye.  The  earliest  and  best  grass- feed  for  soiling  is  orchard- 
grass,  and  this  will  do  to  use  until  red  clover  is  ready.  Red  clover  will  last  until 
Bowed  corn  is  large  enough  to  use,  and  then  you  are  safe.  Hungarian  grass  is  a  good 
crop  for  green  feed  and  also  for  hay,  as  it  can  be  sown  late  in  the  spring  upon  land 
where  oats  or  other  crops  have  faiied,  or  when  it  is  apparent  that  there  will  be  a  short 
crop  of  perennial  grasses.  *  *  »  piay  that  is  made  just  right,  is  as  fragrant  as 
choice  tea,  and  farmers  cannot  afford  to  make  it  any  other  way  than  just  right.  Grass 
should  never  be  cut  when  it  will  be  rained  on,  and  partly  cured  hay  should  never  be 
exposed  even  to  a  night's  dew  while  spread  over  the  ground.  Grass  cuts  easier  when 
it  is  wet  with  dew  or  rain,  and  this  is  often  a  temptation  to  go  into  the  meadow,  when 
the  farmer  had  better  be  asleep  than  spoil  his  hay.  In  the  harvesting  and  curing  of 
corn-fodcler  there  is  an  immense  waste  of  what  might  be  a  very  valuable  material  for 
cow-feed  ;  but  as  it  is  usually  done,  the  fodder  from  corn-stalks  is  badly  damaged  from 
long  exposure  to  the  weather  in  the  worst  part  of  the  season.  It  would  pay  farmers 
to  have  sheds  and  lofts  in  which  to  stow  away  and  cure  this  valuable  material  before 
it  is  nearly  ruined  by  exposure  to  autumn  and  winter  storms. 

The  repert  contains  an  article  by  Prof.  N.  S.  Townshend,  on  hog-chol- 
era^ After  detailing  the  symptoms,  he  gives  the  following  directions  for 
the  treatment  of  the  disease : 

In  the  first  stage  of  hog-cholera,  while  there  are  copious  and  dark  discharges  from 
the  bowels,  two  things  are  desirable :  First,  to  give  some  absorbent,  or  alkaline  sub- 
stance, to  correct  the  irritating  character  of  the  conteoits  of  the  bowels.  For  this  pur- 
pose one  or  two  drachms  of  bicarbonate  of  soda,  dissolved  in  milk  or  mixed  with  a 
warm  mash  of  wheat-bran,  will  be  useful.  Some  secure  the  same  object  by  putting 
cinders  and  ashes  within  reach  of  their  swine,  which  they  will  often  eat  greedUy. 
Ears  of  corn  burnt  almost  to  a  charcoal  are  also  a  popular  remedy  in  some  localities. 
Charcoal  and  the  small  of  stone-coal  are  also  said  to  be  useful.  The  other  indication 
at  this  stage  is  to  give  some  cathartic  that  will  excite  the  liver  to  activity.  For  this 
purpose  20  grains  of  powdered  mandrake-root  may  be  given  to  a  hog  weighing  from 
100  to  150  pounds,  or  from  10  to  20  grains  of  calomel  may  be  used  instead,  and  repeated 
if  necessary.  If  the  disease  has  passed  to  the  stage  of  constipation,  the  sulphates  of 
soda  or  magnesia,  in  doses  of  half  an  ounce  for  hogs  of  the  size  above  mentioned,  may 
be  dissolved  in  half  a  pint  of  water,  and  given  once  or  twice  a  day  untQ  their  effect  is 
secured  ;  or  castor-oil  in  doses  of  an  ounce,  mixed  with  a  drachm  of  spirits  of  turpen- 
tine, may  be  substituted.  Sometimes  it  may  be  more  convenient  to  give  sulphur  with 
milk,  in  doses  of  an  ounce  or  more.  When  difficult  breathing  and  cough  have  come 
on,  the  sides  of  the  chest  and  throat  should  be  rubbed  with  spirits  of  turpentine  or 
some  other  strong  liniment,  and  half  a  drachm  of  saltpeter,  with  a  grain  or  two  of  tar- 
tar emetic,  may  be  given  two  or  three  times  a  day,  either  with  bran-mash  or  dissolved 
in  water,  and  poured  down  tho  throat,  the  snout  being  first  elevated  by  a  noose  in  a 
small  rope.  It  should  not  be  expected  that  one  or  two  doses  of  any  remedy  will  effect 
a  cure,  or  that  any  article,  however  valuable,  will  be  equally  suitable  in  all  stages  of 
tho  disease. 

The  contents  embrace  Dr.  E.  L.  Sturtevant's  article  on  physiolog- 
ical considerations  concerning  feeding  for  butter  and  cheese,  repro- 
duced from  the  Connecticut  report,  and  articles  on  the  population  of 
the  apple-tree ;  history,  pedigree,  and  habits  of  the  grasshopper ;  (these 
three  articles  are  illustrated ;)  history  of  our  common  cultivated  vege- 
tables ;  epizootics ;  Devons ;  Short-horns ;  the  food  of  birds  as  related 
to  agriculture;  tubercular  consumption  in  cattle;  pork-packing  in  the 
West;  the  eighth  annual  report  of  the  State  Horticultural  Society, 
including  the  annual  address  by  the  president.  Dr.  J.  A.  Warder,  and 
addresses  or  essays  on  the  influence  and  mission  of  horticulture,  forest- 
tree  planting,  home-adornment,  and  gardening  as  a  fine  art. 


424         REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 

VERMONT. 

The  third  biennial  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  Manu- 
factures, and  Mining,  for  1875  and  1876,  contains,  in  addition  to  official 
records,  no  less  than  fifty  distinct  papers  on  subjects  pertaining  to  vari- 
ous phases  of  the  three  branches  over  which  the  board  has  supervision. 
Most  of  these  are  necessarily  brief,  as  they  are  included  in  a  volume  of 
700  pages.  One  of  the  longest  and  perhaps  most  valuable  is  an  illus- 
trated article  on  insects  injurious  to  the  potato  and  the  apple.  The  re- 
lated subjects  of  farm-management  and  farmers  are  discussed  in  no  less 
than  seven  separate  essays ;  matters  pertaining  to  dairy-husbandry  in 
five;  the  horse,  in  four;  sheep-husbandry  and  the  grass  crop  each  in 
three.  Among  the  other  topics  presented  are  fertilization,  fruit-culture, 
horticulture,  bee-culture,  poultry-keeping,  application  of  "  the  sand- 
blast" in  lettering  head-stones  for  the  national  cemeteries,  the  potato- 
disease,  sanitary  reform,  water-power  in  Vermont,  report  of  the  State 
geologist,  and,  not  least,  "  the  merits  of  Vermont." 

The  secretary  alludes  to  the  work  of  the  Board  during  its  brief  exist- 
ence in  arousing  attention  and  securing  the  co-operation  of  the  farmers 
of  the  State  in  many  needed  reforms.  During  the  year  1875  the  Board 
held  seventeen  public  meetings  in  different  localities,  at  which  papers 
were  read  and  addresses  delivered,  followed  by  discussion  of  the  topics 
presented. 

The  analyses  of  artificial  fertilizers,  by  Prof.  Peter  Collier,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Board,  are  still  prosecuted.  In  evidence  of  the  benefit  of 
this  work,  it  is  stated  that  as  a  result  the  average  value  of  the  fertilizers 
offered  in  the  market  has  been  advanced  33  per  cent. 

Discussions  on  dairying,  the  great  interest  of  the  State,  occupy  a  large 
space.  Among  other  topics  worthy  of  special  notice  are  those  relating 
to  grass-raising  and  the  introduction  of  new  forage-plants ;  the  seeding 
of  land,  and  the  genuineness,  purity,  and  vitality  of  seeds ;  and  stock- 
raising,  food-rations,  and  the  comparative  value  of  different  kinds  of 
food. 

Mr.  Gardner  S.  Fassett,  in  an  article  on  the  selection  of  cows  for  the 
dairy,  gives  the  results  of  some  interesting  experiments  made  with  the 
milk  of  different  cows.  He  states  that  he  owns  a  high-grade  Jersey 
heifer  that  exhibits  as  good  a  percentage  of  cream  in  one  hour,  when 
the  milk  is  set  in  test-tubes,  as  at  any  time  thereafter.  He  also  owns  a 
fine-grade  Ayrshire  cow,  eight  years  old,  the  milk  of  which  shows  the 
best  percentage  of  cream  in  about  twenty-four  hours  after  it  is  drawn. 
In  order  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  facility  with  which  butter  could  be 
made  from  the  milk  of  different  cows,  he  selected  the  cream  from  these 
two  cows  with  which  to  make  the  experiment.  The  milk,  cream,  butter, 
and  buttermilk  of  each  cow  were  separately  and  carefully  weighed,  and 
the  time  required  to  churn  each  noted.  The  experiment  was  made  on 
the  23d  day  of  October  last,  when  the  cows  were  in  the  barn  at  hay, 
having  two  quarts  each  of  oats  per  day. ' 

The  Ayrshire  cow  gave  22  pounds  4  ounces  of  milk ;  weight  of  cream, 
2  pounds;  time  in  churning,  40  minutes;  weight  of  butter,  1  pound  1 
ounce ;  weight  of  buttermilk,  15  ounces.  Buttermilk  appeared  rich,  as 
though  there  were  butter-globules  left  in  it.  The  Jersey  heifer,  two 
years  old,  gave  10  pounds  8  ounces  of  milk ;  weight  of  cream,  1  pound 
4  ounces ;  time  of  churning,  20  minutes ;  weight  of  butter,  12  ounces ; 
of  buttermilk,  8  ounces.  This  buttermilk,  he  states,  was  as  blue  as 
skimmed  milk. 

The  next  day  he  mixed  the  milk  of  the  two  cows.    Weight  of  milk, 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  425 

32  pounds  4  ounces ;  weight  of  cream,  3  pounds  1  ounce ;  time  of  churn- 
ing, 30  minutes ;  weight  of  butter,  1  pound  12  ounces ;  of  buttermilk,  1 
pound  5  ounces. 

Mr.  Passett  regards  the  Jerseys  as  the  best  butter-producing  cows,  for 
the  following  reasons :  Their  cream  rises  quicker,  simplifying  the  process 
of  setting  milk;  their  butter  is  yellower,  can  be  churned  from  cream  in 
very  much  less  time,  and  can  be  churned  at  higher  temperature  with 
good  results ;  their  butter  commands  a  higher  price  in  market  than  that 
of  most  other  breeds.    He  gives  the  points  of  a  good  cow,  as  follows : 

A  soft,  velvety  skin,  (and  good  feed  helps  to  make  a  good  skin;)  full  eyes;  email 
horns ;  wide  escntcheou,  a  place  to  put  a  bag ;  well-spread  teats  of  good  size ;  large, 
crooked  milk-veins,  with  large  orifice  at  their  source.  A  slim  neck  is  a  good  sign,  also 
a  slim  tail  and  clean  limbs.  Almost  all  good  butter-cows  are  bright  and  sprightly.  A 
good,  vigorous  constitution  is  very  important. 

Of  the  size  of  cows,  he  says : 

I  have  never  considered  it  one  of  great  importance,  and  yet  it  demands  some  atten- 
tion. A  cow  consumes  of  good  hay  about  3  per  cent,  of  her  live  weight  daily,  to 
support  life  and  repair  the  waste.  If  a  large  cow  will,  when  not  used  for  the  dairy 
longer,  make  enough  more  beef  than  the  small  one,  that  makes  the  same  amount  of 
butter,  to  pay  for  the  greater  amount  of  fodder  consumed  during  the  years  she  is  kept 
for  a  dairy-cow,  sho  is  worth  the  same,  and  this  is  the  best  rule  I  know  of  by  which  to 
judge  of  the  relative  value  of  large  and  small  cows  in  the  butter-dairy. 

Mr.  B.  S.  Wood  contributes  a  paper  on  the  value  of  meal  as  feed  for 
milch-cows.  While  he  is  usually  supplied  with  a  sufficient  amount  of 
good  grass  and  hay  for  his  stock,  he  thinks  his  cows  need  something 
more  than  that  to  keep  them  in  good  physical  condition.  By  feeding 
them  two  quarts  each  per  day  of  meal,  with  the  addition  of  shorts  in 
winter,  a  uniform  flow  of  milk  is  kept  up  the  year  round,  and  a  good 
quality  of  butter  is  made  during  those  months  when  there  is  no  pas- 
turage. 

In  an  article  on  breeding  and  rearing  farm-stock,  Mr.  0.  H.  Hubbard 
says: 

A  cow  that  has,  in  growing  to  maturity,  consumed  an  undue  proportion  of  the  nutri- 
ment in  her  food  in  the  manufacture  of  a  large,  coarse  head,  with  a  great  pair  of  horns, 
and  a  coarse,  masculine  frame,  which  must  be  vitalized  and  warmed  by  food  every  day, 
or  one  that  expends  much  vital  force  in  roaming  about  the  pasture,  running  and  fight- 
ing, is  not  an  economical  machine.  One  that  fails  to  draw  the  nutriment  out  of  her 
food  and  make  anything  out  of  it  may  be  a  good  machine  to  manufacture  inanure,  but 
must  be  regarded  as  a  wasteful  one. 

On  the  subject  of  breeding  and  training,  he  says : 

The  natural  tendency  is  toward  deterioration.  If  any  fanction  is  not  cultivated  by 
breeding  and  training,  it  will  be  very  sure  to  grow  less  in  power  and  activity.  The 
cow  that  is  not  milked  loses  the  capacity  to  give  milk,  and  transmits  a  tendency  to  the 
same  incapacity  to  her  ofifspring.  I  do  not  intend  to  reflect  upon  any  particular  breed 
of  cattle,  or  other  animals,  for  the  same  thing  exists  among  all.  The  Jersey  breeder, 
who  goes  for  a  particular  color  of  hair,  horns,  tongue,  or  switch,  hurts  his  stock  every 
time.  The  Ayrshire  breeder,  who  endeavors  to  imitate  the  lordly  form  of  the  short- 
horn, impairs  the  value  of  his  Ayrshire  cow ;  and  the  short-horn  breeder  who,  in  breed- 
ing st«ck  for  New  England,  neglects  to  perpetuate  and  improve  the  dairy  qualities  for 
which  that  breed  was  once  so  celebrated,  is  doing  an  incalculable  injury  to  the  dairy 
interest.  *  »  *  The  relative  influence  of  the  parents  in  determining  the  character 
of  the  young  depends,  in  my  opinion,  largely  upon  the  degree  to  which  the  qualities 
of  each  have  been  fixed  and  intensified  by  judicious  breeding,  and  on  their  comparative 
vigor  and  stamina.  It  is  thought  by  some  writers  on  the  subject  that  the  male  parent 
exercises  a  controlling  influence  in  the  external  form,  covering  of  the  skin,  and  the 
locomotive  powers,  while  on  the  mother  depend  the  vital  and  digestive  functions. 
This  rule  must,  I  think,  be  accepted  with  a  liberal  allowance  for  circumstances.  It  is 
certain  that  the  sire  exercises  a  marked  inflaence  over  the  character,  as  a  dairy-cow, 
of  the  young .  It  is  not  enough  that  one  parent  possesses  the  qualities  it  is  desired  to 
perpetuate.  °  Both  must  have  them,  and  both  must  be  descended  firom  families  that 
exhibit  them.    Then  the  character  of  the  issue  is  measurably  certain. 


426    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

In  a  brief  paper  on  the  winter  management  of  neat-stock,  Mr.  L.  0. 
Fisher  gives  his  method  of  raising  calves.  At  the  age  of  two  days  old 
he  takes  the  calf  from  the  cow,  and  teaches  it  to  drink  its  own  dam's 
milk  mixed  with  skimmed  milk  twelve  hours  old.  At  the  age  of  ten 
days  he  feeds  it  exclusively  skimmed  milk  twelve  hours  old ;  at  fifteen 
days,  twenty-four  hours;  at  two  months,  thirty-six;  at  three  months, 
thick  milk,  with  what  dry  shorts  it  will  take.  As  often  as  once  in  six 
■weeks  he  dissolves  a  piece  of  saltpeter  as  large  as  a  robin's  egg  in  the 
milk.  "  With  plenty  of  milk,  shorts,  early -cut  hay,  water,  and  exercise, 
a  calf  can  be  grown  from  2  to  3  pounds  a  day  for  a  year." 

Mr.  Albert  Chapman,  in  a  paper  entitled  "Horses  for  Vermont,"  gives 
the  following  points  as  deserving  the  greatest  attention : 

The  horse  that  has  such  miiltifarions  duties  to  perform  must  be  of  medium  size.  K 
he  is  too  large  the  travel  up  and  down  our  hills,  at  any  gait  Vermonters  will  be  sat- 
isfied with,  will  soon  shake  him  to  pieces.  He  must  be  medium  in  height  as  well  as 
weight.  Sixteen-hand  horses  may  all  be  very  fine  to  talk  about,  perbaps  to  sell  to 
Bome  parties,  but  they  cannot,  as  a  class,  endure  the  road  at  a  lively  pace  with  horses 
of  a  hand  lower  measure,  especially  in  a  hilly  country.  »  »  »  Another  very  impor- 
tant qualification  of  the  Vermonter's  horse  must  be  a  good,  kindly  disposition.  While 
he  should  be  a  willing,  quiet,  peaceable  worker,  he  must  not  be  a  lazy  dolt,  or  the 
requirements  for  a  good  horse  will  not  be  answered.  Although  quite  as  many  farmers' 
sons  as  is  desirable  are  becoming  professional  trainers  and  breakers,  still  it  is,  per- 
haps, quite  as  well  that  all  cannot  be,  and  so  long  as  so  ruauy  of  our  horses 
have  to  be  broken  and  driven  by  faroiera  and  their  eons,  who  are  comparatively 
unused  to  this  work,  this  item  of  disposition  is  one  of  great  importance.  An- 
other requisite  for  the  Vermonter's  horse  is  early  maturity,  or,  at  least,  the  ability 
to  perform  much  of  the  work  of  the  farm  while  he  is  growing,  maturing,  and  becoming 
fitted  for  market,  without  breaking  down  or  becoming  unsound  by  such  use.  And 
lastly,  under  this  head,  Vermonters  should  raise  such  horses  that,  as  they  arrive  at 
maturity,  will  bring  good  prices  in  market ;  and  the  nearer  they  come  to  gentlemen's 
stylish  driving-horses  and  fulfill  the  other  reqairements,  the  better,  and  the  more  they 
will  bring.  This  horse  should  be  of  medium  size,  well  proportioned,  clean,  flat  limbs, 
strongly  made,  but  not  coarse  or  gross ;  good  color,  bay,  brown,  black,  or  chestnut ;  he 
should  have  a  good,  easy  road  gait  that  will  take  along  a  buggy  with  two  men  in  it  a 
mile  in  four  minutes,  ten  miles  in  an  hour,  or  from  sixty  to  eighty  miles  in  a  day  ;  with 
a  courageous,  free  disposition,  that  will  not  require  more  work  to  get  this  performance 
out  of  him  than  it  is  worth  when  you  get  it.  Withal,  he  should  have  a  bottom  or  en- 
durance that  will  not  make  it  impossible  to  sometimes  repeat  these  performances,  and 
enable  him  to  perform  a  reasonable  amount  of  driving  every  day.  With  these,  a  good 
kindly  disposition,  free  from  all  tricks  or  vices,  is  indispensable.  Any  horse  that  pos- 
sesses all  these  good  qualities  is  worth  anywhere  from  $300  to  $500 ;  and  the  more 
beauty  and  style  in  performing  this  work  you  can  combine  in  them,  the  more  can  be 
added  to  the  prices,  with  a  reasonable  expectation  that  the  draft  will  be  honored.  *  •  * 
A  horse  may  have  a  fine  form  and  beautiful  color,  but  if  he  has  not  a  good  gait  or 
good  courage,  if  he  is  ill-tempered  or  tricky,  the  man  that  buys  him  at  any  price  that 
will  pay  for  his  raising  and  breaking  ■will  be  cheated. 

In  size,  color,  docility,  activity,  and  endurance,  he  regards  the  Morgan 
horse,  when  crossed  with  dams  of  larger  size,  as  the  best  breed  of  horses 
for  Vermont.  Some  of  the  best  horses  ever  raised  in  the  State,  as  well 
as  those  that  have  brought  the  highest  prices,  were  sired  by  Morgan 
stallions  from  such  mares  as  were  sired  by  Post  Boy,  Henry  Bishop's 
Hambletcuian,  Harris's  Hambletonian,  and  others  of  that  class,  and  he 
thinks  that  if  it  is  desirable  to  increase  the  size  of  the  horse  it  should  be 
done  by  the  use  of  a  larger  dam,  not  a  larger  stallion. 

Mr.  J.  F.  Hemenway,  in  an  article  giving  the  history  and  pedigree, 
as  far  as  known,  of  old  Justin  Morgan,  speaks  as  follows  of  this  breed  of 
horses : 

First,  the  Morgan  is  the  strongest-blooded  family  of  horses  in  the  country,  and  can, 
therefore,  be  bred  more  uniformly  than  any  other  breed ;  secondly,  they  possess  the 
grandest  combination  of  beauty,  tractability,  speed,  and  endurance ;  and  lastly,  his 
thorough  acclimation  and  adaptation  to  our  soil  and  uneven  country. 


DIGEST    OP    STATE   KEPORTS.  427 

Mr.  John  H.  Mead,  in  an  article  on  sbeep-husbandry,  gives  some  facts 
which  will  DO  doubt  prove  of  interest  to  many  persons  engaged  in  rear- 
ing sheep.    As  to  the  mode  of  determining  the  age  of  sheep,  he  says : 

The  age  of  the  sheep  is  generally  determined  by  their  teeth.  When  they  are  about 
one  year  and  a  half  old,  they  shed  their  two  center  teeth  of  the  incisors,  and  two  wide 
ones  grow  out  and  take  their  place.  The  next  year  the  next  two  are  shed,  and  when  the 
Bheep  is  three  years  old  the  four  central  teeth  are  fully  grown.  At  four  years  they 
have  six  teeth,  and  at  live  years  the  teeth  are  perfectly  developed.  This  is  one 
year  before  the  horse  or  ox  can  be  said  to  be  fully  monthed.  This  rule  for  the  age  of 
sheep  will  hardly  ever  fail  in  ewes ;  but  sometimes  will  in  the  case  of  rams.  If  not  too 
old,  their  age  may  bo  determined  by  the  growth  of  their  horns  each  year.  The  differ- 
ence caused  in  the  shedding  of  their  teeth  may  be  by  the  manner  in  which  the  sheep 
are  cared  for.  If  well  fed  and  kept  in  a  thriving  condition,  they  will  shed  them  faster, 
and  vice  versa.  Some  sheep  with  the  full  mouth  will  hold  their  teeth  much  longer  than 
others.  The  natural  age  of  sheep  is  about  ten  years,  to  which  time  they  wiU  thrive 
and  breed  well. 

In  regard  to  the  peculiar  skin  of  sheep,  the  formation  and  growth  of 
wool,  &c.,  Mr.  Mead  says: 

The  skin  of  sheep  is  composed  of  three  textures.  Externally  is  the  cuticle  or  scarf- 
ekin,  which  is  thin,  tough,  devoid  of  feeling,  and  pierced  by  innumerable  minute  holes, 
through  which  pass  the  libers  of  the  wool  and  the  insensible  perspiration.  It  seems  to 
be  of  a  scaly  texture.  This  is  plain  to  be  seen  when  the  sheep  have  the  scab.  Below 
this  is  the  re<<?mMCOS!t»i,  a  soft  structure,  its  fibers  having  scarcely  more  consistence  than 
mucilage,  and  being  with  great  difficulty  sejjarated  from  the  skin  beneath.  This  seems 
to  be  placed  as  a  defense  to  the  terminations  of  the  blood-vessels  and  nerves  of  the 
skin,  and  these  are  in  a  manner  enveloped  and  covered  by  it.  Beneath  is  the  cutis  or 
true  skya,  composed  of  innumerable  minute  fibers  crossing  each  other  in  every  direc- 
tion, highly  elastic,  in  order  to  fit  closely  to  the  parts  bene'&th  and  to  yield  to  the  various 
motions  of  the  botly.  Judging  from  the  mixture  of  wool  and  hair  in  the  coat  of  most 
animals,  it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  primitive  sheep  had  a  hairy  covering.  It  is 
said  that  there  are  at  the  present  day  varieties  of  sheep  that  are  clothed  outwardly  with 
hair  of  diflerent  degrees  of  fineness,  and  underneath  the  external  coat  is  a  softer,  shorter, 
and  closer  one  that  answers  to  the  description  of  fur,  but  which  really  possesses  all  the 
characteristics  of  wool.  It  is,  therefore,  highly  improbable  that  the  sheep,  which  has 
now  become  by  cultivation  the  wool-bearing  animal,  should,  in  any  country ,^ave  ever 
been  entirely  destitute  of  wool.  Sheep  of  almost  every  variety  have  at  tim^  been  in 
the  gardens  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  Loudon,  but  there  has  not  been  one  on  which 
a  portion  of  crisped  wool,  although  exceedingly  small,  has  not  been  found  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hair.  The  filament  of  the  wool  has  scarcely  pushed  itself  through  the  pores 
of  the  skin  when  it  has  to  penetrate  through  another  and  singular  substance,  which, 
from  its  adhesiveness  and  color,  is  called  the  yolk.  It  is  found  in  greatest  quantity 
about  the  breast  and  shoulders,  the  very  parts  that  produce  the  best  and  most  abundant 
wool,  and  in  proportion  as  it  extends  to  any  considerable  degree  over  other  parts,  the 
wool  is  then  Improved.  It  differs  in  quantity  in  different  breeds ;  it  ifl  very  abundant 
in  the  Merino. 

The  yolk  being  a  true  soap,  soluble  in  water,  accounts  for  the  comparative  ease  with 
which  the  sheep  that  have  the  natural  proportion  of  it  are  washed  in  a  running  stream. 
The  fiber  of  the  wool  having  penetrated  the  skin  and  escaped  from  the  yolk,  is  of  a  cir- 
cular form,  generally  larger  toward  the  extremity  and  also  toward  the  root,  and  in  some 
instances  very  considerably  so.  When  the  animal  is  in  good  condition  and  the  fleece 
healthy  >  he  appearance  of  the  fiber  is  brilliant,  but  when  the  state  of  the  constitution 
is  bad  the  fiber  has  a  dull  appearancv ,  and  either  a  wan,  pale  light,  or  sometimes 
scarcely  any,  is  reflected. 

Mr,  Henry  Lane,  in  a  paper  on  breeding  and  feeding  sheep  for  the 

market,  says  : 

For  breeding  ewes  for  early  lambs,  I  prefer  the  grade  Merino,  avoiding  the  wrinkly, 
short,  gummy-wooled  ones,  selecting  those  of  a  vigorous  constitution,  broad,  wide- 
hipped,  short'-legged,  tendency  to  early  maturity,  prolific  breeders  and  good  milkers, 
of  an  age  not  less  than  three  or  more  than  six  years.  Such  a  selection  requires  gobd 
judgment.  To  serve  the  ewes  I  prefer  a  Southdown  ram  to  either  a  Leicester  or  Cots- 
wold.  Kaius  should  be  put  with  the  ewes  in  September,  that  the  lambs  may  be 
dropped  in  February.  It  takes  about  ninety  days  to  make  a  lamb  sufficient  size  and 
fatness  for  market.  At  this  age  they  should  weigh  60  pounds.  The  ewe  should  have 
food  that  will  keep  up  her  condition  and  produce  an  abundance  of  milk.  During  the 
suckiiug  peii(»d  she  needs  as  heavy  feeding  as  a  grain  wether  when  fattening — corn  to 
keep  her  in  flesh,  oats,  bran,  oil-meal,  buckwheat,  and  a  free  feeding  of  roots  to  pro- 
dvoe  milk. 


428 


REPORT   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER   OF   AGRICULTURE. 


Mr.  Lane  details  some  of  his  experiments  to  ascertain  tlie  rate  of  gain 
in  lambs.    He  says : 

- 1  will  give  the  weiglit  of  one,  -which  -will  give-  abont  the  average  gain.  Thia  lamb 
•was  dropped  February  9,  and  weighed  8  pounds  ;  February  19, 13i  pounds ;  February 
26,  17i  pounds;  March  5,  21f  pounds;  March  12,  24^  pounds;  March  19,  26|  pounds; 
March  27,  31f  pounds  ;  April  2,  35|  pounds ;  April  9,  39  pounds ;  April  16,  4'ii  pounds ; 
April  23,  45^  pounds  ;  April  30,  49  pounds;  May  7,  54  pounds  ;  May  11,  56  pounds.  At 
ninety-two  days  old,  deducting  the  weight  at  birth,  the  gain  was  48  pounds,  a  trifle 
over  one-half  pound  per  day.  My  ewes  were  too  old  to  be  good  milkers ;  the  lot  should 
have  been  at  least  10  pounds  heavier.  The  fleece  should  bring  $2  and  the  lamb  $6, 
making  $8  per  head.  Lambs  dropped  in  April  will  be  found  the  most  profitable  for 
winter  and  spring  feeding.  During  the  last  part  of  the'  fall,  by  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober, I  commence  feeding  this  class  of  sheep,  giving,  during  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber, grain  liberally,  and  they  should  have  access  to  a  daily  feeding  of  hay.  Their  food 
Bhould  be  fat  and  flesh  forming  substances,  such  as  will  produce  growth  as  well  as  fat. 
To  full-grown  sheep  feed  corn  ;  to  lambs,  oats,  pease,  corn,  and  bran ;  and  I  think  it 
pays  to  raise  roots  to  feed  any  fattening  sheep.  »  »  *  This  class  of  sheep  generally 
are  more  profitable  to  feed  than  full-grown  ones  for  three  reasons :  the  first  cost  is  not 
more,  and  sometimes  is  less  per  pound ;  the  gain  is  greater  on  the  same  amount  of  feed, 
and  the  selling  price  higher  per  pound.  From  my  sheep-book  I  copy  the  following : 
Forty-four  yearling  grade  Merinos  cost,  in  the  fall,  $2  per  head ;  average  weight  Decem- 
ber 1,  55  pounds  ;  sheared  and  sold  April  15 ;  average  weight  after  shearing,  72  pounds ; 
gain  in  four  and  one-half  months,  17  pounds ;  sheared  225  pounds  ;  sold  for  $5.25  per 
bead,  including  wool.  Two  winters  ago  I  fed  a  lot  of  half-grade  Cotswolds ;  average 
weight  when  commenced  feeding,  50  pounds ;  cost,  6  cents  per  pound.  January  8, 
average  weight,  62^  pounds ;  February  16,  average  weight,  69  pounds ;  March  30,  aver- 
age weight,  75  pounds.  Sold  at  that  time  at  8  cents  per  pound,  or  $6  per  head.  The 
past  winter  I  fed  104  lambs,  half-blood  Cotswolds.  From  December  1  to  Ap41 1,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  days,  I  fed  9,100  pounds  of  graiu  of  the  following  variety  and 
proportion :  Of  each  100  pounds,  65  pounds  were  corn,  25  pounds  oats  and  pease,  and  10 
pounds  bran.    Nearly  all  the  grain  was  ground. 


Weight  of  lambs. 


Time  between  each 
weighing. 


Gain. 


Average  per  head. 


December  3— 7,034  pounds 
Januaxy  4 — 7,633  pounds. . 
Febraary  6 — 8,154  poonds 
March  11—8,985  pounds 


32  days 

33  days 

34  days 
April  1—9,505  pounds 1  21  days 


599  pounds.. 
521  pounds.. 
831  pounds.. 
520  pounds.. 


67  68-104. 
73  41-104. 
78  42-104. 
86  41-104. 
91  41-104. 


During  the  month  of  December  I  fed  50  pounds  of  grain  per  day ;  first  fifteen  days 
in  January,  60  pounds ;  last  half  of  the  month,  70  pounds  ;  from  February  1  to  20, 80 
pounds  ;  from  the  20th  to  the  10th  of  March,  90  pounds ;  the  remainder  of  the  time, 
100  pounds  per  day. 

Mr.  C.  G.  Pringle,  in  a  paper  on  the  hybridization  of  cereals,  details 
some  successful  experiments  in  cross-fertilization  of  wheat.  He  com- 
menced them  in  the  spring  of  1870,  by  impre^gnating  a  few  ovules  in  a 
head  of  the  Black  Sea  variety  with  pollen  of  the  Golden  Drop,  or  Sibe- 
rian. He  selected  the  Black  Sea  variety  because  of  its  extreme  hardi- 
ness, and  crossed  it  with  the  Golden  Drop  in  order  to  unite  the  hardi- 
ness of  the  first  with  the  finer  flour-producing  qualities  of  the  latter. 
The  fruit  of  this  cross,  a  half  dozen  grains,  was  sown  the  next  spring 
in  a  drill  and  cultivated  with  the  utmost  care.  This  first  year  the  plants 
showed  great  uniformity  of  character.  They  were,  speaking  in  a  general 
way,  intermediate  between  their  parents.  Except  for  a  few  short  awns 
on  the  upper  part  of  the  heads,  they  were  beardless  like  the  Golden  Drop, 
though  they  had  sprung  from  seed  borne  on  the  Black  Sea,  a  full-bearded 
variety ;  the  chaff  had  taken  a  reddish  tinge  from  the  Black  Sea ;  and 
the  kernels  were  larger,  plumper,  and  of  lighter  color  than  those  of  that 
variety,  evidently  partaking  strongly  of  the  character  of  the  Golden  Drop. 
Great  vigor  was  displayed  by  the  plants,  and  the  heads  were  of  unusual 
length.  Possibly  this  great  vigor  was  in  part  due  to  the  good  effect  of 
crossing  J  certainly  good  cultivation  had  something  to  do  with  it.    The 


DIGEST   OF   STATE   REPORTS.  429 

selected  product  of  these  plants  was  the  second  spring  sown  in  drills 
and  kept  separate  by  numbered  stakes.  Of  this  experiment  the  writer 
says: 

As  tho  plants  "grew  luxuriantly  and  tillered  freely,  I  counted  on  a  rapid  increase  of 
my  stock  of  these  new  varieties,  "which,  judging  from  the  character  they  exhibited  the 
previous  year,  would,  beyond  question,  be  valuable  gains  to  agriculture.  But  as  the 
heads  issued  from  the  sheath  of  the  upper  leaf,  great  was  my  astonishment  and  dismay 
to  observe  among  the  plants  of  each  class  a  wide  diversity  ol  forms.  There  were  heads 
of  various  lengths  and  of  many  forms ;  there  were  awnless  heads,  and  heads  bearded 
in  every  degree.  As  the  other  characters,  those  belonging  to  the  kernel,  developed  ifc 
became  manifest  that  the  several  characters  of  both  original  types  were  jostling 
together  in  complete  confusion.  Reversion  was  playing  its  part,  and,  struggling 
against  inheritance,  was  gaining  for  certain  characters  the  Ascendency  in  one  plant, 
while  in  another  it  was  giving  the  advantage  to  those  quite  different.  It  was  appar- 
ently seeking  to  resolve  the  hybridity  I  had  effected,  and  to  carry  back  a  part  of  the 
plants  to  one  parent  form  and  a  part  to  the  other.  That  it  did  not  in  some  instances 
completely  succeed  in  this,  showing  me  from  this  union  resolved  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
Golden  Drop  pure  again,  I  cannot  deny.  Usually,  however,  it  failed  to  gather  up  again 
all  the  characters  peculiar  to  either  type,  so  effectually  had  hybridization  segregated 
them  and  dispersed  them  through  the  direct  offspring  of  tho  cross,  the  plants  of  the 
previous  or  first  year,  and  was  compelled  to  leave  them  scattered  irrecoverably  and 
entering  without  law  into  new  combinations  innumerable. 

When  I  saw  this  medley  among  my  crosses  I  relinquished  my  expectation  of  speedy 
advantage  from  the  experiment,  and  but  for  the  aid  which  selection  offered  me  would 
have  remitted  altogether  a  work  involving  so  much  of  care  and  patience  and  yielding 
Buch  perplexity  and  disappointment.  Selecting,  however,  a  few  of  the  most  distinct 
and  promising  forms,  and  beginning  again  the  third  year  with  the  product  of  single 
plants,  as  before,  planting  in  separate  drills,  and  if  any  sporting  appeared  in  the  drill, 
as  was  almost  invariably  the  case,  though  the  degree  of  variation  became  less  and  less, 
uelecting  from  the  drill  in  such  event  the  best  plant,  the  one  which  approached  nearest 
the  ideal  appointed  for  that  drill,  to  yield  seedfo?  the  next  year,  I  have  succeeded,  after 
four  years,  in  fixing  the  character  of  several  varieties.  The  sway  of  inheritance  in 
them  is  no  longer  disputed,  and  they  come  true  from  seed.  No.  6  is  a  bald,  red-chafl 
variety,  with  its  kernel  small,  scarcely  longer  than  broad,  and  very  tawny  in  color. 
No.  7  is  baM ;  red  chaff;  kernel  large  and  plunjp ;  reddish.  No.  9  is  bald ;  chaff  nearly 
white;  kernel  largo,  red,  very  plnmp.  No.  1^  is  bearded;  white  chaff;  kernel  large, 
oblong,  rather  light  colored.  No.  15  is  bearded;  red  chaff;  kernel  large,  plump,  dark. 
No.  15^  is  beardexi ;  white  chaff ;  kernel  of  good  size,  almost  spherical ;  not  deeply  col- 
ored. Assorted  from  No.  15.  Only  three  years  ago  tho  two  sorts  were  contained  in  one 
kernel. 

It  is  interesting  to  trace  each  of  the  several  characters  of  these  six  varieties  to  its 
origin  either  in  the  Blfick  Sea  or  the  Golden  Drop.  I  will  add  that  all  of  these  new  varie- 
ties are  remarkably  vigorous  and  productive,  carrying  heads  from  five  to  six  inches  in 
length.    All  have  resisted  mildew  or  rust  the  past  year. 

WISCONSIN. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Agricult- 
ural Society,  for  the  year  1874-'75,  contains,  in  addition  to  the  routine 
and  business  transactions  of  the  association,  a  full  report  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  State  agricultural  convention  held  in  January,  1875,  and 
numerous  interesting  and  valuable  papers  on  subjects  of  special  interest 
to  the  farmers  of  the  Northwest. 

Secretary  Field,  in  his  preliminary  report  to  the  governor  of  the  State, 
says  that  the  season,  as  compared  with  the  past  five  years,  has  been  one 
of  general  prosperity  among  those  engaged  in  the  varied  branches  ot 
agriculture,  except,  perhaps,  the  growers  of  wheat.  Throughout  the 
State  the  season  seemed  to  be  unfavorable  to  tho  production  of  this 
cereal.  The  greatest  loss  was  from  the  chinch-bug;  in  some  localities 
they  entirely  destroyed  the  crop.  Much  depression  was  consequently 
caused  in  the  large  wheat- growing  districts,  where,  for  years  past,  but 
little  else  had  been  cultivated.  All  other  products  gave  a  full  average 
yield  and  commanded  remunerative  prices. 

The  success  of  dairy  boards  of  trade,  as  inaugurated  and  conducted 


430    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  AQRICULTUR*, 

in  the  eastern  section  of  the  conntry,  has  stimnlated  the  people  of  Wis- 
consin to  efforts  in  the  same  direction,  and  already  the  system  is  in 
successful  operation  in  various  sections  of  the  State.  Kegular  market- 
days  have  been  established,  and  the  purchaser  has  beon  practically 
brought  to  the  very  door  of  the  producer.  The  result  has  been  so  satis- 
factory that  farmers  in  other  leading  branches  of  agriculture  are  urged 
to  co-operate  with  each  other  in  the  sale  of  their  products.  Societies, 
includiug  State,  county,  and  so  on,dowu  to  town-club  and  grange,  are 
complimented  as  having  accomplished  much  good,  and  as  being  capable 
of  conferring  yet  greater  benefits  as  educators  of  the  industrial  masses. 
The  secretary  says : 

A  matnal  interchange  of  ideas,  wn  intelligent  co-operatiy©  action  on  the  part  of  those 
whose  interests  are  ideutical,  is  much  needed.  Farmer*  must  mov^e  with  the  age,  keep 
up  with  the  other  professions,  not  years  behind.  Individual  effort  can  accomplish  but 
little.  Organization  is  what  now  moves  the  world  Combinations  of  capitalists  go  be- 
fore legislatures  and  get  all  they  ask,  or  prevent  what  they  do  not  desire.  Were  we 
farmers  ever  known  to  organize  and  ask  the  legislature  for  special  privileges,  or  to  pre- 
vent the  enactment  of  class  laws  against  our  interests  1  Farmers  should  not  be  legal 
food  for  other  organizations  to  feed  upon,  without  preparing  to  devour  in  return  for 
self-protection.  They  can  at  least  be  just  to  others,  and  at  the  same  time  generous  to 
themselves,  if  they  will  but  combine  and  work  together  for  their  interests  as  other 
classes  do.  The  more  intelligence,  the  more  euccessfnl  and  Ix^tter  will  the  organization 
be  Agricultural  papers  are  doing  much  to  stimulate  and  build  up  the  industrial  in- 
terests of  the  State,  and  they  should  be  encouraged  and  sustained  ;  but  "  a  face  to  face 
talk  "  will  do  more  good  in  an  hour  to  educate  and  impress  upon  the  mind  facts  and 
principles  than  all  the  articles  read  in  a  paper  during  the  year.  Hence,  farmers  should 
organize,  give  their  experience  to  each  other,  read,  talk,  counsel,  advse,  become  more 
intelligent,  and  be  better  prepared  to  govern  and  direct  the  affairs  of  State  and  nation. 

The  first  annual  report  of  the  commissioners  of  fisheries  of  the  State  is 
contained  in  this  volume.  The  commission  received,  through  Professor 
Baird,  100,000  spawn  of  the  CaliforDia  salmon.  Mr.  Palmer,  one  of 
the  commissioners,  who  owns  a  private  hatching  house  at  Boscobel, 
undertook  the  hatching  process  and  the  distribution  of  the  young  fry. 
From  these  spawn  he  hatched  some  61,000  fry  in  excellent  condition, 
and  when  distributed  they  were  unusually  strong  and  healthy.  Nine- 
teen thousand  of  these  fry  were  distributed  in  the  waters  of  Grant,  Craw- 
ford, and  La  Fayette  Counties,  and  the  remainder  in  the  northwestern 
counties  and  among  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  Sheboygan,  Fond  du  Lac, 
and  Winnebago.  The  commissioners  aflBrm  that  there  is  no  oth(?r  State 
in  the  Union,  disconnected  from  the  seaboard,  so  well  adapted  to  fish- 
culture  as  the  State  of  Wisconsin.  There  are  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  lakes  in  the  following-named  sixteen  counties:  Kenosha,  Racine, 
Walworth,  Waukesha,  Jefferson,  Dane,  Washington,  Dodge,  Columbia, 
Sheboygan,  Fond  du  Lac,  Green  Lake,  Marquette,  Waushara,  Wau- 
paca, and  Winnebago.  These  lakes  cover  388  square  miles,  or  248,320 
acres  of  water,  which  large  surface  is  now  comparatively  unproductive. 

The  State  agricultural  convention  was  held  at  Madison,  (from  Janu- 
ary 27  t;^  30,  inckusive,)  and  was  largel.v  attended  by  the  leading  farmers 
and  fruit-growers  of  the  State.  The  sessiou  was  opened  by  President 
Eli  Stilsou,  who  read  a  paper  entitled,  "  How  shall  we  improve  the  ag- 
riculture of  W^isconsin  f"  During  the  sessions  of  the  convention  the 
following-named  papers  were  read,  and,  in  many  cases,  commented  upon 
at  considerable  length  :  "  Peat,  a  cheap  fuel  in  the  near  future,"  by  W. 
H.  Newton  ;  ''  Protection  from  lightning,"  by  Prof.  John  W.  .sterling ; 
"  Objects  and  methods  of  cultivation,"  by  Prof  W.  W.  Daniels ;  "  Some 
of  the  lessons  ot  the  past  season,"  by  J.  W.  Wood  ;  "■  Economy  in  farm- 
ing," by  John  Bascom,  president  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  ;  "  The 
need  of  organization  among  producers,"  by  M.  K.  Young ;  "  Compara- 


DIGEST   OP   STATK   REPORTS,  431 

tive  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  machinery  in  agricnltnre,"  by  B. 
H.  Benton ;  "  Gypsum,  or  land-plaster,  and  how  to  use  it,"  by  N.  B. 
Allen  ;  "Agriculture,  a  glimpse  at  its  past,  present,  and  future,"  by  J. 
M.  Smith  ;  "  Interest  on  money,  a  high  rate  ruinous  to  productive  in- 
dustry," by  Secretary  W,  W.  Field  ;  "  The  future  outlook  of  the  dairy- 
interest  in  Wisconsin,"  by  Stephen  Favill ;  "  Horses,"  by  John  L.  Mitch- 
ell; "Agriculture,  or  light  in  the  bee-hive,"  by  G.  W.  Maryatt ;  "  N* 
ture's  methods  of  soil-formation,  and  the  process  of  culture  which  these 
methods  suggest,"  by  Prof.  John  Murrish ;  "  Soils  of  Eastern  Wisconsin," 
bj^  Prof.  T.  C.  Chamberlain  ;  "  Live  stock  on  Wisconsin  farms,"  by  G. 
E.  Morrow.  Several  other  interesting  papers  and  two  or  three  valuable 
reports  Irom  special  committees  are  contained  in  this  volume.  Experi- 
ments on  the  university  farm,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Daniels, 
are  also  given.  The  experiments  with  seed  from  the  tips,  middle,  and 
butts  of  ears  of  corn  are  interesting.  These  experiments  were  com- 
menced in  1870.  In  this  year,  corn  from  the  tips,  butts,  and  middle  of 
the  same  ears  was  planted,  and  each  year  since  the  tips,  butts,  and 
middle  of  that  raised  from  like  seed  the  previous  year  were  again 
planted.  The  yield  upon  adjacent  plats  of  equal  size  this  season  was  as 
follows:  Tips,  460  pounds  ;  middle,  414  pounds  ;  butts,  422  pounds.  No 
difference  was  visible  in  the  quality  of  the  corn.  The  result  of  five 
years'  experiments  demonstrates  that  it  makes  no  difference  from  what 
portion  of  the  ear  seed  is  taken.  Professor  Daniels's  experiments  for  the 
improvement  of  soils  by  mechanical  means  are  given  as  follows : 

This  experiment  was  begun  in  1871,  upon  four  adjacent  plats  of  an  acre  each,  to  be 
cultivated  as  follows :  Plat  1,  to  be  plowed  to  a  depth  of  5  inches  only  ;  plat  2,  to  be 
plowed  12  inches  deep ;  plat  3,  to  be  plowed  20  inches  deep  by  trench-plowing ;  plat  4, 
to  be  plowed  20  inches  deep  by  subsoiUng. 

Plats  1  and  2  have  been  cultivated  in  the  prescribed  manner  from  the  beginning. 

Plat  3,  in  1871,  was  plowed  12  inches  deep  only ;  in  1872  and  1873,  17  inches,  and  in 
1874,  18  inches,  which  is  as  deep  as  it  has  been  found  practicable  to  plow. 

Plat  4  was  subsoiled  16  inches  deep  in  1871, 17  inches  in  1872  and  1873,  and  18  inches 
in  1874. 

The  cultivation  of  these  plats  has  been  the  same  in  all  other  respects  than  those  men- 
tioned. The  soil  is  clay,  with  heavy  clay  subsoil ;  the  land  is  level  and  rather  low.  In 
the  fall  of  1873,  an  underground  drain  was  laid  through  each  of  the  plats,  to  carry 
away  water  that  formerly  flowed  over  them  all  after  heavy  rains.  These  plats  have 
been  in  cultivation  to  corn  during  the  entire  four  years.  The  following  table  gives  the 
yield  of  each,  in  bushels  of  ears,  weighing  75  pounds : 

Method  of  onltiTatioM.  1871.    1872.    1873.    1874. 


1871. 

1872. 

1873. 

55.4 

43.5 

63.4 

50.6 

50.3 

52.8 

44.9 

54.7 

51.3 

42.2 

56.8 

51.1 

Plowed  5  inches  deep 55.4     43.5     63.4       53.0 

Plowed  12  inches  deep 50.6     50.3     52.8       58.1 

Trench-plowed  18  inches  deep 44.9     54.7     51.3       65.3 

Subsoil  ed  18  inches  deep 42.2     56.8     51.1       60.8 



The  yield  this  year  shows  the  benefit  of  deep  cultivation  in  dry  seasons,  while  the 
smaller  yield  last  year,  on  the  deeply  plowed  plats,  illustrates  the  injurious  results,  in 
a  wet  season,  of  deeply  plowed  plats  in  a  retentive  subsoil,  with  no  outlet  for  the  super- 
fluous water. 

Report  for  1875-'76. — This  volume  is  not  so  large  as  its  predecessor,  nor 
does  it  contain  as  great  a  variety  of  papers  on  agricultural  subjects.  In 
his  report  to  the  governor,  the  secretary  takes  occasion  to  state  that  the 
closing  year  of  the  national  century  was  somewhat  discouraging  to  cer- 
tain branches  of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  State.  A  greater 
breadth  of  corn  was  planted  than  in  any  previous  year,  but  the  unusu- 
ally late  season,  followed  by  early  frosts  in  August  and  September,  en- 
tirely ruined  thousands  of  acres,  and  seriously  injured  almost  every  field 


432    REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

in  the  State.  The  loss  of  this  staple  cereal  produced  a  marked  effect 
upon  the  beef  and  pork  product,  as  it  was  found  necessary  to  ship  many- 
cattle  and  hogs  to  market  in  a  half-fatted  condition,  and  thousands  of 
stock  hogs  were  shipped  to  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  other  western 
States  for  want  of  corn  to  feed  them. 

Wheat  was  a  fair  average  crop  in  the  northern  and  western  portions 
of  the  State,  while  in  the  more  central  and  southern  part  the  chinch-bug 
did  serious  damage,  again  in  many  instances  entirely  destroying  the 
cereal.  Oats  yielded  heavily,  and  the  crop  was  of  extra  quality.  Pota- 
toes and  vegetables  generally  were  abundant  and  excellent.  Prices  of 
the  cereals  and  stock-products  ruled  fair,  and  were  highly  remunerative 
where  good  crops  were  produced. 

The  secretary  alludes  to  the  work  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society, 
the  granges,  and  farmers'  clubs  of  the  State,  and  says  they  have  done 
much  during  the  past  year  to  promote  the  interests  of  those  engaged  in 
the  different  branches  of  farm- work.    Of  the  State  society,  he  says: 

The  Wisconsin  State  Agricultural  Society  is  earnestly  striving  to  better  the  condition 
of  the  farmers  and  all  others,  engaged  in  industrial,  productive,  useful  enterprises.  By 
its  annual  exhibitions,  it  has  stimulated  better  productions  in  all  branches  of  farming. 
By  its  annual  publication  and  conventions,  it  has  caused  a  deep  interest  in  other  im- 
portant subjects  outside  of  the  mere  routine  work  of  the  farm,  showing  the  intimate 
relations  and  connections  the  farmer  bears  to  all  other  useful  employments  of  the  State. 
The  society  is  to  work  for  others,  not  for  itself.  It  desires  to  reflect  the  sentiments  and 
views  of  the  industrial  people,  the  classes  it  was  intended  by  its  founders  to  aid  and 
encourage,  and  if  possible  it  will  take  advance  steps  upon  all  questions  it  deems  of 
vital  importance  to  the  useful  industries,  thus  (Juickening  thought  and  action  among 
producers  and  leading  them  to  a  higher  position  in  the  social,  political,  and  all  other 
relations  of  the  State.  *  »  »  This  society  has  done  much  to  raise  the  standard  of 
education  and  intelligence  and  place  the  industrial  workers  upon  a  higher  plane — in 
an  intellectual  atmosphere  where  they  can  think  for  themselves  and  keep  step  with 
the  advanced,  progressive  spirit  of  the  times. 

In  addition  to  the  business  transactions  of  the  society  and  the  list  of 
premiums  offered  and  awarded  at  the  annual  State  fair,  this  volume  con- 
tains well- written  papers  on  the  following-named  subjects :  "  Finance," 
by  George  W.  Gate ;  "  Producers'  Perils,"  by  David  Ward  Wood ;  "  Fi- 
nance," by  Sidney  Myers;  "The  farmers  of  Wisconsin,"  by  George  W. 
Lee ;  "  Better  education  of  farmers  a  necessity  for  both  the  present  and 
future,"  by  J.  M.  Smith ;  "  The  farmer  in  politics,"  by  William  Orledge ; 
"Our  agricultural  'rag  baby,'"  by  E.  H.  Benton;  "Gold  as  a  stand- 
ard of  value,"  by  G.  M.  Steele,  D.  D. ;  "A  consideration  of  the  incon- 
vertible note  scheme,"  by  E.  B.  Leland ;  "  Dollars  and  sense,"  by  S.  D. 
Carpenter;  "Butter-making  and  the  care  of  cows,"  by  F.  C.  Curtis; 
"  Eenovation  of  soils  by  rotation  of  crops,"  by  A.  A.  Boyce;  "  Eelation 
of  the  soil  to  water,"  by  Prof.  John  Murrish ;  "  A  practical  application 
of  some  of  the  lessons  of  the  year,"  by  C.  E.  Warner;  "  What  kind  of 
wheat  shall  we  raise'?"  by  J.  W.  Wood;  "Original  creation  of  the  soil 
of  Wisconsin,  its  past  compared  with  its  present  condition ;  means  of 
improved  future  fertility,"  by  H.  A.  Tenney ;  "  What  Wisconsin  farm- 
ing demands  of  Wisconsin  science,"  by  Prof.  T.  C.  Chamberlin ;  "  Higher 
education  on  the  progress  of  a  State,  or  the  people  and  their  university," 
by  Prof.  J.  W.  Hoyt ;  "  Grass  is  king,"  by  Charles  Seymour ;  "  Self- 
culture,"  by  H.  C.  Skavlem ;  "  Farm -banks,  or  little  things  on  the  farm, 
and  why  some  sell  out  and  go  West,"  by  George  P.  Peffer ;  "  Success  vs. 
failure  in  Wisconsin  orcharding,"  by  J.  C.  Plumb.  Many  of  these  papers 
contain  tacts  and  suggestions  of  deep  interest  to  the  farmers  of  the 
Northwest. 


INIDEX. 


A. 

Page. 

Acreage  in  corn  and  cotton  compared 120 

of  crops  in  European  states 259 

per  cent,  of,  in  corn,  cotton,  and  other  crops 121 

under  each  crop  in  the  several  States 91 

Agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges 326 

statistics  of 358 

appropriations,  comparative  exten*  of 89 

exports 162 

production  in  the  several  European  states 255,270 

Agriculture,  application  of  chemistry  to 400 

in  Italy 283 

in  Spain 287 

international  statistics  of 254 

the  future  of,  in  Northern  Michigan 403 

Alabama,  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of 326 

crops  in 94 

farm-animals  in  ....  ..• 112 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

Aleurodes 45 

Alsike  clover,  excellences  of 413 

Amphiscepa  livittata , 2,8 

Analyses  of  American  tanning-materials 52 

wines 53 

anuoto 47 

bat-guano 51 

Borden's  condensed  milk 49 

factory-cheese  from  different  States 47 

green-sand  marl .„ 55 

Mesumbryanthemum  crystalRniim 54 

oleomargarine  cheese 48 

Suceda  Californica 54 

Syracuse  and  Liverpool  salt 47 

varieties  of  butter 48 

Animal  warmth,  utilization  of,  in  Italy 284 

Annotto,  analyses  of 47 

Aphides 34,73 

Aplirophfira  parallela 31 

quadrangularis 31 

quadrinotata 31 

Appendix 433 

Apple,  the  Eed  Canada  Winter 403 

Apple-trees,  the  time  for  pruning 393 

Apples,  best  varieties  of,  for  growing  in  New  Hampshire 413 

Appropriations  for  the  Department  .^ 15 

Archasia  galeala 30 

Argentine  Republic,  agricultural  condition  of 272 

exports  to 273 

imports  and  exports  of 272 

stock-raising  in 274 

Arkansas,  crops  in , 95 

farm-animals  in 112 

industrial  university 327 

loss  of  hogs  in 111 

Aspi&otus  citricola , :. , 43 

•  conchiformis 43 

glaverii .'. 41 

433 


434  INDEX. 

Atpidiotu*  Sarrisii 43 

pinifolice 43 

Assistant  Entomologist,  report  of •. 17 

Aulacizus  moUipes 32 

Austria,  statistics  of  farm-auimals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

B. 

Q^con  and  hams,  exports  of 239 

Baden,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in '. 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-257 

Bagging,  extent  of  demand  for 292 

Baltimore,  annual  receipts  of  bogs  at 236 

flour  and  grain  trade  at 185-206 

markets  for  live  stocli  and  stock-products  at 213-252 

prices  of  farm-products  at 246 

Barley,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product,  and  value  of,  in  the  several  States 91 

crop 91-104 

exports  of 174-176 

Bat-guano 49 

analyses  of 51 

Bavaria,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

Beans,  increased  jneld  of,  from  supplying  the  proper  plant-food 391 

Beef-cattle,  full  feeding  and  early  maturity  of 306 

the  profit  of  early  maturity  in 309 

Beef,  exports  of  fresh .• 320 

markets  for 211,225,242,250 

production  in  Nctv  York,  the  true  system  of ' 306 

shipment  of  fresh,  to  Europe 312 

steer,  cost  of,  when  two  years  old , 310 

the  age  of  cattle  for  turning  into 371 

Beet-sugar,  production  of,  in  1875 153 

in  the  United  States 157 

Beets,  mineral  nutrition  of 55 

in  poor  soil,  the  best  fertilizers  for 56 

Belgium,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in _ 269 

■                     population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

^lue-grass 373 

Boston,  annual  receipts  of  hogs  at 236 

flour  and  grain  trade  at 181,206 

prices  of  farm-products  at 242 

Botanical  Division 13 

Botanist,  report  of  the 73 

Brazil,  exports  to 271 

imports  and  exports  of 272 

our  trade  with 271 

Buckwheat,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product  and  value  of,  in  the  United  States  91 

crop 91,104 

Bull,  points  and  profits  of  a  good 372 

Butter,  analyses  of  varieties  of 48 

and  cheese,  feeding  for  the  production  of 365 

making,  comparative  profits  of 380 

comparative  profits  of  making  the  best 387 

from  sweet  cieam  and  from  sour  cream,  compared 422 

in  milk,  chemical  theories  respecting....* 60 

markets  for u 215,225,242,250 

the  composition  of,  afl'ected  by  breed  of  cow 416 

the  efl'ects  of  feed  upon 366 

C. 

California  colleges  of  agriculture  and  mochanics 327 

crops  in 97 

farm-animals  in 112 

Calves  fed  on  skimmed  milk ■.  307 

for  dairy-cows,  superiority  of  early 384 

method  of  raising 426 


INDEX.  435 

Pag©. 

Cttlve*,  advaalage  and  mode  of  raising 384 

value  of  whey  and  skimmed  milk  for 386 

Canada,  pork-packing  in ."^ 238 

Carbo-hydrates,  formation  of 57 

Cattle,  condition  of 105 

diseases  of 105 

proportion  of  thoroughbred,  in  Indiana 371 

feeding,  European  experiments  in 368 

in  New  York 299 

an  esperiiiyjnt  in 308 

instance*  of 302,  307 

present  condition  of 300 

husbandry,  a  means  of  restoring  and  increasing  fertility  of  soil 383 

a  source  of  increased  fertility  and  of  direct  profit 412 

importauce  and  profits  of 383 

losses  of , 106 

markets  for 210,224,250,252 

products,  markets  for 211,225,242,250 

the  greatest  profits  in  fattening  young 1 371 

Centennnial  exhibits  of  the  Chomical  Division  at 46 

Museum  at 17 

Cercopis  licincia 30 

Cereals,  total  exports  of 176 

Ceresa  iiiialus 29 

diceroa 29 

Chalk-beds  ofKansas,  utilizing  the 378 

Cheese  from  buttermilk,  analyses  of 48 

different  factories,  analyses  of 47 

skimmed-rcilk,  analyses  of 48 

Cheese  and  butter  making,  comparative  profits  of 380 

markets  for 213,225,242,250 

oleomargarine,  analyses  of 48 

the  composition  of,  affected  by  breed  of  cow 416 

Chemical  Division,  exhibits  of,  at  the  Centennial 46 

work  of  the ,.  10 

Chemist,  report  of 46 

Chemistry,  application  of,  to  agriculture  and  the  laws  of  health 400 

Chicago,  flour  and  grain  trado  at 190,206 

markets  for  live  stock  and  stock-products  at 218, 252 

pork-packing  at 234, 235 

prices  of  farm-products  at 248 

Cliili,  civil  condition  of 277 

imports  from 278 

Cicada  pruinosa 24 

se2}tendecim,  seventeen-year  locusts 25 

Cinchonas ~ 65 

Cmcimiati,  flour  and  grain  trado  at 187,206 

markets  for  live  stock  and  stock-products  at 214, 252 

pork-packing  at 217,234,235 

prices  of  farm-products  at 246 

Clnslopiera  ohtusa 31 

proteus 31 

Ck'Yi'lund,  summer  pork-packing  at 235 

Voecns  piitlcorticis 44 

Co:! idea  ituh-  bifasclata 32 

Coti\-e,  '^uccfct>8  in  cultivating,  in  United  States  doubtful 63 

Col!i';ies,  agricultural  and  mechanical 326 

C  lor  of  ciit'ilo  subordinate  to  quality  of 374 

Ci'Mitiiiasioner,  report  of  the 7 

Cv)iioii(.;iceicsutiiilayine 81 

Connecticut,  crops  in 92 

farm-animals  in 112 

Sheffield  Scientific  School  in 328 

State  board 363,367 

Corn,  acreage  of,  compared  with  that  of  cotton 120 

yield  per  acre,  product  and  value  of,  in  the  several  States 91 

crov - 96,104 

exports  of 170, 172, 175 

increased  yield  of,  by  supplying  the  proper  plant-food 390 


436  INDEX. 

Pago. 

Corn,  productioii,  increase  of i..  282 

westward  migration  in  area  of 282 

successful  experiment  in  growing 391 

Corn-meal,  exports  of 170, 175 

per  cent,  of,  exported  comi)ared  with  corn 175 

Cost  of  packed  hogs 23;),  234 

producing  cotton 137 

Cotton,  acreage  and  rate  of  yield  of 118 

of,  compared  with  that  of  corn 120 

«           annual  production  of,  in  years  preceding  and  succeeding  the  war 116 

changes  in  modes  of  cultivating 127 

cost  and  price  of 137 

crop 104 

fertilizers  for 122 

increase  in  production  of,  since  the  war 115 

investigation *        114 

summary  of  results  of 151 

large  yields  of 139 

prices  of  American  and  Indian,  in  Great  Britain 114 

production  of,  tending  westward 119 

seed,  vaiieties  of 147 

the  area  for  growing , 117 

States,  decrease  in  size  of  farms  in 128 

increased  production  of  eupplies  in 148 

increase  in  the  numher  of  email  farms  in 129 

labor  in 130 

Cows,  breeding  and  training  for  profit 425 

different  types  of,  for  milk  .; 415 

milch,  numbers,  prices,  and  values  of,  in  the  several  States 112 

number  and  price  of  milch,  in  the  United.  States ,  104 

points  of  good 392,421,425 

model  short-horn 374 

selection  and  treatment  of,  for  milk 363 

the  best  for  the  dairy 392,419,420,425 

the  size  of,  for  profit 425 

value  of  meal  as  feed  for  milch 425 

Crop-estimates  for  1876 90 

Crops,  statistics  of 99 

acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product  and  value  of,  in  the  several  States 91 

average  yield,  value  per  acre,  and  price  per  bushel,  pound,  or  ton  in 

the  United  States 104 

cash  value  j)er  acre  of,  in  the  several  States 103 

in  the  several  States,  statistics  of 91 

lirice  per  bushel,  iwuud,  or  ton  in  the  several  States 102 

product,  acreage,  and  value  of,  in  the  United  States 104 

yield  per  acre  in  the  several  States 102 

yields  of,  in  European  states 264 

Curculio  on  plum-trees,  preventive  of 405,411 

D. 

Dairy  factories,  net  return  per  cow  to  patrons  of , 422 

husbandry  in  Italy 286 

the  best  cows  for" 392,419,420,425 

Dairying,  associated,  in  Maine 381 

the  future  of 422 

Dairymen's  Association,  Ohio 418,420 

Maine 385 

Western  Reserve 419,422 

Delaware  College 329 

crops  in 93 

farm-animals  in 112 

Delphax  carinata 27 

Denmark,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  area.s,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

DledroccpJiala  quadrivittata 33 

Diseases  of  cattle 105 

hogs 107,403 

preventives  and  remedies  of 109 


INDEX.                                       '  43? 

Page. 

Diseases  of  sheep 107 

parasitit; , 417 

DortJiesia  cata})hracia .'-. 45 

Dundee,  Scotland,  maunfactute'es  of  jute  in 291 

E. 

Ecuador,  exports  of 280 

our  commerce  with 280 

Education,  pro^rebs  of  industrial '.  346 

Enchenopa  hmotata ♦. ..  28 

England,  esf)orts  of  fresh  heef  to 320 

Entomolof^ist,  report  of 17 

Entilia  curinata 29 

concava ^ 29 

Eriosoma  lanigcra 38 

pyri 38 

tesselaia 39 

Erythroneura  hasaUs 33 

vitis 32 

Eucalyi)tol,  composition  of.t 86 

Eucalyptus  gJohulus 65 

Eucalypti 82 

Europe,  annual  production  of  cereals  in 262 

fresh-meat  shipment  to 312 

European  states,  acres  devoted  to  different  products  in 259 

annual  production  of  cereals  in 262 

per  capita 260 

potatoes  per  capita 262 

areas  and  populations  of .- 255 

farm-animals  in 268 

per  cent,  of  land  devoted  to  different  products  in 256 

tillage  land-in  the  several 255 

yields  of  crops  in 263 

Expenditures  of  the  Department 15 

Experiments,  European,  in  feeding  cattle ' 368 

for  improving  soils  hy  mechanical  means 431 

in  feeding  cattle  in  New  York 303 


pigs 


398 


growing  corn  in  Massachusetts 391 

providing  plant-food 389 

with  milk  of  diflerent  breeds  <5f  cows 424 

Exports,  agricultural 162 

of  barley 174,176 

corn : 170,172,175 

corn-meal 1 ''0, 175 

Ecuador 280 

flour  and  grain _ 164, 175 

from  Stin  Francisco - 205 

fresh  beef - 320 

hog-products _ -..- 239 

oats 174,176 

rye - 173, 170 

wheat  and  flour  for  51  years 167 

to  Brazil 271 

Peru 278 

Kio  Janeiro 272 

Argentine  Republic ._ - 273 

United  States  of  Colombia 276 

Uruguay — - 277 

Venezuela - - 279 

F. 

Farm-animals  in  the  European  states — 268 

number  and  condition  of 104 

per  cent,  oi"  each  kind  in  European  States 2C9 

receipts  of,  at  different  cities 210-223 

Farm  hands  in  Italy,  wages  of -^ 285 


438  •  INDEX. 

Paga. 

Farm-lands  in  Italy,  ownership,  taxes,  and  incomes  of. 285 

products,  market-prices  of 242 

Farmers,  co-operation  and  mutual  understanding  among 430 

Farming,  improved  modes  of,  in  New  Hampshire 412 

in  Maine 383 

population  in  Italy,  diet  of 285 

dress  of 285 

Farms  in  the  cotton  States,  decrease  in  size  of 128 

increase  in  number  of  small 129 

Feed  for  sheep  and  poultry,  refuse  of  menhaden  for 379 

the  best  for  butter  and  cheese ^...  365 

producing  milk ,....  364, 369 

value  of  coarse 369 

Feeding  ad  liUiiim,  results  of 370 

cattle,  results  of  European  experiments  In 368 

theory  and  practice  of 382 

Fertilizer  for  beets  on  poor  soil,  the  best 56 

menhaden  for  a 379,387 

Fertilizers  for  cotton 122 

the  use  of  marsh-muck  for 407 

Finland,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in •. „..  269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

Fisb-culture  in  Wisconsin 430 

Fisheries,  menhaden  and  herring,  on  the  coast  of  Maine 379 

Florida  Agricultural  College 329 

crops  in 94 

farm-animals  in 112 

loss  of  hogs  in : Ill 

Flour  and  grain,  domestic  trade  in 177 

movements 164 

receipts  and  shii^ments  of 206 

wheat,  exports  of , 167, 171 

a  new  process  in  manufacturing 169 

exports,  per  cent,  of,  compared  with  wheat 163, 175 

France,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

poj^lation,  areas,  and  land-productions  iu 255-268 

Freedmen  land-owners 137 

Fresh'Uieat,  condition  of  profitable  shipments  of,  to  Europe 318 

bhipmeut  to  Europe 312 

history  of 314 

Fruit  crop  of  New  Hampshire,  comparative  value  of 413 

Fruit-growing  in  Michigan 394,402,404 

Fruits,  new  varieties  of,  in  Michigan 405 

Fiilgora,  or  Scolojis  sulcipts 27 

Fungi,  edible  *. 79 

micro8coi)ic.  Centennial  collection  of 81 

G. 

Georgia  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts 330 

crops  iu 94 

fann-auimals  in 11>2 

losses  of  hogs  in Ill 

North,  Agricultural  College 331 

Grain  and  flour,  domestic  trade  in 177 

movements 164 

receipts  and  shipments  of 206 

grass,  hints  on  growing 371 

Grains  exported,  proportion  of  different 177 

Grape,  description  of  a  new  seedling 118 

Grape-root  louse ..40,70,81 

Grape-sirup,  production  of '      IGI 

Grapes,  best  varieties  of,  for  growing  in  New  Hampshire 413 

cause  of  failure  iu  cultivating  foreign , 71 

Grass  and  grain,  hints  on  groAving 371 

Grass-lands,  successful  mode  of  treating 384 

Grasshoppers,  natural  history  of .' 375 

Qrasses^  a  mixture  of,  lor  hay ^ .  42a 


INDEX.  439 

Page. 

Grazing  in  Indiana 373 

the  profits  of - 373 

Great  Britain,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

Greece,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productionB  in 255-267 

H. 

Hams  and  bacon,  exports  of 239 

Harvest-flies 24 

Hay,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product,  and  value  io  the  several  States 91 

increased  yield  of,  from  supplying  the  proper  plant-food 390 

salt  and  fresh  water  marsh 296 

Health,  application  of  chemistry  to  the  laws  of 400 

Hodge-plants 70 

Hesso-Darmstadt,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

Hides,  dry.  incapable  of  transmitting  rinderpest 321 

markets  for 215,226 

Hog-cholera - 408 

the  treatment  of 423 

Hog- products,  exports  of 239 

markets  for 214,229,242,250 

Hogs,  cost  of  packed 233, 234 

diseases  of 107,408 

experiments  in  feeding 398 

losses  of Ill 

markets  for 211,228,250,252 

number  and  prices  of,  in  the  United  States 104 

numbers  of,  packed 232,234,239,241 

prices,  and  values  of,  in  the  several  States 113 

receipts  of,  in  the  Eastern  cities 236 

weight  of,  packed 232,234,241 

yield  of  lard  from  packed 233, 234 

Holland,  statistics  of  farm-animals-  in 269 

population,  areas,  anu  land-productions  in 255-267 

Homes  of  farmers  in  Italy 284 

Eomoptera 34 

Hop  crop 91,104 

Hoplophora  quadriviitata 30 

Horses  and  mules,  market  for,  at  Saint  Louis 224,252 

breeding  and  improvement  of 401 

condition  of .^ 105 

for  Vermont,  points  to  be  regarded  in  growing 426 

market  for,  at  Chicago 218 

Morgan 426 

number  and  price  of,  in  the  United  States 104 

points  to  be  regarded  in  breeding  for  market .-.  392 

the  breeding  and  management  of 391 

raising  of,  for  Maine 386 

Horticultural  Society,  Missouri  State 409 

Hungary,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

I. 

Illinois,  crops  in .' 96 

farm-animals  in 112 

hogs  packed  in 232 

industrial  university 331 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

Immigration  westward,  results  of 281 

Imports  from  Brazil 291 

Chili 278 

Venezuela 279 

of  sugar 154 

India,  jute-culture  in 289 


440  INDEX. 

Page. 

Indiana  Agricnltaral  College 3j{2 

as  a  trrazing  State 373 


cropH  in 


96 


proportion  of  thoroughbred  cattle  in 371,372 

lann-auiinals  iu 112 

hogs  packed  in 232 

loss  of  hogs  iu Ill 

State  IJoard 370 

Indianapolis,  pork-jxickiDg  at 234,235 

India-rubher  plants  strictly  tropical 64 

Iiid ustrial  education,  progress  of 326 

Insect-ravages,  jute  a  protection  from ^ 293 

Insects,  inventions  for  destroying 323 

Inventions  for  destroying  insects - 323 

Iowa  Agricultural  College 333 

ci  ops  iu 97 

farm-animals  in 112 

hogs  packed  in 232 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

Ireland,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

Irrigation  in  Maine 380 

Italy,  agriculture  in 283 

identity  of  farm  dwellings  and  stables  in _  284 

rotation  of  crops,  iiv 1 '  285 

rural  homes  in 284 

etatistics  of  farm  animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-prodactions  in 255-266 

J. 

Japan  persimmons - 68 

Jute,  a  protection  from  insect-depredations -. 293 

culture 289 

development  of,  iu  India 290 

experiments  in • . 291 

in  the  United  States,  economy  of 293 

importance  of 292 

extent  of  manufactures  of,  at  Dundee,  Scotland 291 

profits  from  the  domestic  manufacture  of 293 

uses  of 291 

yield  of 291 

K. 

Kansas  Agricultural  College 334 

oroi)8  in 97 

i:iriu-aui::fals  in 112 

bog.s  packed  in , 232 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

State  Board 374 

textile  and  dairy  production  of 378 

the  mineral  resources  of 377 

l^hysical  features  of 377 

rivers  of 376 

Kentucky  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 335 

fanii-auimals  in 112 

hogs  packed  in ,...  232 

crops  iu 95 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

L. 

Labor-contracts  in  the  cotton  States 131 

in  the  cotton  States,  t[iqt  cent,  of  black  and  white 136 

prices  of 130 

rations  for 135 

white 136 

Laborers,  interest  of  the  National  Government  in  the  prosperity  of 87 

Lachnus  canjw „, 37 


INDEX.         .  441 

Page. 

Lachnus  strohi 38 

Lambs,  the  rate  of  gain  in 428 

Land  owned  by  freednien 137 

Lard,  exports  "f 240 

uitirkcts  for 218,229,242-250 

Lecanium  acericoriicls 44 

Itesperidinn 44 

Live-afcock  markets 209,250 

Louisiana  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 335 

farm-animals  in 112 

crops  in 95 

loss  of  hogs  in .» Ill 

sugar-production  in 15G 

Louisville,  pork-packing  at 234 

Louse,  the  grape-root 40,70,81 

M. 

Maine,  associated  dairying  in 381 

College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts 336 

crops  in 91 

Dairymen's  Association 385 

farm-animala  in 112 

farming  in 383 

irrigation  in 380 

menhaden  and  herring  fisheries  on  the  coast  of 379 

State  Board 378,386 

Pomological  Society 385,388 

the  raising  of  horses  for „ 386 

Manures,  advantages  of  chemical  analyses  of 400 

advantages  of  feeding  pigs  and  cattle  for 406 

production  and  value  of 406 

Maple-sugar  jjroduction 159 

Market-prices  for  farm-products 242 

Markets  for  live  stock  and  live  stock-products 209, 250 

Marl,  analyses  of  green-sand 55 

Marsh  hay,  salt  and  fresh  water 296 

Marshes,  reclamation  of,  in  Massachusetts 388 

Maryland  Agricultural  College 336 

crops  in 93 

farm-animals  in 112 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 337 

crops  in 92 

farm-animals  in 112 

Institute  of  Technology 337 

reclamation  of  marshes  in 388 

State  Board 388 

Maturity  in  beef-cattle,  the  profits  of  early 309 

Meat,  firms  engaged  in  shipping  fresh,  to  Europe 316 

shipment  of  fresh,  to  Europe 312 

mode  of 314 

Mesemhryantheimim  crystalUnum 53 

Michigan  Agricultural  College > 338 

crops  in 96 

farm-animals  in 112 

fruit-belt  of 394 

*  fruit-growing  in - 394, 402,  404 

theprofitsof 403 

hogs  packed  in 232 

new  varieties  of  fruits  in 405 

State  Agricultural  Society 399 

Board 394,400 

Pomological  Society 402 

the  future  of  agriculture  in  Northern 403 

the  season  longer  in  Northern  than  in  Southern 404 

Microscopic  Division 11 

investigations 74 

Microscopist,  repcrt  of 74 

Milk,  analysis  of  Bordeti's  condensed 49 


442  INDEX. 

Page. 

Milk,  conditions  of  securing  the  best  qnality  of 363 

feeding  for  the  production  of 364,369 

from  diflferent  types  of  cows 415 

means  of  detecting  the  adulteration  of 418 

of  Jersey  and  Ayrshire  cows,  experiments  with 424 

pounds  of,  per  pound  of  cheese 422 

prevention  of  taints  and  odors  in 382 

sources  of  taints  and  odors  in 389 

the  constituents  of 416 

the  value  of  skimmed,  for  calves  and  pigs 386 

Milk-globule  of  different  breeds  of  cows 416 

Milwaukee,  flour  and  grain  trade  at 194,206 

pork-packing  at 234,235 

Minerals  poisonous  to  plants  56 

Minnesota  colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts 339 

crops  in 97 

farm-animals  in 112 

hogs  packed  in 232 

Mississippi  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  at  Rodney 340 

College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts  at  Oxford 040 

crops  in 94 

farm-animals  in _ H2 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

Missouri  Agricultural  and  Mechanic  College 341 

crops  in 97 

farm-animals  in 112 

hogs  packed  in 232 

loss  of  hogs  in ". HI 

School  of  Mines  and  Metallurgy [  341 

ytate  Board 408 

Horticultural  Society 409 

Molasses,  cane,  annual  consumption  of I55 

per  cent,  of  domestic  and  foreign,  consumed 155 

Ijroduction  of  sorghum 158 

Mules  and  horses,  market  for,  at  Saint  Louis .'.'....".....  224,252 

number  and  price  of,  in  the  United  States '  104 

numbers,  prices,  and  values  of,  in  the  several  States 112 

Museum,  donations  to g 

erection  of  a  gallery  in  the  hall  of '.. .',.[  7 

exhibits  of,  at  the  Centennial '.I'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  17 

report  on  the '.'.'.'.,'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.  17 

Mashrooms ll.""'I.y.'.'.ll'.'.'.'.'."'.  12  74 

liOTT  t»  grow , I. '.Ill mill m^  '77 

N. 

Nebraska  Agricultural  College 343 

crops  in ..1.-...  1.11  111  11111 11  97 

farm-animals  in _],  111111111111111111111"  112 

hogs  packed  in 1111111111111111111111111  232 

loss  of  hogs  in 1.1 1111 11111111  HI 

Nevada,  crops  in !11111 1111111"          ".  98 

farm-animals  in '..'.'."'.         1 112 

New  Hampshire  College  of  Agriculture  and  Vh^MechrnicAxtB  1111111111 1111!  343 

crops  in 91 

farm-animals  in J... ..111111"  112 

improvements  in  farming  in 1111111111111111  412 

State  Board I ^   ------.  ^^^ 

New  Jersey,  crops  in 1111111111111"1 93 

farm-animals  in 11 1111 1111 1*1  11 112 

Scientific  School " "*  343 

New  Orleans,  live-stock  market  at 1111-1  !1111!  !1111H1"11 11111]  11111!  252 

prices  of  farm-products  at 1.111111!  ". 248 

New  York  Colleges  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Ar'tsV.V.  ".".11111111""  344 

crops  in g2 

farm-animals  in '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 112 

cattle-feeding  in '"_" ""'"  099 

feeding  cattle  purchased  from  without  in.../....!' .'....'... 30O 

the  true  system  of  beef-productiou  in 306 


INDEX.  443 

Page. 

New  York  City,  annual  receipts  of  hogs  at 2pr» 

exports  of  fresh  beef  from 320 

Hour  and  grain  trade  at 180,206 

markets  for  live  stock  and  stock-products  at '20y,  250 

prices  of  farm-products  at 242 

Nitrogen,  organic  a*id  atmospheric,  as  sources  of  vegetable  nutrition 56 

North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts 345 

crops  in 93 

farm-animals  in H'^ 

loss  of  bogs  m —  .-- Ill 

Norway,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in _  269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

O. 

Oats  crop '. 91,104 

exports  of 174,176 

increased  yield  of,  from  supplying  the  proper  plant- food 390 

acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product,  and  vfilue  of,  in  the  several  States 91 

Ohio  Agricaltural  and  Mechanical  College — - ---  346 

crops  in 96 

Dairymen's  Association 418,420 

farm-animals  in 112 

hogs  packed  in 232 

loss  of  hogs  in HI 

State  Board 414,419 

facts  in  the  history  of - - 419 

Oleomargaxine  cheese,  analysis  of - 48 

Oliarius 28 

Olive,  European 66 

French  varieties  of 63 

Spanish  varieties  of,  for  colder  localities 67 

warmer  localities - 68 

Orchards  in  New  Hampshire,  best  localities  for 413 

Michigan,  profits  of. 403 

Oregon  Agricultural  College 347 

crops  in 9*^ 

farm-animals  in 112 

Ormenis  pruinosa -. 28 

septentrionalis , „ 28 

Oiiocerus  ainyottii 27 

coquehertii 27 

Oxen  and  cattle  other  than  milch-cows,  number  and  price  of,  in  the  United 

States 104 

numbers,  prices,  and  values  of,  in  the 

several  States 113 

P. 

Pastures,  benefits  of  underdrainiug 337 

Peach-trees,  pruning 407 

Peaches,  varieties  of,  for  culture  in  Missouri 410 

Pear-trees  in  Europe,  size  'ind  yield  of 410 

the  culture  of 410 

Pediculus  capitis '^ 

pubis 45 

vestamenti 45 

Pemphigus  viti/oliw 39 

Pennsylvania,  crops  in 93 

faim-animals  in 112 

State  College 347 

Peoria,  flour  and  grain  trade  at 197 

Persimmon,  the  Japan 9,  68 

Peru,  agricultural  condition  of , 278 

exports  to —  278 

Philadelphia,  annual  receipts  of  hogs  at 236 

exports  of  fresh  meat  from .  320 

flour  and  grain  trade  at 183,206 

markets  for  live  stock  and  stock-products  at 21-2, 252 

prices  of  farm-products  at "244 


444 


INDEX. 


Phylloscdls  air  a "■^.°' 

Phylloxera  vastatnx "'.'.['.'.'. '.h'-a  o,    /f? 

Pigs,  value  ofwhoyi:i;(UIciuime(l  milk  for-.... '.'.'. '^'^' '^' ^'' ^^^ 

PJant-looiJ,  providJurr  jn-oper .'^y 

Plants,  <be  colioctioii  of  economic "'. f"; 

Plnm-culturo,  tbo  proiitablenes-s  of ." .Iz 

Plum-trees,  preventive  01  cnrcnlio  ou .n-  "tn 

Poisons,  mineral,  affecting  plants '   kr 

Pomological  Society,  Maine  State ."." „^^  „^o 

„    ,  Michioan  State ;'. ^^^' S» 

Pork,  exports  of ■ ^^f 

markets  for -'.'.'.'.",'.'.■■.".'.■.'.";; 'oi'i  oo"?  oa.->  i~-i! 

the  amount  of,  produced .    .  "     '       'i^-~:f,a 

Pork-packin£r ^^u,  *..iy 

"   •     A        ■, 217  I2"'y  2'U) 

in  Canada '       \^.\j 

the  principal  cities ^^^i 

West .."."[[" fyi 

increase  in '_ " ~^'" 

on  the  Pacific  coast .'...'... ""  o-^? 

results  of  summer  and  winter ■*" " '  .->- -  ooq 

summer '"^'^'  ^i, 

winter o>n  o'h» 

Portugal,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in ....". ." ' .' '. " ". .' ."'.*."! .'".".'"."."'.■ .' ' o'^^g 

Potato  cro                     population,  areas,  and  land-produ Jl'iouV in ". '..1..'. [ [ '. " ' ]  2r.5-5c7 

the  kind  and  qnuantity  of  seed  for" a' ' '. " ^^'  d?4 

Potatoes,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  prod uct,  and  value  of,  in  the's"everal  States ' "  yi 

increased  y.eld  of  from  supplying  the  proper'plant-food  .  .  300 

planted  with  a  plow ;:," 

,  Poultry -raising,  hints  on ;^7 

profits  of ;;;: ^^i 

Prices  of  barley  and  of  oats  exported ^-X 

corn  and  corn-meal  exported ;i= 

cotton j.',^ 

crops \ ]'^^ 

farm-animals -'.V.V.7.".'.".'."." Vi9  one.  o-n 

farm-products  in  market.... '       't^o 

Hour  and  wheat  exported f „- 

grain  a*  Chicago ^oi   uu 

labor  in  the  cotton  states ' :..;. 

sugar ^jf" 

rye  and  rye-Hour  exported* ]~f. 

Jrrvcoma  undata ^/" 

Praningapple-trces,  the  time  for  ].".".".'.'.' "1" .}1\ 

peach-trees " '. •';  ■' 

Prussia,  statistics  of  farm-animais  in. .'.'!.'.'.".".".".'■..■■.'"..*;;;;;; fj^l 

PsiillidoB                        population,  areas,  and  land-productions"  in .' !  1 ". ." .' '. .'..'. '.  \ ',  255-267 
~33 

R. 

Rations  far  laborers  in  the  cotton  States ...  i  o- 

Remedies  and  preventives  of  diseases  in  fiirm-aui'ma'ls m-  ino 

Rennet,  best  manner  of  saving,  curing,  and  using...   :.* ^^''1?^ 

Report  of  the  Botanist  .                                           " '^^^ 

Chemist ---."'.--.'!'."".'"..".'!.* ^^ 

Commissioner ]] '^^ 

E utomologist  and  Curato'r  of'  tiie'Museuin i ? 

Microscopist ^' 

Statistician (^ 

,             concluding  Statements  of o>5i 

PI  .  1    T  1      1    Superintendent  of  Gar^leus  and  Grouudo .       " " "  ni 

Rhode  Island  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College         o*^i 

crops  in '^   "^^'^ 

„,                     farm-animala  in ". ,?^ 

Rhododendrons H'^ 

liliozoblus '_'_^ 63 

Rinderpest '-".".".' ".".".".V. "^^ 

preventing  the  introduction"  "of". " o^l 


INDE>X.  445 

Page. 

Rio  Janeiro,  exports  to ' 272 

Kotation  of  crops  in  Italy 285 

Koumania,  F.tatistics  of  farm-auiraals  in 2(59 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

Russia,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 26i) 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  iu 255-267 

Ryo,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product,  and  value  of,  in  the  several  States 91 

crop 91,104 

exports  of 173,176 

S. 

Sackhig,  estfout  of  demand  for,  in  the  United  States 292 

Saint  Louis,  flour  and  grain  trade  at 19§,206 

markets  for  live  stock  and  ritock-products  at 224, 252 

pork-packing  at 229,234,235 

prices  of  farm-products  at 243 

Salt,  analyses  of 47 

San  Francisco,  flour  and  grain  trade  at 203 

prices  of  farm-products  at 250 

Saxe- Altenburg,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in , .  269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-288 

Saxe-Weimar,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

Saxony,  statistics  of  farm.-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-268 

Scab  in  slieep,  remedy  for 107 

Scotland,  exports  of  fresli  beef  to 320 

Seed,  purchase  of,  by  special  commissioner 8 

quantities  and  kinds  of,  distributed 14 

varieties  of  cotton , 147 

Servia,  statistics  of  population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-265 

Sheep,  condition  of , 106 

diseases  of 107,417 

for  market,  breeding  and  feeding 427 

wool  and  mutton,  characteristics  of 427 

losses  of 107 

markets  for 211,226,250,252 

mode  of  determining  the  age  of 427 

number  aed  price  of,  in  the  United  States 104 

numbers  and  prices  of,  in  the  several  States 113 

parasitic  diseases  of 417 

reniedy  for  ecab  in 107 

Sheep-hu&bandry,  hints  on 427 

Sheep-products,  markets  for 212-227, 2'i2-250 

Short-horn  fatted  calf,  history  of 308 

twins,  history  of  tho  Ellsworth 308 

Short-horns 371 

for  exhibition,  feeding 374 

Similia  inornata 30 

van 30 

Soils,  advantages  of  chemical  analyses  of 400 

Sorghum,  production  of,  in  the  United  States 158 

South  America,  our  relations  with 271 

South  Carolina  Agricultural  College  and  Mechanics'  Institute 349 

crops  in 94 

farm-animals  in 112 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

Spain,  agricultural  productions  of 287 

agriculture  iu 287 

statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

State  reports,  digest  of 353 

Statistical  Division,  the : 8 

clerical  force  in 2S2 

cri<ppled  for  want  of  meants 9 

inadequate  provision  for  investigations  by 231 

investigations  begun  in 231 


446  rsDEX. 

.P»ge. 

Statistical  DiTision,  -jrork  of  the gg 

exhibits  at  th«  Centennial 9 

in veetifjation  not  duly  appreciated  and  provided  for 88 

Stati8ticia.n,  report  of 87 

Statistics,  internati»nal 87 

of  agricultaral  colleges 358 

agriculture,  iuleruational 2o4 

areas  aud  population  in  European  statea 255 

cane-molasaeo  consumed  in  tho  ULiited  States 155 

cane-sugar  consumed  in  the  United  States 155 

corn  and  corn-meal  exports 170, 175 

crops  in  the  several  European  statea 209 

Statea f...  91 

domestic  trade  in  flour  and  grain 177  206 

exports  of  fresh  beef 320 

farm-animals llg 

in  European  states 269 

flour  and  wheat  exports 167  175 

jute-culturc  in  India 290 

maple-sugar  production I60 

production  of  sorghum  sugar  and  sirup 158 

productive  lands  in  European  states  ..: 256 

seed-distribution i I4 

sugar-production I53 

Siioiocephala  inermis 30 

Suteda  Callfornioa,  analysis  of 54 

Sugar,anuual  consumption  of "  I55 

cost  of .., 154 

beet-root,  production  of,  in  the  United  States 157 

production  in  1875 I53 

cane,  produced  in  1875 ].        I53 

chemical  process  of  purifying ^ gl 

frtim  ■watermelons,  production  of 161 

imported,  sources  aud  quantities  of /,,  I54 

per  cent,  of  domestic  and  foreign,  consumed 154 

production 253 

in  Louisiana , 15Q 

the  United  States I55 

of  maple , 159 

statistics  o I53 

the  amount  of,  for  domestic  use  in  1875  and  1876 '.'.  154 

Superintendent  of  Garden  and  Grounds,  report  of., .'. .  61 

Supply-crops  in  ohe  cotton  States,  increased  production  of '.'.  148 

Sweden,  statistics  of  populaiion,  areas,  and  land-productions  in 255-267 

Switzerland,  statistics  of  farm  animals  in . . , 269 

I 

T. 

Tallow,  markets  for on  2I8  220 

Tanning-materials,  American '..'.'..'..'....'.'...'.'.. .~..'       ' "52 

analyses  of '"  53 

Tea-plant,  the  Chinese '. * .',"...."'".'  70 

Paraguay  .'. ; ]  g9 

Telamona  ampelopsidis .  " '.  .\  .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.1'. 29 

Tennessee  Agricultural  College '..."'.'.'...'.'.'.'..  349 

crops  in _ '....'.'...'.'.'...  95 

farm-animals  in " ""'  n^) 

hogs  packed  in 232 

loss  of  hogs  in ijl 

Territories, crops  in  the '.....'..'.'... 96 

f arm-animals  in  tho .' '..'". 112 

Texas  Agricultural  aud  Mechanical  College  \..V.llV.".[ 350 

crops  in '.'.'.'.....'...'.  95 

farm-auimals  in , '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.I  . .1'.'.".  112 

loss  of  hogs  in ....."""""."!"'!!*"! Ill 

Thelia  himaculaia ..'...''. 29 

Tobacco,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product,  and  vfUne  of ..""..  ..W.  91 

culture  in  Europe ]  oq3 

Trade,  domestic,  iu  flour  and  grain \\ ...............   '.".  177 


with  Brazil. 


271 


Turkey,  siatistica  of  population,  areas,  and  land-productions  iiia .'..'.'.'.".' .'."."."."  255-265 


IHDBX.  447 

D. 

United  States  of  Colombia '-274 

exports  and  imports  of 27G 

to 276 

Uruguay,  exports  to 277 

V. 

Vanilla - 69 

Venezuela,  our  commerce  -with 279 

Vermont  Agricultural  College 351 


crops  in. 


93 


farm-animals  in 112 

points  to  be  regarded  in  growing  horses  for 426 

State  Board 424 

Virginia  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 352 


crops  in. 


93 


farm-animals  in '. 112 

loss  of  hogs  in Ill 

normal  and  agricultural  institute  in 353 

W. 

Watermelons,  production  of  sugar  from 161 

Water-plants  introduced  into  the  grounds  of  the  Department 62 

West  Virginia  Agricultural  College 352 

crops  in 9o 

farm-animals  in..., 112 

loss  of  hogs  in v. Ill 

Wheat,  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  product,  and  value  of,  in  the  several  States 91 

crop - -■  90,104 

and  flour,  exports  of - 167, 171, 175 

culture  in  Italy --  286 

exports,  iier  cent,  of,  compared  with  flojir 168, 175 

production,  increase  of 281 

westward  migration  in  the  area  of 281 

the  cross-fertilization  of 428 

Whey,  value  of,  for  calves  and  pigs 386 

Wines,  American,  analysis  of 53 

Wisconsin  College  of  Arts 353 

crops  in - 96 

farm-animals  in 112 

fish-culture  in 430 

hogs  packed  in 232 

State  Agricultural  Society - 429,431 

Wool,  markets  for 211-227,242-250 

Wiirtemberg,  statistics  of  farm-animals  in 269 

population,  areas,  and  land-productiono  in 255-267 

Y. 

Yieldti,  former  large,  in  Essex  County,  Massachusetts 389 

increased  by  supplying  the  proper  plant-food.. 390 

large ^13 

of  cotton,  instances  of  large 139 

crops - 91 

in  European  states 2C4 


PROPERTY  OF 

Z.  p.  METCALF 


